The Truth About Beauty

In Virginia Postrel’s essay, “The Truth About Beauty,” the most important theme is the understanding that beauty should be accepted for what it is as opposed to how it is perceived, with some people having more of it than others. Postrel speaks of the Dove beauty commercials and how they are working to make every woman feel beautiful just the way she is, but understands that some people are just more appeasing to look at than others. The author says it must be understood that there is nothing wrong with how, “our eyes and our brains pretty consistently like some human forms better than others. She instead says people should understand their own shortcomings and strengths rather than being so worried about making everyone feel beautiful. The idea of beauty is purely physiological and, “features we see as beautiful…have been rewarded through countless generations of competition for mates.”

If beauty is simply what human instincts dictate will help continue the human race, then Postrel is correct in saying that not everyone has to worry about being beautiful. It would be impossible to do for some people, because some of the features that define beauty are unable to be fixed, such as symmetry and age. Postrel understands that, “like the rest of the genetic lottery, beauty is unfair. Everyone falls short of perfection, but some are luckier than others”. With a push toward understanding strengths and weaknesses, humans can better understand beauty and perhaps not place as much importance in it. The most important theme is accepting beauty as it is, not as the media portrays it.