Beauty

This has been an undercurrent for my thoughts for the majority of the week, because my standard of beauty had been under assault by mainstream media.  How?  By listening to Top 40 music.

I'll admit, my head is turned by anything: a song, a movie, a quote.  I have to really focus not to lose myself when I listen to the opinions of others, at least initially.  After removing myself from the situation, I can get a better grip on reality, but when it comes to music, I am hopeless.

The song in question: "OMG" by Usher.  It's been my earworm as of late due to the fact that much of my energy has been devoted to thoughts of potential romantic partners.  Needless to say, Usher's smooth voice and flows only aggravated the situation, but I kept pushing "Repeat" nonetheless. ;)

But as I've been listening to this song on a white-knuckle rotation, I've began to internalise a particular interpretation of beauty; namely a bootylicious African American female.  I've never seen the video for this particular song, but if Beyoncé is anything to go off of, my shot isn't that far from the mark.  And today I cracked.

I had to step back and mentally separate the merging ideals of beauty.  I felt like I was under attack from a vicious octopus who was trying to swallow my brain.  And once I had my own thoughts again, I realised that I was battling myself.

Beauty is such a subjective thing, it really is quite pointless to attempt to compare one form against another.  It's not a competition between appearance or actions or personality; it's a combination of all three components that make the individual beautiful.

... And here it is, the answer to all the riddles....  I love Em & Lo.