h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

fragilis-
are you looking to pick a fight or what? 'cause putting ridiculous words in my mouth is not playing nice.
so, ONCE AGAIN, i will reiterate what continues to be my position. i will try to state it as plainly as i possibly can, and i would appreciate not having it all warped about when i'm through.


The ideals of beauty (in my above post I used the example of artistic depictions of the female form), indeed the basis of what "we"(1) understand as "beautiful," change from culture to culture and from age to age. Therefore, there can be no immutable definition of 'beauty', or of what is 'beautiful'. Therefore, beauty and its ideals are defined by the culture/society/etc.



(1) where "we" means the human race, or civilization as a whole, or however you would like to put it

I am not saying that there can be no dissenting opinion, or anything of the sort, so dont pull that.

I didn't mean to offend you, ExpatChick. I honestly misunderstood some of what you were saying. I can't be 100% sure, but I would guess that I was not the only person reading your posts who did so. If that's true, then it may be good that I've prompted you to clarify your position.

As for accusations that I may be "looking to pick a fight" - that I have "warped" anyone's position during my reply - or that I have "pulled" something unfair, I simply won't respond. I think my record on h2g2 and elsewhere speaks to the quality of my character.

While I enjoy a calm-headed debate, I would rather not offend anyone in the process. So under these circumstances, I'll happy to agree to disagree with the sociological theory of beauty we've been discussing.

I'm politely unsubscribing from this conversation. I wish everyone the best in discussing this matter further in mutual good faith.

Some questions & comments:

1. I agree that rich people can afford more and better things. One of them is decent plastic surgery. It follows that they have more chances to score with an attractive person who likes their money or artificially enhanced beauty or both, and poor people have more chances to shag an obese wrinkly Cyrano with varicose veins.
And right when it seems totally unfair and undemocratic, it suddenly gets worse: Cyrano might not even compensate with a nice personality!

2. I find fake boobs in American porn truly hilarious. It might be wrong but, Bwahahahahaha

3. here's some questions for Bluebottle, the clean-but-scruffy knife-free person: I saw once on television the guy who holds the Guiness record for the longest nails; they were at least 10" long and yellow and curly. The presentor said that he couldn't do anything with his left hand (the one with the nails). Do you have the same condition? if yes, in both hands? if no, how do you get rid of cumbersome nails? you break them? bite them off? they break off by themselves? have you even been infected by a nail scratch? For the hair I believe you embraced the Sikh religion, or their head dressing code?
Also, about your body not being yours but a loan, would you consider giving back some internal organs if the deity you believe in or one of his/her representatives would ask?

4. *ahem* argent, while it's true that we change almost all our body cells every 7 years, some unfortunate people get the same fat wobbly bottoms over and over again... it's preposterous!

5. One of the reasons I believe that my generation is doomed is because we'll have to watch Michael Jackson growing old. He's only 45 now, the horror has only started!

6. I agree with psychocandy, people that should have plastic surgery but won't might change their mind if forced to date themselves.

7. Umm, Blues Shark, even if I have nothing against piercing, consider this (which put me off piercing 4ever): what if, while removing an item of clothing in a hurry, our lip/navel/earlobe/nose or eyebrow ring gets caught in the fabric, but before we realise we have pulled off the sweater TOGETHER with a part of the aforementioned body parts?
Wouldn't that be über-gross? especially if one is removing said clothing in the company of someone special! Le Horror!

merry Xmas!!

Well, be careful when taking off clothing, I guess. Not happened to me so far and I've never heard of it happening to anyone else...

(cue selection of grossout stories...)