Worldview Wednesday: On The Meaning of Beauty

 Worldview Wednesday: On The Meaning of Beauty

Beyoncé Knowles’ song “Pretty Hurts” provides a surprisingly accurate, though corrupted, glimpse into the effects of the media on the cultures understanding of beauty. The song speaks against the national obsession with physical appearance by alluding to television shows, magazines, and beauty pageants, and yet the music video inappropriately takes advantage of the societal ideal it speaks against.

In the music video, Beyoncé plays an unhappy bulimic beauty pageant star, who realizes that her one aspiration is to be happy, and yet her lifestyle makes her very unhappy.  Beyoncé aptly sings that the problem with people in our nation is that we are trying to kill the pain and dissatisfaction inside by controlling our physical appearance with excessive diets, exercises, and surgeries; however, the pain will never go away because “[i]t’s the soul that needs surgery.”  The lyrics of the song highlight that “perfection is a disease of the nation” and that the media has specific guidelines for the perfect women: “Blonder hair, flat chest / TV says, ‘Bigger is better.’ / South Beach, sugar free / Vogue says, ‘Thinner is better.’”  Yet, Beyoncé counters that this is all an illusion and in reality being pretty won’t make one happy. In reality, “pretty hurts.”

While the lyrics of the song are very insightful, the song fails in several areas. “Perfection” in itself isn’t a disease; rather, the idolization or obsession with perfection is unhealthy. An important clarification she doesn’t make is being beautiful, healthy, and fit, are not evils in and of themselves. “Pretty” doesn’t hurt, but idolizing “pretty” does hurt. This meaning was most likely intended by the artist but was lost in the lyrical language, unless perhaps even Beyoncé does not yet see the root of the problem. While this song does explain the symptom of the American problem, it only hints at the cause: a dysfunctional aspiration for mere happiness and neglect to care for the soul.

The greatest inconsistency lies in the message of the song and the music video itself. While some scenes in the video are very well done and accurately reflect the physical, emotional, and spiritual turmoil of the character, other scenes reinforce the very problem Beyoncé is trying to combat: the societal obsession with beauty. Beyoncé’s suggestive possess and scant clothing seemed not only inappropriate in general, but especially inappropriate in a music video attempting to combat the idolization of beauty. Perhaps, Beyoncé has become so desensitized to the societal cues she no longer questions the meaning of her actions but instead only performs as expected.

The implications of accepting this point of view regarding the meaning of beauty could be both beneficial and problematic. There is a lot to be gained from the message of Beyoncé’s song, but much also to be lost. As long as one can hear and discern the meaning behind the lyrics without being distracted by Beyoncé’s actions in the video, one can learn a thing or two about our society’s dysfunctional view of beauty.