Pretty please : the power of cute!

http://www.people.com/people/package/0,,20360857,00.html

Gwyneth Paltrow was designated the World’s most beautiful woman by People magazine. OK Fine! Except that …

A- How many of the World’s 3.6 billion women ( approximatively ) were included in their original list?
B- How many were seen in pictures or in person by the committee that elected Mrs Paltrow?
C- How about : Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

I don’t want to nitpick but really? Say my mom is to old to participate although that raises the question of age and Beauty; how about my sister or any of my ex-girlfriends? I guess we could refer to the problem in aesthetics in Art. In Art, there are excessively different criteria along with periods. Sometimes skinny was in and then Tanagras, those graceful Greek statues with medium small breasts and heavy hips and a healthy weight? During the late 17th or 19th centuries, a beautiful woman in paintings had love handles aplenty, you know? Of course, it relates to things such as being a little fat as proof of the means of the husband earning enough to fully procure for his wife which by the way is not very feminist a concept, now is it? ( Then again neither is the Miss this or that contest so … ) And in  Art, the techniques played a role in the type of portrayal that was achieved too. Still, Gwyneth is quite thin.

Let’s forget Art, how about personal preference? If you like your women dark of hair or complexion, how likely are you to concur with People magazine? Hum? If you are an avowed fan of big or huge breasts, boobs or whatever you call them, how could you side with that choice? All men are not as compulsive about the Scandinavian pale skinned blue eyed blondes as Tiger Woods, you know! Which is a darn good thing in and of itself since from Asia to the coast of Africa, these are quite rare and to which I guess People mag’s gang would agree since their second pick is Kerry Washington!

Besides. maybe, just maybe it helps that both can afford all the gimmicks of ultra-trendy fashion? Maybe there a nice girl at your local convenience store that would make them look like ordinary farm girls was she only able to dress up as well and spend as much on clothes. Or make-up? Or fitness? And even then! I mentioned my ex-partners in the love game. I personally think that you should base your estimates of beauty in females in a t-shirt and jeans. First because it evens the field but also because, unless you are extremely rich, that ( or some similar garb ) is how your love babe will be dressed more often than not over the course of the days you spend with her?
For instance, if your dream lady looks incredibly fetching in lingerie, how about when it does not show or she is not wearing any? I know there are guys out there that swear by the Victoria’s Secret full kit of frills and lace but hey, if you deck a road accident in garters and corsets, do the blood and corpses magically disappear or worse become unbearably sexy to you?

Say you are invited to a grand style reception. There, you meet that stunning dame that you thought existed only in movies. The 300 bucks hairdo, the 3 000 Euros dress and on top of it that 3 million Sterling Pounds diamond necklace make her stand out like Cleopatra at the trailer park, granted! But if the very next day, you are threading the sidewalk with a mate, expounding on the gorgeous creature and do not notice her pass you by for the simple Burberry on an average suit, what was it exactly that so struck you yesterday eve? Her beauty?

How about age as we mentioned in passing at the beginning? Will the passing time keep that flower fresh or will she wilt? Beauty is more often than not ephemeral, you understand. One more reason why I would for my part err on the side of pretty ( from which beauty derives by the way, check Merriam-Webster ) or cute. The exaltation of the spirit that physical perfection imposes on the mind is all swell and all but pretty, cute is something else. And if pretty still carries the sense of conventionally accepted elements of Beauty, it also rests on pleasant. Now, you do as you darn well wish but may I recommend that, unless you are looking for a trophy wife to decorate the stylish living room of your impeccable mansion, you give some thought to pleasant?

For you see, she will be attractive to you for how pleasant her company is way past the beauty. For it is that attraction that will still shine through her pretty eyes in many years, that youthful delicacy that will not wilt once the beauty of the rose has, when love has blossomed out of passion into the unalienable connivence of total friendship. Unless of course you choose your lovers like your eggs and milk, with an eye on the expiration date?

For me, it will be pretty, please! Because cute is forever. Because Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And because I don’t read People magazine.

Besides, if Gwyneth really is the clear cut most beautiful woman on Earth, there will be approximatively 3.6 billion other guys vying for her? ( Poor Mrs Paltrow! ) I’ll only have to pick out of the rest. I think I can live and love with that! I wonder if Kerry Washington is busy tonight?

Tssssss, Tay.

P.S. Sorry Gwyneth, it wasn’t my story to begin with, just a pretext; you are lovely, no problem!