I want to call boys beautiful. I want them to understand that I admire their bodies and their souls, and that I think that they have kind eyes.
I want to call boys beautiful. I don't want them to be insulted because it would associate them with women, or weakness, or femininity.
Beauty, is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit" (source). There's not a trace of gender in this, not an ounce of anything that could somehow be emasculating. Beauty just means appealing. It means the way that the stars look when it is clear and winter so the air is crisp. It means when leaves start to change to orange on their tips but their essence is still green. It means watching a fire devour the kindling you just threw into it, snapping and crackling as it laps over the dry wood. Why wouldn't a man or a boy want to be compared to something that takes your breath away in wonder, excitement, and loveliness? What is wrong with being told that you, yes, are a man, and yes, you are great to enjoy with my eyes and nose and maybe fingertips.
Aside from this, if I can be totally honest, if you equate beauty to a woman, why is that so wrong? I cannot imagine anyone being offended by being compared to a woman. Women are strong, they're bright and they're hecking gorgeous! Women hold the stars in their eyes and fire in their bellies. They have so much to give. They'll tell you about their whole world if they trust you, and they're happy to get to trust you. A comparison to them is not an insult, but a compliment. A comparison to a woman needs to be treated as such.
But beauty is not to compare to woman. Being beautiful is to acknowledge someone's beauty, to acknowledge that people have a light and a joy in them, a passion and excitement in them. Being beautiful is to be honest and kind, to be glowing with something more than just big eyes and a nice figure.
Let me tell a boy he is beautiful. Because he is.
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