Have you ever sat down with a friend to eat, and something about them just grabs your attention? You stop eating for a second and just stare in wonder while they make a joke with this amazing smile on their face, and you can't help but think "I have one of the most gorgeous friends on the face of the planet." I have thought that many times about my two best female friends and how pretty they are, but there's one more person that I think that about every single day.
My boyfriend.
I'm not a vein or materialistic person at all. You could honestly be "ugly" (as defined by society's beauty standards) and I will still love you, just as long as your true beauty is held within. If you are beautiful on the inside, you are automatically beautiful on the outside to me.
Society's beauty standards are rough for women, but they can sometimes be rough for men and nobody seems to want to talk about that. Men should all be chiseled like Adonis, have strong jaw lines, great hair, etc. Plus, they get criticized if they wear makeup to try to live up to this broken society's beauty standards! I believe that if you are kind, you are beautiful. This is because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and one person could think Sally is the most ugly creature they've ever seen, and the next might think she's the most gorgeous goddess they've seen in their entire life. The content of their character is what matters to me.
Male actors and models are shoved into this beauty standard. They must either be extremely handsome, so funny that you can look past their appearance, old, or they serve the purpose of playing the "ugly" character in every show/movie they act in. They, like women, are photoshopped to remove wrinkles and all of the signs of age over time. If you don't believe me, check out this Cosmo article that compares actors to their photoshopped counterparts.
This is why my boyfriend is the most handsome man I know. He is real, and I can hold his hand when I want to. Yes, he has flaws, just like I have flaws. Every single human, even the Ryan Gosling, has flaws. My boyfriend has the sweetest soul I've ever met and I wish everyone could meet someone like him. He's the kind of person that I can be totally goofy with and it's the time of our lives. He is a darling and a half and I wouldn't have it any other way. Physically, he is amazing to me. When I look at him, I am not looking into this photoshopped face of a famous person. I see a man that I love and who loves me back. He's got the most amazing eyes and an adorable smile. My love for him allows me to see every amazing part of him, and it lets me overlook those flaws as a part of why he is so "imperfectly perfect," as I often say.
He isn't the perfect person, but he's perfect for me because of that. I hope every man or woman can look at their partner and see their flaws and accept them for what they are. Beauty shouldn't be about having zero flaws. Beauty should be about acceptance and love and your inner character. I wish this for every man and woman equally, because no one deserves to be called a mean name. You are human, and you deserve more.
Love yourself and love others.
