Her straight red hair was kept loose, and her eyes were brown - eyes that fit the tone of her tan complexion. She was tall and slender and wore a simple crimson dress.

One of the men watching her walked away, disgusted. Her red hair was frighteningly plain - no, he would have thought her far more beautiful if she had curls, especially golden ones! And her eyes - they were as brown as a mouse, and an ugly mouse at that. Her skin was not at all fair, so he found no beauty in it, either. Furthermore, she was far too tall and unshapely for his tastes. And her clothes were simply unacceptable - when he found a special someone, she would wear bold, trendy clothes.

From a distance away, another man looked on and fell in love with the woman's beautiful red locks that so lovelyly cascaded around her shoulders. Oh, and those emotion-filled topaz eyes - he had never seen anything more entrancing! Her skin tone was indeed the loveliest he'd ever seen, and her build was gentle and poised. Yes, her dress complemented her perfectly - no, this man had never seen a more beautiful creature.

Should the woman listen to the opinion of the first man, she would find herself worthless and ugly, and she would force herself to conform to his idea of beauty.

But if she listened to the second man, she would find herself to be beautiful and perfect. She would believe in her beauty.

Ah, beauty is truly relative.

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I am disgusted by the way so many humans - often myself included - judge our value and appearance by what other people think of us. Here's a little something to show how relative beauty really us.


This work is inspired by the words of one of my recovering anorexic friends: "Beauty is relative until it is held to His {God's} standards."

updated Sep 26 '11 by cassandramorrow