Strength Vs Beauty, which would you choose?
By DCLehnsherr
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
August 27, 2009 4:40pm CST
When you think of this question I want you to see beauty as societies current idea of beautiful (as shown on the uploaded image). I am not really thinking of drop dead gorgeous models who don't really have to try (though that might be what the other image looks like), I am thinking of the size zero stick thin people who try too hard to get the ideal in order to be happy. The left image is a picture of a size zero model in case you haven't yet seen one. As for strength that can be your take on it. I am go for toned muscles, rather than people going around looking like Arnie in 'The terminator lol'
But the reason why I ask this is because 1) I am curious, and 2) this was something I have asked myself in the past. I was once one of the people that tried to fit into societies idea of beauty, and in doing so I lost so much of myself that I ended up rejecting the idea and deciding I would rather have strength instead since muscles are a mini passion of mine (though I don't ever want to look like Arnie in the Terminator lol).
So yea, which would you choose, and why?
Thanks for the responses and happy mylotting :)
Dranz
3 people like this
13 responses
@vandana7 (100605)
• India
28 Aug 09
Me too DCLehnsherr, while physical exercises do make a person happy, a good physique from it is just a side effect. There are different limits for each individual and age. Crossing these to compete with natural attributes of other is silly I feel. People forget that there are after effects like osteoporosis. And the face starts looking gaunt rather than that of a happy person, after so much of clenching of teeth possibly :-). Definitely a no no. I am with u on this. Beauty to me would be more of what we have traditionally accepted like in Boticelli's paintings. If not, why collect such stuff - that too at a hefty price! I dont want to come out looking like a mass manufacture with little difference in features. :-) And if indeed the idea of beauty had undergone that much of change, would we be painting our gods with the full cheeks and without those muscule strength? Traditionally, we have always shown them in a way that they look beautiful. So that is what is the beauty standard even today. Rest is marketing. :-)
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Wow that is an amazing response, I never even saw the strength vs beauty debate/question from that side before but it makes complete sense, especially about the way that gods are depicted. I have to admit to never hearing of Boticelli before now, is he/she the one who draws the pictures of gods which you mentioned?
Many many thanks for that response though, I am really impressed :)
Dranz
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
28 Aug 09
Regardless of the image I would choose strength. Living life as a woman is very hard in the best of worlds. We need strength to care for ourselves. If a woman is too beautiful then she becomes a target. Men want to own her and if they cannot then they try to kill her so that no one else can own her and many women tend to hate her for being more beautiful than them. I am glad I am not beautiful. True it can be a passport to a wealthy man's arm but the price is very high.
A strong person, who is strong in body, mind and spirit can care for herself. She can still become a victim of men who hate independent women but as I said earlier it is very hard to be a free woman in this world. If she is strong enough then she is safe from most people and is then free to live her life as she chooses.
1 person likes this
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
I hate that side of beauty too, the fact that men seem to see it as a strange invite to leer at you and make comments (then again they do it on the other side of things as well so it could be a strange need men have lol). But yea, I had forgotten about the really dark side of beauty beyond just the image issues, it is all too easy to forget the hatred that it draws to a person as well.
Fantastic answer, many thanks :)
Dranz
@13fingers (26)
• United States
27 Aug 09
I would choose strength, you have to come to terms with yourself and be happy on the inside to ever think about being happy on the outside. Plus i cant lift a soda can with out huffing.
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
I was more thinking along the lines of one or the other, but you put a nice case up for both.
If you had to choose just one though, do you know which you would choose?
Thanks for the response :)
Dranz
@semicolonp (518)
• Philippines
28 Aug 09
That's a pretty asymmetrical question, I think. The beauty you presented was the type of beauty that most people don't really even consider beautiful, and the strength you presented is the type that most people would want. So it seems to me, that the answer is a given to anyone reading your question even without considerable thought involved (unless they took your question literally without looking at your criteria).
For me, I would choose health, haha. I don't mind not being toned or beautiful as long as I have that.
@semicolonp (518)
• Philippines
28 Aug 09
Oh, no, sorry. I did kinda get that you seemed to be going for extremes and I originally planned my answer around that. Except that I read further and your explanation + the picture were contradicting the "extreme" reading and I got confused. It seemed to me that your examples showed the extreme version of beauty, then used a version of strength that anyone would be interested in. Thus, the seeming asymmetrical question.
Sorry I wasn't much help with the question, haha! It's probably because I'm not an extreme type of person so I wouldn't be able to choose, either way. xD
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
I think I explained in the picture comment thing about why I choose the pictures I did. I was going to go for extremes of both, but after searching the strength pictures I decided not to pick the really scary muscle bound pictures as even I wouldn't want that and I like strength, so I went for toned instead since both sets of pictures came up during my search :)
With this discussion though I wanted to get a better gauge on whether society accepts its own ideas of beauty of not. Health is always the best choice naturally but I didn't put it here as that would be a no brainer I think so I am not sure if it would have been as worthwhile a topic lol
Many thanks for the response anyway,
Dranz
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Oh don't worry about being confused by something I say, I do that a lot because my mind and fingers move at pretty much the same speed so when the mind goes in circles, so does what I type lol. I try and edit it out as best i can but because it is the way I think it can be hard at times :)
I am glad you explained more what you meant too, I wasn't clear what the asymmetrical question thing I had done was, but going by what had been said afterwards I figured it was some insult on my pictures choices so decided to try and explain a bit lol!
Thanks for clearing things up :)
Dranz
How are you today? took me a while to get through my notifications today 
Any way give me a little bit of muscles not too much, I just like how it looks, 
I am going to send this considering this may not go through anyway grrr 
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Hey Kitty,
Woah I am thinking that if the muscles were around when you wrote that, then the computer would be in pieces outside lol. That would be downside to being strong, getting angry and destroying everything in sight with the power of pure rage, I don't think that would be as much of a worry on the beauty side of things. I hope your computer behaves itself for you today though :)
Dranz
PS: I think the message sent perfectly ^_~
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Hey Kitty,
I didn't have that many notifications today, thankfully, though I have turned the responses one on now following err Tuesday's enlightening discussions so I might end up with more tomorrow. I shall watch the inbox nervously lol!
As for the muscles I totally have to agree with the way they look too (as long as they aren't coming towards me with an angry looking expression on the face above lol!). I imagine they do wonders for the confidence as well.
Many thanks for the response and I am starting to mix up words so I think I am getting a little beyond sleepy now lol! It is 230AM here and I think I am going to have to call it a night before I start leaving people riddles lol!
All the best :)
Dranz
@sushisarah (186)
• Indonesia
28 Aug 09
I choose strength. But it combined with beauty how good is that. Those two are the best result. Strength to work and to get a healthy life. Beauty to make you get a good position in the office, he he..., and to smooth your way if you want to be an actress.
Actually i wanted to add 'brain' for this. From brain come out all income to buy strength and beauty. Work without intelligence is zero. Brain we can use to buy vitamins for health, food for energy. Brain also to buy makeup and beauty treatment service.
1 person likes this
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
You know I hadn't considered the brain for this (which probably says something about how I rate things lol!) I guess don't tend to imagine that people get judged by their brains which is my excuse for why I didn't add it, but you definitely put a very good case across for it, especially in the long term, but in the short term excellent choice lol
Very intelligent answer, many thanks :)
Dranz
@sushisarah (186)
• Indonesia
29 Aug 09
I choose beauty. If it's added with strength which i will get later, it means well done! I search beauty first, then search the strength. Because by your beauty you can get strength( power) that you want. Lol.
@prinzcy (32305)
• Malaysia
28 Aug 09
Zero stick with bone showing is not beautiful at all, it's sick. It's an effect from eating disorder and most girls suffer from this. Strong in my point of view is Arnie look alike. Even if it's down, it's someone with muscles on their body. I don't want to look like that either. I would prefer to be firm and healthy. There's no need for muscles or too skinny look.
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Hopefully most girls don't suffer from an eating disorder, though I guess it would be a true depiction of the sad state of things if it was most girls.
Thank you for the answer though :)
Dranz
@taztheone (1721)
• India
28 Aug 09
I don't think that the other girl is strong or powerful, but I will only choose her. I really can't see people who are too thin like her. It seems like some kind of disease rather than beauty. Infact she looks more ugly with this type of body.
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
There was a picture of a female bodybuilder which I was tempted to use, but I don't know if many women would want to look like a bodybuilder so I played it safe and went for a healthy looking woman holding weights instead lol
Thanks for the response, and very good choice :)
Dranz
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
28 Aug 09
It depends on your definition of beauty but I have known men who have discovered that beautiful women can be absolute b1tches. A woman who is strong does not have to be ugly just not beautiful. But then I would never be interested in a man who only wanted a pretty face without a thought for the person inside.
Beauty is only skin deep. It is the person inside who matters.
@DCLehnsherr (1037)
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28 Aug 09
Advokatku, I thought as a guy you would choose strength as your ideal since men seem to like going around looking like Arnie lol!
It has been interesting though to see that men choose beauty for their women, but the women choose strength for themselves. I wonder why that is!
Many thanks for the response :)
Dranz
