beauty in the flesh

Head’s up: this will be a meandering note. It is not an argument, a proper criticism in any shape or form or whathaveyou. So lately I’ve been surrounded by artists, theologians, critics, and fellow academic students who have thought carefully about body, beauty, and ethics. In my acquaintance, I have several students that would advocate nude portraits and who have either modelled or would be open to nude modelling. Now, these are very average-looks people: Not without some attractive features but certainly not glamorous models. Nor are they clearly seeking some sexual thrill from sitting naked in a room with all eyes on them. One argued that it’s a liberating experience. For my friends, both male and female, they see it as a way to come to terms with their bodies, not to see the body as flawed but worth looking at with attention rather than apathy or criticism. Nor is it meant for being a focus of lust, but rather to see the body as good, whole, as something even beautiful in it's 'fleshiness'. It is not for lusting or an issue of lust. Sexual desire is something else, not completely unrelated but not identical either. Often these desire, beauty, and lust are confused. For example, I just saw the film ‘One Day’ starring Anne Hathaway and there was one scene in particular that stood out. The male lead, Dexter, is coming on to his friend, Emma (Hathaway’s character) and announces that he finds her attractive. For the longest time, years actually, he wasn’t sure but this night anyway, he was feeling it. However, he qualifies his feelings that he pretty much fancies everyone, that he feels like he’s “always just having been released from prison.” The images of bodies in his mind are fixated on what he had built as his standard and expectations of conforming to beauty. Emma was attractive…but he had always seen himself with “someone more his type.” Yet, this is a romantic movie so yes, over a decade of life kicking his head out of his assets, his desire for Emma’s beauty increases. The challenge to their relationship was him having to wrestle with his own insecurities and lack of confidence in himself which had always led him to seek trophies in places and beauties. As he grew in beauty and wholeness, the more his desire for beauty increased. As he desired more of beauty, the more he desired Emma. Now, I doubt Dexter ever stopped desiring other women but his motivations changed. It was no longer his struggles that ruled him, but his commitments. This is the story of a a boy growing up. One Day is essentially the story of a cute guy becoming a good man. Took him twenty years, but who's counting? Anyway, so when I watch this film, side bars of culture commentaries run through my mind such as the following (see below). Basically, I hope that men and women will learn to see beauty, not the enticement for lust, in all its forms, both for themselves and for one another. May the desire for beauty increase forevermore!