The Beauty in Perfect Imperfection
Stephen Buetow1,2, Katharine Wallis3
1Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand. s.buetow@auckland.ac.nz.
The Journal of Medical Humanities
|December 23, 2017
Summary
Modern aesthetic procedures promote narrow beauty standards. Eastern philosophies like wabi-sabi and kintsugi offer alternative views, celebrating imperfection and repair for greater body autonomy and diverse aesthetic appreciation.
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Aesthetics
- Sociology of Beauty Standards
- Bioethics and Body Autonomy
Background:
- Modern technologies enable significant physical form alteration.
- Global popularity of aesthetic procedures reinforces narrow, idealized beauty norms (perfection, symmetry).
- These norms restrict individual autonomy and body control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore Eastern philosophical principles as a counter-narrative to dominant beauty ideals.
- To investigate how concepts like wabi-sabi and kintsugi can challenge the medicalization of body dissatisfaction.
- To propose interventions for broadening aesthetic appreciation and choices.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical analysis of Eastern aesthetic principles (wabi-sabi, kintsugi).
- Critical review of the societal impact of modern aesthetic procedures.
- Conceptual framework development for alternative beauty paradigms.
Main Results:
- Eastern philosophies find beauty in authenticity, imperfection, and repair (scars).
- These principles offer a framework to resist normative pressures and the medicalization of body image.
- Alternative aesthetic values can foster greater self-acceptance and diverse body ideals.
Conclusions:
- Embracing imperfection and repair, as seen in wabi-sabi and kintsugi, can counter restrictive beauty standards.
- Cultural emancipation regarding body image may stem from adopting these alternative aesthetic philosophies.
- Interventions should focus on educating aesthetic choices and promoting diverse beauty appreciation.
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