Controversial but Beautiful – What controversial object/person do you find beauty in?

[scem0]

I'm writing an essay for my philosophy class about aesthetics. I've decided to write my paper about objects that have immense beauty to some, but aren't so beautiful to others. This topic isn't one I'm too wild about, so I was hoping someone around here would be able to inspire me.

What are some controversial objects/people that you think are beautiful? Why?

Examples for me:

Marilyn Manson - I think he's beautiful, not in a sexual way, but I think from a formal perspective he is very pleasing to look at.

A tornado - although it doesn't have much of a purpose beyond destroying things, it's very beautiful.

A drag queen - I think drag queens are great! They have beauty in a variety of ways, some from comedy, some from believability, some from unbelievability.

And an example of something I don't see beauty in that many do - the coked out supermodels that maintain unhealthy weights.

What else is beautiful to some, yet hideous to others, and why?

Thanks so much,

e

 

[Chundles]

Just a list of things for you, not making any comment on where I stand on any of them I just thought some of these would be useful for example I hate spiders and love storms but others have different views.

Spiders
Storms
Butch Chicks
Windows XP
Bangle-era BMWs
Old rundown neighbourhoods.
Old people
The Outback
The US version of "The Office"
The iPod HiFi
That really ugly dog with no hair and funny teeth and buggered eyes
The building behind the Opera House nicknamed "The Toaster"
Blues Point Tower
The Porsche Cayenne
Anything from the Ssangyong Motor Company
and so on.

 

[vniow]

Marilyn Manson - I think he's beautiful, not in a sexual way, but I think from a formal perspective he is very pleasing to look at.

[...]

A drag queen - I think drag queens are great! They have beauty in a variety of ways, some from comedy, some from believability, some from unbelievability.

Butch Chicks

I <3 you both.

 

[Chundles]

I <3 you both.

I didn't say I liked them vniow, maybe I do, maybe I don't I was merely giving a list of things some people might find attractive or unattractive. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[devilot]

What else is beautiful to some, yet hideous to others, and why?

Ana and mia women and men. Ana= anorexia, mia= bulimia. There are entire online (and probably in-person) communities devoted to staying anorexic and bulimic. To some of these people, these excruciatingly thin, on-the-brink-of-death (literally, often due to heart failure) women/men are considered beautiful.

Why? I'm not sure... it's a body image that these people adore. The sense of devotion, dedication, discipline, and self-restraint it takes to "maintain" that type of body. Again, I don't really know because I personally find it hard to see the physical beauty in these body types.

 

[Leareth]

Fires

Broken Bone X-rays

extreme body modification but done just right

broken glass especially the one that shatters into little pieces but stays on the gumy backing

oil spill on water under moonlight < have to see what I am talking about

 

[ozontheroad]

. guns

. a big juicy steak

. religious art (*)

. clowns (*)

. a mime (*)

. german top 10 music list (**)

. volcanic eruption

. snakes

. comets (some cultures are still afraid of them)

(*) the ones i don't like

(**) David Hasselhof will probably disagree

 

[MACDRIVE]

Auh yes... The Instruments of WAR... Always beautiful... Always deadly... and Always controversial.

 

[ozontheroad]

Auh yes... The Instruments of WAR... Always beautiful... Always deadly... and Always controversial.

wow amazing photo

and i totaly agree with the comment

 

[Ugg]

A forest after a forestfire.

 

[Doctor Q]

Bugs. I can spend hours admiring them in an insect zoo, or taking photos of spiders that like to hang around our neighborhood (see thread), or talking about them with schoolkids.

But if a big bug sneaks up on me or appears near my food, ewwwwwwwwww!

 

[bartelby]

Self inflicted scars.

Being bi-polar, self harming is a common occurance for me. I do find scars on other people pleasing.

 

[Abstract]

Old people

Personal possessions that look worn out (with the exception of most clothes)

Snowstorms

 

[MultiM]

Really homely animals. The odder the better. Same with people.

 

[GrannySmith_G5]

diarrhea blasted in the bowl

cigarette buts floating in a beer bottle

Overweight women with enormous breasts

the swastika

 

[mkrishnan]

Why? I'm not sure... it's a body image that these people adore. The sense of devotion, dedication, discipline, and self-restraint it takes to "maintain" that type of body. Again, I don't really know because I personally find it hard to see the physical beauty in these body types.

I think the body image is more appealing for the person it implies one would be if one reached it.... although...meh... life hurts just as much when you actually get there. Except your bones hurt and your back hurts and you can't sit in a chair because it presses against your spine and you can't stand up because you have orthostatic hypotension and you're in a daze because you're malnourished and none of your clothes fit and they're already the smallest size available and...

Ahem....

Drag queens are beautiful though.

 

[gekko513]

Kill Bill

 

[iGary]

Penises.

 

[GrannySmith_G5]

unsnipped bent penises

 

[Clix Pix]

I think the body image is more appealing for the person it implies one would be if one reached it.... although...meh... life hurts just as much when you actually get there. Except your bones hurt and your back hurts and you can't sit in a chair because it presses against your spine and you can't stand up because you have orthostatic hypotension and you're in a daze because you're malnourished and none of your clothes fit and they're already the smallest size available and...

Nods. Yes. Oh, yes, indeedy.....

Thing is, anorexia and bulimia are psychological disorders with physiological manifestations so that is why someone who is already stunningly emaciated still engages in the "relentless pursuit of thinness" to the point of near-death. As others ask in anguish, "can't you SEE what you're doing to yourself?" he or she is thinking, "but I'm not thin enough yet.....I just need to lose a few more pounds...."

Anorexia is frustrating for clinicians, too, because the patient doesn't want to give up what he or she perceives as something good. The anorexia, the thinness, the not-eating is what shrinks refer to as "ego-syntonic." On the other hand, most people with bulimia understand that there is something wrong and they usually reach a point where they are ready and willing to seek help because for them, the bulimia is "ego-dystonic." It doesn't feel good, it's not something one wants to keep.

There is a huge competitive factor that goes along with eating disorders and quite often people will strive to be the thinness or swap "war stories" to see who can top everyone else.

Sadly, the "best" anorexic is a dead anorexic....

 

[mkrishnan]

There is a huge competitive factor that goes along with eating disorders and quite often people will strive to be the thinness or swap "war stories" to see who can top everyone else.

The tough thing about this is that ... we have stories that we need to share, that we've been hiding for too long. Although it does often become war story trading. But circling back to the point of this thread... at the core of the desire to see those thin people in those pictures as beautiful is the dream inside that someday one could see onesself as beautiful....

 

[Clix Pix]

The tough thing about this is that ... we have stories that we need to share, that we've been hiding for too long. Although it does often become war story trading. But circling back to the point of this thread... at the core of the desire to see those thin people in those pictures as beautiful is the dream inside that someday one could see onesself as beautiful....

Well put!

I think, too, that part of the sharing of the stories and such is to get a sense of belonging; so often people with EDs feel isolated, and of course the ED itself serves to do just that from one's family and friends, so it is a natural response to want to belong somewhere. I think that is partly why some of the websites about EDs are so heavily populated. There are some which are distinctly "pro-ana," though, and when you read some of the posts and threads it is rather obvious that many participants are "wannabe-anorexics" rather than the genuine article. When you stop and think of it, why would anyone WANT to have a psychological disorder? Sometimes people erroneously associate "anorexia" with "weight loss" or "extreme thinness," but actually there is far more underlying the actual eating disorder than just someone's weight status.

Oops, sorry, I've been venturing far afield of the original topic here.....

But, yes, while a photo of a severely emaciated or at least extremely thin individual may "trigger" many anorexics, chances are that this same image will simply repel or repulse those who do not have an eating disorder and they will think, "oh, she's so ill-looking!" while the anorexic is thinking, "oh, she's gorgeously thin!"

 

[spencecb]

I find beauty in the controversy that constantly surrounds Madonna. She has always provocative and I think that the world is all the better for it. Some people can't stand her, and say she is just pulling publicity stunts to keep people interested in her.

I disagree. If people would ever take the time to actually listen to what the woman has to say, you would see she is not being provocative just for the sake of being provocative.

I chose these pictures from her latest tour because the image of her on the cross created world-wide controversy. And, like normal, people missed her point.

 

[0098386]

bloody hell thats a tough one! I'm racking my brains now!

Killing Spiders?
Lightning, storms, snow... bad weather in general
mongrel dogs?

haha. I'm terrible at this. ah well.

 

[MarkCollette]

I find beauty in the controversy that constantly surrounds Madonna. She has always provocative and I think that the world is all the better for it. Some people can't stand her, and say she is just pulling publicity stunts to keep people interested in her.

I disagree. If people would ever take the time to actually listen to what the woman has to say, you would see she is not being provocative just for the sake of being provocative.

I chose these pictures from her latest tour because the image of her on the cross created world-wide controversy. And, like normal, people missed her point.

Yay, Madonna!


When I was thinking of the original poster's question, I kept having images of zooming in and out. Like, seeing some hot Brazillian chick's juicy ass, and zooming all the way in until you're just getting some kind of medical tissue view of their anus or something. Or alternatively, does anyone remember that video, I think from the first Gulf War, where there was a green night vision camera on a missile, allowing you to see the perspective of the building rushing up at you before the explosion. It looked really cool, but later you realise that someone probably just died. Or, I saw a slow motion video of a race car losing control and ploughing through a crowd, and all the bodies were tossed into the air like dolls. I think that was a kind of simultaneously pretty and horrifying image, most likely controversial.