Clearly what is “acceptable” in physical appearance varies from culture to culture. Americans push the envelope every year when it comes to what is the physical norm. We are overweight. We are covering our arms and legs with sleeves of tattoos; remember when a single barbed-wire tattoo laced around the bicep was bad-ass? We are getting “work” done to “improve” our physical appearance.

And yet, most of us try best we can to adhere to the norm. We want to get plastic surgery, but not so a stranger could tell. We want our tattoos to be located in a place that won’t affect our ability to get a job. If we are overweight, we try to dress so as to cover those “trouble” spots.

Most interesting are the people that aren’t confined by these social norms. Below is a slide-show filled with famous people such as Valentino Garavani and everyday individuals who simply choose not to adhere to what is deemed acceptable. There is also a photo of a Fat Bottom Burlesque show, which glamorizes the bodies of plus-sized women.

I refuse to believe that the people in these photos drastically alter themselves for the sole purpose of attention. In the past, I would have considered them all with scorn. Now I am truly curious about how they live life daily under such scrutiny. Never would I want to alter myself in such a manner, but I suppose I have a grudging respect for their ability to stand strong against mass opinion.

According to Clinton R. Sanders, Customizing the Body (2008): The Art and Culture of Tattooing:
How closely one meets the cultural criteria for beauty is of key social and personal import. The extensive research on attractiveness indicates that there is consensus about tthe physical factors that characterize beauty. When presented with series of photographs, experimental subjects are able to identify quickly and reliably those that show beautiful people and those that show ugly people…

Attractivenss has considerable impact on our social relationships. We think about attractive people more often, define them as being more healthy, express greater appreciation for their work… their chance of economic success is greater…. (p. 1)