Beauty Lies in the Eye of the Beholder free essay sample

The study was published in the â€Å"Journal of Family Psychology† in 2008 titled Beyond Initial Attraction: Physical Attractiveness in Newlywed Marriage. The primary reason for the study was to expand on prior studies of physical attractiveness which suggested that physical attractiveness should be connected with more positive outcomes in marriage. Apparently, many studies of physical attractiveness came about to support or over- throw two poets recognition on the period of physical attractiveness. Poet John Keats believes that the benefits of beauty are everlasting while poet G. B. Shaw believes that beauty is destined to fade over time. Different theories were also taken into consideration. Equity and similarity theories predict that attractiveness should be connected with greater levels of satisfaction and vice versa. Evolutionary perspectives and normative resource theories suggest that the gender of the more attractive partner should play an important role in determining the effects of different attractiveness. The author had cited clear review of literature and the problem was clearly visible to the average reader why the researchers felt this study needed to be done. As we turned a corner, I got my first glimpse of township. I felt shocked that people lived in these tiny, mulit-colored shacks made of a slab of wood, and a sheet of aluminum. The majority of these homes have no running water, electricity, or a roof that would be reliable in any sort of rain or wind. As we continued to drive through the area, I saw little kids running around barefoot staring at our van shouting â€Å"Lungu,† white people. Some of the children looked sick, with runny noses and glossy eyes, but most looked hungry, their ribs visible underneath their torn shirts. Near the end of the tour, I saw cows heads roasting outside, being skinned to be served as a â€Å"delicacy of the area. † We toured on a Wednesday, yet adults sat outside almost every home, staring blankly into the distance. â€Å"The people here are so lazy,† our tour guide remarked, â€Å"They don’t try to make a better life for themselves. After we finished our tour and returned to our hostel, the feeling of sadness and anger overtook me. There wasn’t a glimpse of hope that I saw that day, and I felt terribly for the children that are forced to follow on their parents footsteps. I wondered how these people felt who lived in the township. Do they feel as badly for them selves as I felt for them or are they happy with their lifestyle? Recently, we toured a smaller township in Knysna, South Africa, and my pervious perceptions of townships changed completely. We turned a corner, and at the first glance, everything was the same. The same shacks made of unreliable material, the same barefoot children gawking at our truck, but as we stepped into the village, everything changed for me. We were greeted with open arm. The children smiled and hugged us as we approached them. We walked into a church service and the priest stopped his service momentarily to greet our group, and welcome us to their community. The people in the church sang loudly with soul and passion. They sang of their faithfulness to the Lord, and how thankful they were that God continues to watch over their families.