Former Model Shares Theory About Why Beauty Is So Subjective

Have you ever looked at the people you found attractive to try to figure out what the common theme is between them? Are you always drawn to green eyes, or is there something about brown hair that piques your interest every time?

The reasoning behind your attraction may be linked to something bigger than just physical attributes, as a former model has shared her theory as to why beauty is so subjective.

Celeste Aria shared her theory to her TikTok account (@celeste.aria_), where she explained: "I have a theory that the type of beauty that individual woman most appreciate, like their favorite model or like the who they are like 'wow they are so gorgeous,' is the ideal societal standard of their own beauty."

In the video, which has gained over 1.1 million views and 132,000 likes since being shared on April 25, she used herself as an example as she continued, "I have kind of dark features, angular [bone structure]. I like Adriana Lima, Monica Bellucci, kind of the angular and dark featured girls...

"When I see a button-nosed, babyface girl, I think she's cute, but it doesn't give me the sort of 'wow.'"

While her own thoughts may be a one-off, Aria is convinced of the theory based on experiences she had when attending castings.

She said, "I've seen this firsthand when I was working as a model. Ex-models often become casting agents or model agents themselves.

"I've been cast a few times by casting agents who kind of has this sort of dark feature look [they like] and I would always kind of lurk [around] casting directors if I could find them to sort of see is it a girl who looks like me cause I just noticed that I had a better chance of getting casted if it was."

When it comes to what makes a man attracted to a woman, Aria believes this is also rooted from something close to home: their moms.

"I feel like men are looking for the perfect, most ideal societal version of their mother," she said.

"The beauty that they're looking for is the most ideal beauty that their mother has. Very Freudian."

What Does an Expert Think?

To find out if there was any truth in Aria's theories, Newsweek turned to psychotherapist Marianne Johnson, who specializes in psychosexual and relationship therapy, who gave insight into what makes us attracted to someone.

Johnson explained, "The laws of attraction are an endless source of fascination for researchers, novelists, psychologists, and pretty much all of us.

"From our earliest friendships and crushes to our first full-blown love affair, feeling the joyful chemical blast of attraction is one of the most profound parts of being human. But quite how it works is a mystery, operating largely out of our awareness."

As for Aria's theory, while it can't be confirmed as fact or fiction, Johnson recognizes that, "Aria's ideas have got some evidence behind them.

"One study set up a large laboratory speed-dating experiment and found that participants were more attracted to people who look like them (and of the same ethnicity). People with similar features were rated as kinder, regardless of ethnicity."

As for what men find attractive in women, Aria's theory dates back to Greek mythology, with a story that even explains the root of many individuals' "mommy issues" and "daddy issues."

Johnson explained the link to the story of Oedipus, who she shared was, "doomed to kill his father and marry this mother."

"From a Freudian psychosexual lens, the theory goes that we can get 'stuck' in unresolved developmental stages. The Oedipal stage—around 3-5 years old—is where you become overly attached to one parent and hostile towards the other.

"If this is not adequately worked through as a child, we might become 'mother- or father-fixated,' although this usually refers to difficulties in forming successful adult relationships rather than simply being attracted to people who look like their opposite parent."