Human physical appearances

What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'appearance' in terms of a human . . ?

If you are not a know-it-all, it would obviously be something like looks, good-looks, style, visual aspects . . . or something close perhaps..

However, actually, physical appearance, in itself, has a proper meaning which is most precisely explained by most reliable and popular encyclopedias of the world.

Let me dig deeper into this to bring to you the proper and comprehensive meaning.

So, what is the actual meaning of human physical appearance?

Human physical appearance is basically the external phenotype of a person. And if you are wondering what 'phenotypes' are, (which you may most probably be,) well..

Phenotype is a scientific term which, in simple terms, refers to the current visible looks of an individual, which have have been developed because of the genetical and environmental factors, combined.

There are endless differences in phenotypes of people all over the world having various genes and living in varying climates, though science has been successful in reducing such a huge variation to clear-cut categories.

How is our physical appearance related to us ?

"I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for a plain one. -Penelope

Lively Physical appearance of the parts of human body, particularly those which are pointed out as highly crucial for physical attraction, are considered by anthropologists (social scientists, in simple words) to significantly influence the development of the social relations and the overall personality of the person.

It's pretty much true that we are critically sensitive to our bodily appearance. Our looks do play a big part in our overall happiness and well-being. We tend to get attracted to several treatments and techniques to beautify our outward looks; it is obviously human nature, but when it comes to our genuine appearance, which is a source of our identity, we can't really do much about it as it is natural.

Most of the differences in people's looks around the world stem from genetic structure, others are the outcome of aging, disease and/or lifestyle, whereas some are the consequence of cosmetic treatments and surgeries, of course.

Humans have conventionally linked some variations in personal appearance, such as skeletal build-up, with ethnicities, races, etc. Its a matter of fact that different cultures have put a different level of emphasis on a person's physical appearance, sometimes according to gender, social position and similar other factors.

What Factors Affect Our Physical Appearance ?

I kind of have given a lot hints about that already in the article, but let me now elaborate more on the reasons behind varying appearances.. Numerous factors are believed to be have been contributing to the bodily appearance of people.

Physiological variations  

• Genetics


• ethnic ties,


• family backgrounds (geographical)


• Skin-color,


• height,


• sexual organs,


• weight, body hair,


• birthmarks,


• freckles,


• moles,


• hair-color,


• texture of hair (curly, straight, etc),


• shape of eyes (hooded, small, etc),


• eye-color,


• nose-shapes,


• ear-shapes,


• body structure.  


• Body damages, injuries and similar things such as disabilities, burns, wounds and scarring, etc.


• Long-run physiological modifications as hair fall  and age effects

Short-run physiological modifications :  

• Blushing expressions,


• weeping,


• hiccups,


• sobbing,


• fainting,


• laughing,


• sexual expressions,


• flushing of the skin because of enhanced blood flow.


• Perspiring,


• trembling,


• bleeding,


• variations in color of skin due to frost or extra exposure to sun.

Personal effect, attire and deliberate (voluntary) body changes :  

• Attire, including headdress and footgear;


• many kinds of clothing fit to effect the body-shapem such as, bras, pantyhoses, etc.


• As far as footwear is concerned, high-heels effect the height of the wearer making him/her appear taller.  


• Hair style and coloring including styles such as Mohawks and spikes, etc.  


• Makeup, body tattooing and paintings, permanent cosmetics.  


• Body piercing, scarring, implants, etc.  


• Plastic surgeries  


• Ornaments, like, bracelets, earring, necklace, etc.  


• Medical equipment like braces, casts, patches, hearing-aids, crutches, gold teeth, artificial gums, bandages, etc.


• As a matter of fact, the same human's physical appearance can be quite changed and molded, depending on whether they have been through any or all of the aforementioned alterations..!