Is Beauty a Moral Obligation?

Photo by Pavel Nekoranec on Unsplash

Recently, I posted a poll on two social media platforms: “True or false: Beauty is a moral requirement.” Across the two platforms, the average answer was 62% for False, and 38% for True. From DMs relating to the post, the default interpretation seemed to be that beauty meant ‘physical appearance’. That observation alone, if it is correct, speaks volumes. It is worth asking whether a culture preoccupied with physical appearance, often…