Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Popular saying. What does it mean?

"Beauty cannot be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another."

"The perception of beauty is subjective."

In short, what I find beautiful, you may not.

Why am I blogging about this today? Every once in a while I'll read some of the reviews people have left for my books. A couple say something along the lines of why is this character beautiful or why don't authors write about ugly characters?

I write in first person (only one of my books is NOT in first person). When that character describes someone, they might say, "She was beautiful." "He was gorgeous." And so on. It only means that my character found this other person attractive. It doesn't necessarily mean he/she is the hottest person who has ever lived. I might not think the person is attractive. You might not. But the character whose POV it's in, does.

I urge readers to remember this when reading books. What the author or character perceives as being beautiful, others may not.