"Beautiful" has been widely embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community for its message of self-empowerment and inner beauty.
In 2011, UK LGBT rights organization Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the previous decade for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.
Aguilera recorded the song at two studios: The Enterprise Studios in Burbank, California, and Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood.
Entertainment Weekly's David Browne called the song one of Stripped's "moments", noting that it is "more restrained" than the other songs from the album.
Lyrically, the song discusses inner beauty, as well as self-esteem and insecurity issues.