Rachel Tucker Tucker
Ms. MacIver
ENG 3U
January 11 2016
The Standard of Beauty:
An Analysis On Women's Beauty In Different Cultures
beau·ty
ˈbyo͞odē/
noun
- a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight
Beauty is a matter of opinion, developed at a young age by people, the environment, and the media. The standard of beauty is different in different cultures, from big is beautiful to the skinnier the better. Some cultures worship the idea of makeup and changing your body, while others prefer to stay natural.
The standard of beauty in Africa is developed around the environment. The colours in the image represent the terrain of Africa. The colour of the clay in her hair represents the earth, women in Africa who look after their hair by braiding it and dying it were seen as more beautiful. In some African tribes the women would cover their whole bodies in clay to give their skin a red tint. The dying of hair and skin make African women desirable. African women believe big is beautiful, they would force feed their daughters to make them larger, healthier and more attractive to men. Bigger women are seen as more feminine and fertile. The full face of the woman in the picture demonstrates this. The concrete reason behind woman wanting to be bigger is that men in Africa want bigger woman and do not see woman who are skinny as a beautiful. In African culture beauty standards are strongly influenced by the enviroment.
There is a much different view of beauty in Thailand. The Kayan tribe located, in Thailand, focuses on the beauty standard of neck-elongation. From the time they are young, female members of the Kayan tribe add shiny brass hoops onto their necks one at a time until they become beautiful “long-necks”. The brass rings give the women resemblance to dragons an important figure in Kayan folklore. It also symbolizes wealth and status as each brass ring is worth pride and money. This standard of beauty in the Thailand has caused these women to become a human zoo, thousands of people come to Thailand to seen these women. Many of the young girls in this tribe are trying to put themselves in modern society but they are not accepted because even without the neck rings they are still seen as strange. Wearing the rings on their necks for so many years leaves them with permanent long necks and deformations to the upper torso. The woman's hair in the picture symbolizes how their environment affects their beauty standards. She has flowers in hair hair that represent their relationship with nature and the outdoors, and the white clothing the women is wearing give the image a positive feel. The woman is smiling in the image, showing pride in her position, she is proud of her “long-neck” and her relationship with nature.
French woman strive for a natural look and find the influence of beauty in fashion designers. The woman in the image is a fashion designer named Charlotte Gainsbourg. Her face stands out in the photo she does not appear to have much makeup on. Her face is not covered in foundation and eye makeup,she is simple, not flashy. In France natural beauty is what women strive for, they do not understand why women would cover their faces in makeup. Charlotte Gainsbourg is an icon because she does not try, she believes she is naturally beautiful. She will attend an event with no makeup and a very casual outfit, Charlotte believes in natural beauty, proving that the beauty standard in france is natural. The body language in the image demonstrates an informal idea. Her hair is not styled and flawless, it looks like the hair of a average women. Gainsbourgs image shows women that they don't have to enhance their natural look to reach the standards of beauty in France.
Women in America find their influence of beauty in the media. Woman in America see the women on tv or in magazines to be the ideal perception of beauty. The amount of eye makeup around the woman's eye stands out because it is so different than the other cultures, who are wearing very little to no eye makeup. The woman the image’s standouts because it appears that her skin is flawless. Women in America cover their skin to minimize any blemishes that may be seen as unattractive. Plastic surgery is used by American women to achieve the standard of a perfect body and face. In the image of Kylie Jenner is is clear that she has undergone surgery to get her desired look, that is now to look others want. Kylie Jenner is influencing women through the media .
In summation, every culture has a different standard of beauty that has been influenced by media, people and environment. Beauty standards in cultures are often ridiculed in other countries underscoring different perception of beauty around the world. Beauty is a matter of opinion, developed at a young age influenced by people, the environment, and the media.
Image 1
Styles, Ruth. "That's an unusual look! Namibia's Himba tribeswomen sport
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Facebook." Mail Online. N.p., 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2607647/
Incredible-photos-reveal-elaborate-hairdos-Himba-tribe-created-using-goat-hair-MU
D.html>.
Image 2
Ligon, Cheyenne. "This Beautiful World: Standards of Beauty Around the World."
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<http://www.hercampus.com/school/tulane/
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Image 3
Combs, Danielle. "Charlotte Gainsbourgh." Iconhouse. N.p., 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 14
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charlotte-gainsbourg>.
Image 4
Mazewski, Joanna. "Kylie Jenner Baby Bump 2015: New Rumors Suggest The
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ReplyDeleteRachel, I found your topic to be very interesting! I like the way your images express the standards of beauty in different cultures, and your explanations for each image are also very well done. You can clearly see the difference because, as you go up from the very last image to the first one, the more natural the images get. I agree with Paige on how the black and white show Charlotte Gainsbourg's natural beauty. I also noticed that the image with Kylie Jenner is the opposite of the third one, based on colors. Kylie's outfit and appearance is quite colorful compared to Charlotte's appearance. This can add to your explanation because the color of her lips, her hair and her dress can symbolize the modernity in the image, and nowadays, the more glamorous you look, the more people are attracted to you. Also, out of the three, which factor do you think has the biggest affect on society today?
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments Sachi, you mentioned some ideas I did not think of when I was writing my blog. To answer your question, it depends on the culture, to us in North America media has the biggest affect on society today. Although in Africa which is an underdeveloped county which does not have access to the media, environment has the biggest affect.
DeleteVery good points Rachel! I think you captured the different beauty standards of countries around the world very well. I found the differences between the first and last pictures very interesting, and they clearly prove your point of how beauty is a matter of opinion. One thing I can also take out of the third picture is that it is in black and white. This picture, like you mentioned, is very simple to begin with, and I think the fact that there is no vibrant colours, as seen in the other pictures, really add to the simplicity of this image, because there is nothing to distract the viewer of Charlotte Gainsbourg's natural beauty. My question for you is, do you believe that all standards of beauty should be accepted? Even the permanently life changing ones? Overall, I believe this blog does a great job of showing the different standards of beauty around the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Paige, to answer your questions, yes, i do believe that all standards of beauty should be accepted, because beauty is a matter of opinion. Every culture has a different kind of influence from the media to the environment. In my second image of the "long neck" tribe, their standard of beauty has a symbolic reason that has great meaning to them. As a society we need to understand the importance of different beauty standards that make us different and learn to accept them.
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