Beauty Standards From Around The Select Countries I Chose

With our recent focus on beauty standards in the classroom, I have taken some interest in finding how the standards we are used to here in America compare to those around the world. Unsurprisingly, there was a plethora of studies and even videos doing just that, some of which had some data that seemed to go completely against the typical western standard of beauty.  One video done in 2014 (linked at the end of post) showed a woman who sent a picture of herself to photoshop editor around the world and asked them to simply "Make me beautiful."  The different transformations sent back were incredible, but one thing that really stuck out to me was towards the end of the video when they showed how the US editor portrayed the woman.  The editor had basically reshaped her entire head so that it was about 1/3 the size it used to be and shrinking her hairstyle, aligning with our recent readings that emphasized the how women were expected to "take up less space".  Interestingly enough, editors from countries such as the Philippines exaggerated her facial features by adding makeup  and volumizing her hair by straightening it and it having it drop past her shoulders.  However, this type of hairstyle is very uncommon as a large portion of Philippine woman have curled hair, which seems to suggest that countries find beauty in what is in contrast to their natural beauty.  

When it came to makeup, a UK study found that women spend 474 days of their life applying it to themselves, and another survey done in the US found that 91% of women would rather cancel a first date than attend it without makeup on.  This just goes to show how much pressure it put onto women to hide their true face, whereas men do not typically have to worry about the same kind of judgment. At least, that's what's typical.  It seems that in East Asian countries, especially South Korea, even men are expected to be above a certain standard of beauty. In S. Korea, a headshot and even your weight is expected on formal applications such as resumes, which comes to no surprise coming from a country that has the highest per capita rate for plastic surgery.  There exist what is known as the "flower boy" concept in which is similar to the "pretty boy" look we see in the US.  And yet the western influence does not stop there, for the most highly sought for plastic surgery treatment for men in S.Korea is nose surgery.  They are given higher nose bones so that they look more like westerners, and similarly women often attempt to switch their monolids to that of the typical western double eyelid.  

Despite the heavy focus on physical beauty, surveys done in multiple countries seem to suggest at that at least 60% of people look for an inner beauty when looking for a partner.  This goes to show that looks aren't everything, and everyone can come off as more attractive simply be being a kind and humble human being.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9FmDBrewA  <-----link to beauty standards video

The Long and The Short of It

From a young age women are often told what society expects us to look like. They want us to be small among other things. On the other hand, men are ridiculed if they aren’t large enough.

This has been happening for centuries. It varies by culture, but many Western cultures view it the same way. For example, in the Victorian era many women wore corsets in order to appear small in stature. (It also restricted their movement.) Many women had bruised or broken ribs because they would tie it so tight. This obviously wasn’t something healthy, and it’s sad that women had to go to great lengths to feel “beautiful” according to society’s standards. That’s why eating disorders are very common in women and why Kyle Lukoff struggled in Taking Up Space. (He's an FTM who struggles with an eating disorder.)

As I mentioned earlier, the corset also restricted a woman’s movement. Today women will often wear pencil skirts and heels or tightly cinched dresses, making it much harder to move around. I think the reason why clothes tend to restrict a woman’s movement is because if she can’t move around as much she won’t be taking up so much space.

            Think about it. If you’re at a gathering and someone moves around the house a lot, you’re going to think that person is taking up a lot of space. You saw them over here earlier and now they’re over there. Even if that person only circulated a few spots, if they’re constantly moving it’s going to feel as if they’re taking up all of those spots. It’s similar to – if someone wants to look busy but doesn’t want to do actual work he/she can move around a lot and people will think that person has done a lot because they saw him/her in many places i.e. he/she took up a lot of space.

            This goes a step forward when it is applied to height. Women can’t be too tall and men can’t be too short. Very tall men are often praised for their height because that somehow makes them more “manly.” The view of weight/size is to be expected but height throws me a little over the edge. People can’t control their height; it’s genetics. Even though women aren’t supposed to be tall, they can’t be too short either. True, this may be because men are on average taller than women. However, it doesn't make much sense to ridicule people because of their genes. 

The woman is society sternly seeing if the girl is an appropriate height.

Society’s pressures are even worse on transgender people. How Lukoff acts – if he takes up more space or tries to be smaller – determines whether others perceive him as masculine or feminine. I can only imagine this being harder for someone transgender, which is enough of a struggle without the addition of an eating disorder.

            Of course, I wish society wasn’t this way. However, I don’t see a change happening anytime soon. Too many people are sucked into the pressures and can’t escape. People will always want a standard of beauty or masculinity – not all people, but a good portion of people. Despite this negativity we should fight these standards with the hope of a better future. 

            I mean, at least women don't have to wear corsets anymore.