By doing research on the beauty standard of today's society, I realised that our beauty standard had long embedded to our daily life, however some desirable features have changed over time & differ from location to location. Let’s take a look at the past beauty standard for women as an example.
During the Victorian period, women want to gain weight because it was an indication of fertility and good fortune. On the other hand, nowadays women idealise thin and skinny body as the most beautiful. Besides, In the late 19th century, breast reductions were more common instead of breast enhancement. (Smith, n.d.) Therefore, the western beauty standards have changed dramatically throughout the years.
However, if we take a look at the Asian beauty standard many of our beauty standard has been passed down from generations to generations. As an example, white skin has always been perceived as beautiful or higher class in countries such as Japan, China, Thailand etc. The symbol of feminine allure such as Geisha or Beijing opera singer all has white skin and rosebud mouth. (Lin, 2020)
Asian Beauty Standard
The Asian beauty standard are dominated by the hallyu wave with celebrities that share the similar facial features such as white skin, skinny and doll face. As they prioritised to be white, majority of their skin cares are not primarily for its skincare benefits, but rather for its skin-whitening properties. (Lin, 2020) Beauty apps such as Meitu, Snow and Line camera which further push the Asian beauty standard. (Kong, 2016)
Western Beauty Standard
The Western beauty standard and trends mostly are dominated by the Kardashians which all share similar body shapes and facial features. Therefore, western women tend to steer themselves more towards procedures like breast implants, face lifts, and liposuction. (Sharma, 2019) Photo alteration applications help push the obsession with unrealistic beauty ideals even more. Procedures are more focus on their body due to their culture, lifestyle & climate. Example, Brazil culture of Sambal lead to rise in body procedure. (Cassano, 2019)
Conclusion
Therefore, beauty standards varied from time to time and from location to location.The few factors that influence the perception of beauty are geographic, cultural, society & media. The perception of beauty for asian are doll face, whiteskin, slender figure etc. While western prefer more of a curvier body, tan skin and symmetrical face.
Cite
Cassano, O. (2019). Unpacking plastic surgery trends around the world. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/body/article/43589/1/unpacking-globalplastic-surgery-trends
Kong, D. (2016). Unmasking East Asia’s Beauty Ideals. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/unmasking-eastasias-beauty-ideals
Lin, S. (2020). The Secret Beauty Issue Asian-Americans Deal With Every Summer. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://www.byrdie.com/asian-american-beauty-standards
Sharma, J. (2019). Guess How Much Americans Spent on Plastic Surgery in 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://www.papermag.com/plastic-surgery-americans-billions-2634234973.h tml?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
Smith, M. How plastic surgery trends reflect changing beauty ideals | this. Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://this.deakin.edu.au/society/how-plastic-surgery-trends-reflect-changin g-beauty-ideals
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