by Roxana Rodriguez, Aztec Voice
Welcome to “Why do beauty standards exist?”, featuring a girl who fits none of them. Today we will venture the world to learn more about different beauty standards. According to Slice and Diply, different countries have different beauty standards.
Our first stop is North America, where the new obsession is a slender but busty body with delicate features. Many still believe the classic bombshell – blonde hair and blue eyes – is still the American dream.
As we head south, our next stop is: Brazil/South America. Here a large bust with an extremely small waist is the ideal. They also enjoy thicker legs and a thicker bottom. Now as we cross the South Atlantic Ocean, we stop at Mauritania (Africa). Here, many view overweight women the most desirable, while slimmer ones are undesirable and told to gain weight.
Heading north we reach France. The French love a natural beaut. They view more quirky and distinct physical traits as beautiful. They spend more time on their outfits than on their makeup.
Heading a little northeast, we end up in Russia. Russians who have been coined most beautiful are tall and slender with high cheekbones, plump lips and blue/green eyes. In contrast to France, Russia is all about more is more. They spend most of their time perfecting their makeup and outfits.
Now, we head back south to make a stop in India. Here they love almond-shaped eyes, a lighter complexion and thick luscious hair. These standards come from a shift to following Western standards, where they are now pushed to have a lighter complexion and lose weight.
As we move east we reach Myanmar (Burma). Beauty rituals are mostly tradition here. From an early age women stacked brass coils around their necks. Over time more coils are added to elongate their neck which attracts males from the tribe.
Towards the southeast we hit Thailand, where women pay a ridiculous amount to hit these ideals. Almost a hard contrast from the features most women are naturally born with, beauty is seen in pale skin, a narrow frame and pronounced eyes and nose.
Heading northeast we make a hard stop in Korea. Oh, Korea, perhaps the most controversial beauty standards of the bunch. Having one of the highest rates in cosmetic surgeries, they value v-shaped jaws, big round eyes, small nose, small mouth and very, very fair skin. In Korean history, tanned skinned is viewed as having a lower social status. So, while the rest of the world wants a sun-kissed complexion, Korea hides behind the shade.
Heading east we reach Korea’s neighbor: Japan. Now, by far this has to be the strangest beauty standard of all. While the rest of us want straight teeth, Japanese culture admires a crooked smile, oftentimes going through dental procedures to achieve this look. Why they admire a crooked smile is beyond me, but who am I to judge?
And now to the southeast we have our last stop: New Zealand. For our last stop, there’s nothing extravagant. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too natural. Just a nice, beautiful facial tattoo. Māori women often get chin tattoos to symbol empowerment and a transition into womanhood.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this enlightening journey through the world and it’s beauty standards. As always, thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
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