CULTURE AND BEAUTY NORMS.
"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
No woman is ugly.
Women come from all different backgrounds and races. In other cultures beauty of women are looked at in many different ways. An example is in Ecuador, beauty can really affect your career and love life. Some employers do not hire young, aspiring women because they do not have the looks that they want for their company. Women that do stand out to be attractive have a greater chance of marrying into a higher social class, so beauty in Ecuador affects marriage choices. Some other cultural beauty norms include:
Caucasian "White":
African American:
Women come from all different backgrounds and races. In other cultures beauty of women are looked at in many different ways. An example is in Ecuador, beauty can really affect your career and love life. Some employers do not hire young, aspiring women because they do not have the looks that they want for their company. Women that do stand out to be attractive have a greater chance of marrying into a higher social class, so beauty in Ecuador affects marriage choices. Some other cultural beauty norms include:
Caucasian "White":
- Straight light colored hair
- Big light colored eyes
- Big bust
- Small Waist- desire to be thin
- Broad hips
- Long legs
- Desirable fashion sense
- Desire to always look young
African American:
- Curves- "body perfection" is not a major norm within the African American culture.
- "Making what you have work for you"- Emphasizing the beauties and not wanting to always change yourself.
- Advertising companies tend to make African American celebrities/models look "white" by digitally touching up their skin to a lighter shade. Advertising companies also try to make African American women think that "straight" hair and "thin" is in, when it is not.
- Advertisement companies try to make some African American models look beastly by making them dress up in animal print.
Latin American:
- "Good looks can open doors for you"- beauty in Latin American culture can affect your life so much that if you do not have the looks then no successful career, no happy marriage and no self-esteem.
- Desire to be "thin"- just like Western beauty norms
- Plastic Surgery is very common in Latin American culture- desire to always look young and attractive.
- Desirable fashion sense
- To have a desirable buttocks
- Only 39% of women said they are satisfied with their weight
Chinese:
- Desire to be thin
- Long legs
- Pale skin tone
- Large eyes
- Small nose
The number one thing that all of these cultures have in common is the desire to change oneself. Many people undergo plastic/cosmetic surgery each year. At least 9.1 million cosmetic procedures have been done in the United States. It does not just affect women; men are also interested in undergoing the procedure (at least 1 million cosmetic procedures done in the U.S)
In china, doctors are offering to make people up to 10cm taller for around a 4,000 dollar (U.S dollar) price tag. (WVFV 269) There are three stages to the lengthening process;
1. First, break both leg and push steel pins through the tibiae and insert screws.
2. Stretching is a process that takes several months and all depends on how much the customer wants to grow. By turning the screws each day and lengthening the bone at the point where it was broken.
3. Leave the steel pins in place for about a year as the newly regenerated bone starts to strengthen. Once the bone becomes strong enough to use, then doctors can remove the steel pins.
Jonathan Watts stated that the leg lengthening process can help people find jobs and marriage partners. The huge health risk is bones not healing properly and are easy to break. Some people are unable to squat or bend down after the surgery.
1. First, break both leg and push steel pins through the tibiae and insert screws.
2. Stretching is a process that takes several months and all depends on how much the customer wants to grow. By turning the screws each day and lengthening the bone at the point where it was broken.
3. Leave the steel pins in place for about a year as the newly regenerated bone starts to strengthen. Once the bone becomes strong enough to use, then doctors can remove the steel pins.
Jonathan Watts stated that the leg lengthening process can help people find jobs and marriage partners. The huge health risk is bones not healing properly and are easy to break. Some people are unable to squat or bend down after the surgery.