Essay Sample on Beauty Standards Around the World
It has been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Of course, I believe this idea to be true. Society, though, can also dictate how beauty is perceived, especially for women. Growing up, I remember seeing magazine covers that held a tall, thin model with blue eyes and straight, blonde hair. At the time, I believed that this was the beauty standard all around the world. As I got older, I came to realize that I was utterly wrong. Beauty standards are different around the world.
In North America, what is considered beautiful differs between each country. In Canada, a beautiful woman has hazel, almond-shaped eyes with dark brown, curly medium-length hair, and an athletic build. In the US, the current beauty standard is for a woman to be thick yet slim at the same time, and must have lush lips. Straight blonde hair, blue eyes, a feminine figure, and straight, white teeth are preferred. In Central America, a woman must have an hourglass figure, lightly tanned skin, long-styled hair, and plump lips. This is not the same for Asian countries.
In Asia, countries can share some of the same standards, but they have some differences. Countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and India idealize lighter skin over darker skin. This is due to history telling us that the wealthy had a lighter complexion, while farmers with a lower status had darker skin because of the long hours working under the sun. Big eyes and a heart-shaped face are also favored in many countries, some people even going as far as getting surgery to shave down their jaws. While they share many similarities, there are contrasts. In Japan, crooked teeth are considered beautiful because kids wanted to look like celebrities and men thought it made women look more approachable and realistic. In Myanmar and Thailand, wearing neck rings is thought to make girls look more attractive and can be a sign of wealth as the rings can be expensive. They do this to stretch their necks out because the longer your neck the prettier you are. In India, the body shape standard is the same as the US, but they prefer long black hair, and big, brown eyes. Asian countries also tend to think that body hair on women is bad. This contrasts with some countries in Europe.
Many European countries view beauty distinctively. In France, it is normal for women to have body hair as it is something they aren’t too concerned about. Many women of different countries like going the natural route, so they wear little to no makeup and like having short dainty nails. Russians share the same beauty standards as those in the US, with them liking tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and hourglass figured women.
