Seems like a flattering compliment to receive. But what exactly do they mean by beautiful?
Their personal perception of beauty? What the media tells us beauty should look like? Or do they mean the confidence we exhibit of our inner beauty?
What exactly is does it mean to be BEAUTIFUL?
Beauty is defined as: the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and please the mind. But we all have our own idea of what we personally see as ideal beauty. But do we really go with our instincts of what we feel is truly beautiful or are we influenced so greatly by the western ideal of beauty that our opinion of beauty isn't really our own anymore.
So let me ask you this...
Is this beautiful?
So let me ask you this...
Is this beautiful?
What about this?
Or this?
All of the people above have one thing in common. They want to fit into what is considered to be beauty in the part of the world they live in. Not so different from us westerner's, huh?
Media messages are all about conformity. In any part of the world. It sets an ideal, and it's your job to meet it and until you do you will be bombarded with it's messages telling you to be like that. And some poeple take that obsession of that ideal way to far.
For example in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, western ads and media is advertised heavily over there. And it has set off a chain reaction where women feel they should be more fair skinned. So much so that they turn to skin bleaching products, which some are unsafe and have horrid lasting effects on skin. Another reason why Thai women bleach their skin is because it is a sign of wealth & status. Tan skin indicates you are a labourer and very poor. So let me get this straight? To be beautiful, you have to rich? Sounds crazy right? Not far fetched when we compare it to all the Hollywood stars who the media adore because of their success and beauty.
In some parts of Western Africa traditional tribes still consider the beauty ideal passed on for generations of being overweight to be beautiful. It is considered to be more attractive to be overweight and have stretch marks. Some daughters are sent to camps where they are fed up to 16,000 calories a day to help them gain weight. Just about the polar opposite of the whole 'skinny is pretty' philosophy if you ask me.
There's one place that seems to be on the right track though. Brazil. The embrace and encourage curviness. Even the comparison of Brazilian models to North American models, they look much more muscular, healthy and curvier. Sounds perfectly realistic, right? Think again, Brazil has an huge draw of crowds for their plastic surgery industry. No place is perfect, but Brazil seems to be onto something groundbreaking...healthy? Could it be? Encouraging health and being fit? This is one thing that shouldn't just stay as a trend!
So what ever happened to having a size 12, healthy, happy, confident, Marilyn Monroe being the face of western beauty?
Media messages are all about conformity. In any part of the world. It sets an ideal, and it's your job to meet it and until you do you will be bombarded with it's messages telling you to be like that. And some poeple take that obsession of that ideal way to far.
For example in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, western ads and media is advertised heavily over there. And it has set off a chain reaction where women feel they should be more fair skinned. So much so that they turn to skin bleaching products, which some are unsafe and have horrid lasting effects on skin. Another reason why Thai women bleach their skin is because it is a sign of wealth & status. Tan skin indicates you are a labourer and very poor. So let me get this straight? To be beautiful, you have to rich? Sounds crazy right? Not far fetched when we compare it to all the Hollywood stars who the media adore because of their success and beauty.
In some parts of Western Africa traditional tribes still consider the beauty ideal passed on for generations of being overweight to be beautiful. It is considered to be more attractive to be overweight and have stretch marks. Some daughters are sent to camps where they are fed up to 16,000 calories a day to help them gain weight. Just about the polar opposite of the whole 'skinny is pretty' philosophy if you ask me.
There's one place that seems to be on the right track though. Brazil. The embrace and encourage curviness. Even the comparison of Brazilian models to North American models, they look much more muscular, healthy and curvier. Sounds perfectly realistic, right? Think again, Brazil has an huge draw of crowds for their plastic surgery industry. No place is perfect, but Brazil seems to be onto something groundbreaking...healthy? Could it be? Encouraging health and being fit? This is one thing that shouldn't just stay as a trend!
So what ever happened to having a size 12, healthy, happy, confident, Marilyn Monroe being the face of western beauty?
I thought this was very inspiring. You are who you are, you shouldn't change yourself and your way of life to meet someone else's standards.
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no ideal about Brazil but, Thailand where women bleach their skin, that's terrifying to think about. There was that show with Jessica Simpson over the summer I believe that showed her traveling the world to see the different perceptions of beauty around the world. One showed a women who had bleached her skin so badly she avoided leaving her home for years. Another episode had them visiting a girl, I don't remember where possibly Africa or somewhere in that region and this girl was sent to live in a hut and just sit and eat for weeks before her wedding to help her gain weight because as you said it is a sign of beauty there. I thought it was very interesting. Interesting topic :)
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