WHAT DOES BEAUTY MEAN TO YOU?

1/30/2020

11 Comments

"Thanaka and a Smile" by Timothy Neesam (GumshoePhotos). Licensed by Creative Commons.

What were the dominant beauty "ideals" in the community where you are from or grew up? How do rigid societal views about beauty impact one's body image, psychological well-being, social "power"?

BY HONEY CIN
To me, beauty is not a look. I find it attractive when people have a good personality with inner beauty. I said, "inner beauty" because many leaders were seen as a beautiful person, and they are loved, respected, and admired by many fans while they were responsible for the deaths of many people.
The standard of beauty is different every decade, and it also differs from culture to culture. In the past, women who were working hard, working fast, obey parents, women who follow culture rules, women who put Thanaka on their faces were seen as dominant beauty ideals in the community where I grew.
Not only women, but students must also put Thanaka on their faces in the school. Wearing Thanaka is not only my country's culture, but it also cools the skins. Today, however, European seemed to be influenced us so much that women from my country want to be slim, youthful, tall, and they want to have light skins. The beauty standards for men and women are a little bit different. Strong, wealthy, men who respect parents and culture rules are seen as beauty. People from another country might think that what do wealthy have to do with beauty. However, I am very sad to say that if you are wealthy, you will get to choose the woman you like, and people will also respect you.
Thin and women with curved body shapes, women who have long and thick eyelashes, and women who have thick lips are represented beauty in the U.S media. The way the media convey beauty ideals are so unfair and cruel because they hurt women, make women feel ashamed of their own body, and dissatisfy of their own body. Even though I said beauty is not a look, but the inner, I sometimes jealous of tall girls because of what I have seen in social media.

I remember when I first arrived in the United States, I asked my doctor to give me a vitamin that makes people tall. My doctor knew that I felt unhappy about my height and gave vitamin to make me feel relieved. I always persuade myself to be happy with my height, but sometimes people around us remind me not to satisfy with myself. When I was in High School, my classmate said to me, "you are short but you cute," which made me half happy and half unhappy. During my High School, I was the shortest person in all of my class which made me more unsatisfied about my body.
This week's Ted Talk by Dalali Bright: "Cultural Clashes in Defining Beauty" tells us how societal views about beauty impact one's body image, psychological well-being, social "power." In the Ted Talk, Bright said, "as a thin child, I suffered endless negative remarks from family and friends. I was bullied at school because of my size, and the home was no relieved". I can't imagine how hard it would be to get negative comments from my own family and friends. While Bright was bullied in the community she lived because of her size, many people in other countries, including the U.S wanted to lose weight and change themselves because of social media ideal. "Contemporary media platforms are changing how people internalize beauty ideals, how they try to control how other people see them, and how they get feedback from others about they look" (Mills, Shannon, Houge, 2017, p.151)
Everyone and everything is beautiful in their way. Therefore, I believe beauty is dependent on the eyes of the observer.

References:
Mills, J. S., Shannon, A., & Hogue, J. (2017, October 25). Beauty, Body Image, and the Media. Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/books/perception-of-beauty/beauty-body-image-and-the-media

11 Comments

Lena Angelica Camacho

1/30/2020 11:32:23 am

Hi Honey!
I really appreciated your own personal definition about what you think beauty truly is. Our society definitely has a huge impact on what we consider "beauty" and this affects how women see themselves immensely. Especially younger adolescent girls suffer with their own self esteem and body image the most. I think we should be there more for them emotionally and mentally, to teach them how to feel comfortable in their own skin. And how to find beauty in themselves as a person, other than their looks.

Gellila Solmon

1/30/2020 11:52:12 am

Honey!
Thanks for sharing, many people have different ideas what beauty means to them; there is not just one answer. We shouldn't be ashamed of how our bodies look, we shouldn't look down on others who share the same or different qualities as us. I was also made fun of my height throughout all of middle school and a bit of high school, but now I appreciate the fact that I'm short. I can do certain things which those who are tall can't do; go in and out of big crowds and get into small places, etc. I agree with the saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Honey Cin

2/5/2020 02:33:56 pm

That is so true... we can do certain things which tall people can't. By the way, I can fit into some kid's size clothes, which cost less than adult size. :). Thank you for reminding me to love my body. I will always remember what you said by thinking about the benefit of being short.

Raiye Abunie

1/30/2020 01:53:38 pm

Hello Honey,

I really liked how you broke down the concept of what beauty means to you. I appreciate you sharing your perspective and personal story as to what beauty signifies. Beauty is a concept in my perspective that changes each and every time. One day we may be discussing how beauty is depicted in regards to women as having lean and and slim physical features. To some beauty may be seen as inner beauty as you have mentioned, being seen from the inside which ultimately in my opinion begins with self love. During the TED Talk on Brights thoughts on how society sees "beauty" to be a challenge. There isn't a single case, or a single definition regarding beauty because it's interchanging. We see our generation of young women still trying to "fit in" and identify themselves. In still trying to discover themselves, society yet bombards our youths and children with what beauty "should" look like.

Muhhamed Muhhamed

1/30/2020 10:18:09 pm

Hello Honey.
I agree with you that thin woman are the ideal women in the media and that inner beauty is more important because someone could look beautiful but have a bad personality. Thank you for sharing.

Allie Boyer

1/31/2020 10:39:38 am

Hello Honey,

First off, your comment "the standard of beauty is different every decade" is so true. If we look back in history, we see various forms of beauty, whether that be a hairstyle, clothing, art, or even photos taken. I don't think one can truly define beauty in one definition. Beauty has become one of the largest industries and it is warped into what we see everyday. For example, there is almost always a "beautiful" woman or a man featured in an ad campaign whether that be a food, clothing, or even makeup commercial. It is almost as if our society has shown what qualifies as "beautiful" and what doesn't. It makes me sad because I often times also end up comparing myself to the women in commercials and wonder if I meet that standard, I am probably not alone on this. Beauty is so broad, and I think it is important that we remember there is no solid definition of it, it is in the eye of the beholder. Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading.

Samantha Sinclair

2/1/2020 03:22:35 am

Hi Honey,

I loved reading the story of your culture and perception of beauty. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what country are you from? I google searched Thanaka to learn more and found that it is practices in a few Southeast Asian countries. I have been to that area a few times in the past decade. I spent the majority of my time in Thailand, and I remember seeing women with Thanaka. I also wanted to add to your comment about how the definition of beauty has changed in your country. I stayed in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesian and I found that they idolized the Western culture including beauty. For example, most sunscreen and face products available for purchase there had ingredients that lightened their skin. In addition, I was constantly told that I was “beautiful” because I was tall, blonde and blue eyed. I saw many women try to change their appearance to fit that American look.

Honey Cin

2/4/2020 09:14:24 am

Hi Samantha, thanks for asking. I am from Myanmar. Thanakha is used by not only Burmese(the people of Myanmar), but also by some of the people in Thailand. Thailand and Myanmar culture have many similar cultures.

Wes Nakour

2/1/2020 10:02:17 am

Hello Honey,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on beauty, I agree with your perspective! Beauty starts within, and differs from culture to culture. Western society does indeed have a large impact on what people perceive as beautiful. Also, grade school, middle school and high school also has a major influence on beauty and perceptions of oneself. Todays world is heavily influenced by social media, there is no escaping it, especially in school where everything revolves around social media. Because of this, my family has decided to closely observe our daughters path through education and carefully place them in a safe loving environment rather than having them go to what most public schools have become. The high school I graduated from, Mountlake Terrace High School, many individuals I knew through the 4 years ended up on the news being arrested or wanted for something, which always reminds me that it is the school that influences such behavior among other things.

Stephanie Cruz link

2/2/2020 08:34:26 pm

Hello Honey,

I also believe that inner beauty is what makes someone truly beautiful. I also believe that beauty standards depend on culture as well and today's trends. Society/media has played a huge roll on beauty standards but I still believe that no matter where you are from, how you are raised, and society's expectations, inner beauty is far more important. Kindness, humor, and just a good person at heart makes someone truly beautiful

TJ Kapil

2/23/2020 11:01:43 am

Hi Honey,
I agree with you that beauty standards are very different across cultures throughout the world and have been changing over time. Western views on beauty have made their way to other cultures and caused a change. What ever the media starts promoting that becomes the new trend and people start following it like they have no other choice.

WHAT DOES BEAUTY MEAN TO YOU?

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