What Beauty Means to me

2/2/2020

Image Credit from https://www.allure.com/gallery/best-of-beauty-skin-care-product-winners

What does beauty mean to you? (Then answer 3-4 more of the questions below): What were the dominant beauty "ideals" in the community where you are from or grew up? What is represented in the U.S. media, or from your birth place, to represent "beauty"?

Beauty to me means loving and accepting of myself and others. In the context of our appearance, natural beauty is what I call beauty however, some people feel the need to put on makeup or alter themselves in order to look beautiful. That is also beauty, but that doesn’t resonate with me as much. I don’t feel the need to do those and I feel like people shouldn’t either because that is what everyone is born and gifted with. I grew up not caring much about my appearance however, as I get older I feel very self-conscious about my appearance right now. The dominant beauty ideals from where I grew up was that you had to have blemish free skin much like a clear glass skin, small pointy nose, a v line face shape with a tall and skinny body. What also makes women attractive was the fact that you needed to have obvious breasts, curvy hips and small calves and thighs. And one last touch is wearing colored contacts that make the appearance of the eyes look bigger, looking like a real life doll. Having muscles don’t make an individual attractive and so many Taiwanese women would massage their legs after a walk to make them slim. Based on my experience of having been back to Taiwan so often, I would see so many gaming ads with women or virtual characters in it. Many would be seen with very revealing and scandalous outfits that are skin tight and their cleavage will show. They have a small v line face with big doll eyes. Essentially, when you see so many of these gaming ads and posters that are plastered everywhere, everyone looks very similar if not the same. Everyone wants to be like that, be beautiful like the women on ads so they can be recognized.

Did dominant ideals of beauty in your country and/or community influence the way you felt about your own body and appearance? Explain.

How are beauty standards different for men vs. womxn in the U.S. and/or another country you wish to discuss?

The dominant ideals of beauty have influenced the way I felt about my own body and appearance because essentially they are now the standard that I feel like I need to live up to. Being in a long distance relationship with someone who lives in Taiwan is a bit of a struggle. Although there are some slight similarities of ideals of beauty between America and Taiwan, I feel the need to look a certain way in order to look good to impress my significant other. I am torn between which ideals I should look like but more importantly; I have become more self-conscious of my beauty image. This wasn’t a problem for me growing up, but as I go back to my own country, I sometimes feel a bit manly. There are many women on the street that look thin and attractive. I am thin too, but I have lean muscles and not enough fat. And so, many of the times, I feel muscular compared to many women and it makes me feel not so attractive. I also have problematic skin and it becomes worse when I go back. I feel the need to cover my face because it is not small and pointy like many others and I have acne issues that I know would immediately attract people’s eyes. Having to compare myself to the ideal beauty and what I see on the streets of Taiwan, it makes me not want to go out because I don’t have the confidence anymore. There would always be a clash in my mind, do I want to be thinner like those girls on the street or should I put on some healthy weight that is praised in the American beauty standard. Like Dalali Bright from the TedTalk, I had multiple cultural clashes in defining beauty in my mind.

There is an obvious difference in the beauty standards for men and women in Taiwan. Much from what I physically see, observed, told by friends and have watched from talk show clips online, men in Taiwan need to be built. A lot of women said that their ideal men should be tall and built. They want a masculine significant other that can take the lead and give them a sense of security. On the other hand, men want women who are shorter than them, skinny and very feminine. A lot of Taiwanese men like women who are innocent, don’t know much and are very oblivious and so this would give men a sense of masculinity and responsibility leading them to believe and have a possessive feeling that “this woman is mine”. Both genders have very countering standards which I believe is very common across other countries and cultures. However, the intensity of the beauty standards in Taiwan differs from the beauty standards in U.S. primarily because they like their woman to be petite.

By: Liya Chang

13 Comments

Stephanie Cruz link

2/2/2020 08:43:10 pm

Hello Liya,

I can relate to what you said about how growing up you have cared about your appearance more because this is a similar experience I face everyday. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the old days where I didn't even think about my looks or wonder if anyone was staring at the blemish on my face. Something that has helped me is realizing that we all have insecurities and more then half of the time people probably don't even see the "negative" things we see about ourselves because it truly doesn't matter. I have learned and still trying to learn and accept my flaws and work with my insecurities and Its so important to talk about things because I guarantee the person next to us might be thinking the same thing.

Muhhamed Muhhamed

2/8/2020 09:38:24 am

Hello Liya,

I agree with you that about the differences in what men are looking for and what women are looking for. I can relate to that because it is the same for my native country, men are looking for the ideal woman while women are looking for the ideal man but at the end of the day beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thank you for sharing.

Kathy Luangrath

2/2/2020 10:45:57 pm

Hi Liya, I really enjoyed reading your perspectives on these prompts. I really like how your perception of beauty includes loving and accepting both you and others. For me, beauty does not necessarily include physical attributes, but one's internal being. Further, I really like how you brought in your experiences in visiting Taiwan and their perceptions of beauty. I think it is so fascinating to see how beauty standards are perceived all throughout the world. One thing that I did find interesting within your first prompt is how gaming ads contribute to the beauty standard discourse within Taiwan. I had never considered gaming ads as media that can alter one's perceptions of beauty!

Overall, I think society has programmed populations to dramatically to the point where many individuals are constantly belittling themselves. I really hope in the future that society, culture, and so on become more accepting on the ideals of beauty.

Dezha S.

2/2/2020 11:43:20 pm

Liya,

“They are now the standard that I feel like you need to live up to” wow! I really like this because for a very long time I struggled with self-love and lived in comparison of others for a while and even though I still have my doubts at times I am much stronger than I was before and I see myself as beautiful and as “enough” for who I am. Thank you for being so open and honest about your feelings and with the beauty standards in the U.S. compared to Taiwan because this is not always easy for everyone I wasn’t always “comfortable” with expressing these kind of feelings (out loud at least) until after I graduated high school. I like how you were able to on multiple occasions compare “standards” built from society to reality, or what you think things should be like! All in all, you have to find things that make YOU beautiful and what separates you from the rest because there could only be one you. This goes with having self-confidence and developing that self-love for yourself not for others, not to match standards, not for your boyfriend but more importantly for yourself (not saying you are living for others) but it is always nice to have a self-reminder especially because I know how hard it could be with long distance relationships from experience and coming across all of the different standards online or even in person. Thank you for sharing such a detailed and interesting post you do a great job with comparing to real life examples and drawing connections back to Taiwan it is often cool to have knowledge of and compare two different places because you get better results that way and it allows room for further discussion.

Selena Sorn

2/3/2020 06:38:13 pm

Hi Liya,

Thank you for sharing the beauty standards of Taiwan, very interesting to compare with the U.S. I could relate to the point you made on being self conscious about beauty image. I have blemishes and would always worry that it is the first thing someone sees when they look at me. What makes it worse is that family members would constantly say that I'm ugly and that I'm not taking care of my skin "good enough" which is why I don't have clear skin. Being told these things have made me insecure about beauty. Someone's appearance shouldn't determine how beautiful someone is or affect how they are treated. I feel that beauty is about self love and confidence.

Aliyah Sop

2/4/2020 02:21:53 pm

Hi Liya,
Thank you for sharing your story. I really enjoyed reading your perspectives on your ideals of beauty, the ideals of beauty surrounding you, and how others ideals of beauty have impacted the way you see yourself. Like a lot of the people in our class, the media and societies ideals of beauty are often a far stretch from what we are seeing ourselves in the mirror. I think this course does such a great job at validating that it is okay for us to love ourselves no matter how we look/feel. Thank you again!

Savannah Compton

2/6/2020 10:36:33 pm

Hi Liya,
I liked reading how your felt beauty standards are in your county and how it made you feel. I feel that media, ads, TV, magazines and more create such an expectation of beauty standards that people need to look like. I try so hard not to compare myself to the women that are gorgeous and thin but i always do it automatically without even noticing it. Wanting to look skinny especially after having a baby. You see all the women that look skinny after giving birth. It is sad that we are surrounded by all the media and expected to look a certain way by society. It truly causes women to think badly of them self and become more depressed. I like how you stated how guys want women to be like. It's interesting learning about the different beauty standards of different countries. Great job!

Erica Nguyen

2/6/2020 11:14:24 pm

Hey Liya,
Thank you for sharing your own personal experiences with beauty because I know how hard it is for some people to do that. I can definitely relate to feeling on the fence about what beauty ideals I should believe and/or conform in. I can also relate to how you view yourself as I always feel incredibly out of place whenever I visit anywhere in Asia. I believe their ideals are a complete 180 from the ideals that we have in America and I can understand why you have a hard time choosing one ideal over another. I would also like the emphasize how this can take such an emotional toll on someone. The way I like to view beauty is not necessarily outward appearance but I tend to look at the mind and soul and I'm sure you have a great one. Thanks for being vulnerable with your post!

Marisol Bejarano

2/9/2020 08:34:09 pm

Hi Liya,
I understand how you feel when you say that you feel much more self conscious about you appearance than when you were younger. growing up I was always thin, but once I started getting older I began gaining some weight as I went through puberty. Then when relatives or other family friends would see me after some time they would always make comments about how I had gained weight. That began making me feel very insecure because I couldn't help growing up. I know sometimes people make comments like that and don't realize that they are creating an insecurity in someone that will never go away, that is why it is important to be careful with what you say.

Jaya Cross

2/12/2020 09:42:37 pm

Hi Liya,

I liked your views on the meaning of beauty. I admire the fact that you are in a long distance relationship. I can imagine how it can be challenging balancing the different beauty standards of Taiwan and America. Especially as a young girl, the cultural standards impact how you perceive yourself and others, because there are comparisons. Personally it is the hardest to love and accept myself, because I am my own worst critic. I know each and everyone of my flaws, but it has been a daily effort in trying to embrace them.

Raiye Abunie

3/7/2020 08:53:16 pm

Hello Liya,

I loved how you defined beauty. I consider beauty to begin from within. To love your inner self and to accept who you are. Of course as we were kids we inhabited what "beauty" stands for through social media or what our friends talk about on a day to day basis. However, if we at home were taught as children and reminded every day that beauty isn't something that we look for but rather what each and every person is. I believe this stigma or the ideal of "true beauty" will never cease to exist. We are all beautiful, we as a society just need to embrace that aspect.

Dolma

3/11/2020 07:18:06 am

Hi Liya,

I can truly relate to the ideal standard beauty of your culture as well. The heavily and strict images of female beauty have to weigh upon me as well. There is a difference in the definition of beauty in the US and Taiwan and it is hard to balance that so in that case... accepting yourself and loving yourself is the way to go. Thanks for sharing!

Joo Kang

3/15/2020 12:40:43 am

Hello!
Beauty standard is always weird thing to hear or follow depends on different cultures. I also came from culture where you have to be THIN in order to be considered "beauty" where I was chubby girl and people didn't hold back to tell me that I am. I really like how you explain beauty is not only about makeup you put on or clothes you wear but "feel" beautiful. I really like how we should feel beautiful not only as a look.
Thank you for sharing!

What Beauty Means to me

Leave a Reply.