Determining the real definition of beauty is difficult. Not only is it an individuals opinion whether they believe someone to be beautiful; but beauty is also defined by your cultural norms, values and beliefs.
American, African and Middle Eastern are just three parts of the world which I am going to compare; the opinions of what constitutes as a beautiful woman in each of these areas are vastly varied. I will be using the report by Lauren M Jacobson 'Women's studies: What defines beauty?' to support my text.
Firstly, I will discuss the American view on womanly beauty. It seems as though being physically beautiful plays an extremely important role in the eyes of Americans. Women spend so much time, money and effort trying to continually improve themselves and enhance their beauty.
So what is it that these women are trying to achieve? The overall opinion, is that woman should be sexual, charming and alluring. It has also been said that if a person's face is perfectly symmetrical then they are considered exceptionally beautiful; in turn, this suggests that only a small percentage of the population must be beautiful, as a symmetrical face is an uncommon trait to have.
They base their looks upon the media's portrayal of beauty. Models in magazines and advertisements: young, slim, tanned, blemish free, long blonde hair and a symmetrical face, are just some of the contributing factors to the ideal image of beauty. In Jacobson's report she states "It seems like who we are depends on how beautiful we are." However, so many dangers derive from women's obsessions to fit this image: eating disorders, plastic surgery gone wrong and tan injections; known as the 'Barbie drug', dying the users skin and making them vomit after the drug has been injected into the skin.
Although the beauty culture perceives a tanned look to be beautiful; women of black origins have found it difficult to succeed in the American beauty industry. Their natural, broader facial features; such as, lips and noses and more curvaceous bodies don't correspond to the American ideal of 'beauty'. The slim bodies and slim facial features of 'beautiful' white women is more commonly the American idea of beauty.
Despite American women putting in some much of their time, dedication and money into becoming the 'perfect women'. Jacobson's report quotes "What American's see as beautiful would not pass in Africa. Here, you have to be real thin, and in Africa, they would not get a second look. Women like that look sickly." Instantly, it is obvious that the African perception of beauty is an entirely different concept to that of American beauty.
In Africa, the more curvaceous a women's body, the more beautiful they are considered to be. This is probably because of the naturally bigger shapes of the African women: hour glass figures, with larger hips, breasts and bottoms. According to Jacobson's report; in certain parts of Africa, brides are sent to 'fattening farms' before their marriage and fed enormous amounts of food and then paraded around the village on their wedding day. Fatness is also a sign of wealth; which makes a woman more attractive.
Furthermore, Middle Eastern ideals are different still. Although both American and African body shapes are at different ends of the spectrum, size wise, they both focus on body shapes; in Middle Eastern cultures, a woman's body shape is hidden under loose, dark clothing, such as a: burqua, chador and hijab.
In Jacobson's study, "Women are expected to be silent, immobile and obedient.... and not show her beauty to anyone except her husband." The religious, political and social values of the Middle Eastern cultures show that beauty is on the inside and a spiritual beauty is better than a physical beauty.
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