Cultural Differences in Perception of Beauty

While there are many similarities to discuss in the perception of beauty across cultures, there seem to be more differences. To begin comparing western and Indian cultures, we can start with the location. King (2005) states, "what is normal, is defined by the community in which we live." People, especially Americans, tend to exhibit ethnocentrism, or the viewing of one's own culture's behaviors and beliefs as correct. In western societies, being thin is perceived as beautiful. The media is persistent in portraying skinny celebrities and fashion models, but as soon as a typically thin celebrity gains a noticeable amount of weight, she is automatically thought to be pregnant, lazy, or sick. Westerners believe that the more one weighs, the less socioeconomic status they posses, and the less healthy they are (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). There is a great deal of pressure in western societies to be thin. This however, is untrue in Indian cultures. Indians often see thinness as unhealthy and unattractive. To Indians, thinness is associated with illness and sometimes death. Instead, they prefer curves. Young and adolescent girls are often fed high-calorie diets to gain weight in order to become more attractive in parts of India (King, 2005).

Westerners often perceive beauty and attractiveness through a limited amount of clothes. Advertisements illustrate this through the sight of bare tanned legs, a bare stomach, etc. Westerners seem to be attracted to bare skin and the body, instead of the look of clothes. On the other hand, Indians generally prefer to be covered up. They wear long sheaths called Saris of brightly colored materials. The bright colors, patterns, and the type of fabric are what they perceive to be beautiful. This also indicates wealth (Jones, 2004).

According to the Oprah Winfrey special on Beauty Secrets from Around the World, Indian women are experts at many homemade remedies to make their skin and hair more attractive. Turmeric is a popular herb used in India that is known to enhance the skin (Winfrey, 2008).

A custom in India is for married women to wear a bindi on their forehead when they get married. These days, a bindi may be worn for decorative purposes, as well. It is also likely for Indian women to have facial piercings, usually on the nose. However, in America, it is usually frowned upon for people to have piercings or any type of body art. In addition, it is typically difficult for one with visible piercings or tattoos to be hired for a job, although it is slowly "working their way through suburbia" (Balderrama, 2009).

Time also affects how cultures perceive beauty. Only a few centuries ago, in western societies, women weighed more and were considered beautiful. Consider the painting, "Venus of Urbino," done in 1538 by Titian. This painting depicts a nude, plump woman who was considered beautiful in her day. Now, if one has the slightest bit of unwanted skin, he or she may go to great lengths to remove this, either by not eating, or by going through a cosmetic procedure to fix this. It is estimated that one in four women have had a type of eating disorder in America, whether it is minute or extreme. In 2004, over 11.9 million cosmetic procedures were performed (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, as cited by Kenrick et al., 2007). This is most likely due to the media portraying thin celebrities who may be role models. To Indians, time has transitioned the purpose of the bindi. The bindi used to be only for traditional purposes, but now it may be worn for decoration. Many styles and colors of the bindi exist today for Indians of all ages.

Even though cultures differ, they may also influence each other. For example, the Indian culture has practiced a cultural dance called Bharatanatyam for centuries. Each individual movement in this dance has a meaning that is beautiful to those who understand it. Indians have introduced the western society to this dance. We know it as Bollywood. It is growing more popular as it is seen in movies, such as Slumdog Millionaire, and on popular television shows, such as So You Think You Can Dance. People from non-Indian cultures are able to learn and perform it while wearing the proper apparel.

Westerners also influence Indians in many ways. One example of this is that Indians strive to have lighter skin, similar to that of westerners. They associate light skin with status and class. White skin symbolizes beauty and purity (Arif, cited as Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, & Bahl, 2008). Li et al (2008) performed a study to analyze skin whitening and lightening product advertisements in India. Evidence found indicates that the Indian models in these advertisements tended to have lighter skin and features than the rest of their culture. This implies that the models in the advertisements are whom other people of their culture attempt to resemble in terms of skin color.

These cultural differences are just a few of the many that exist today between western and Indian societies. It is safe to say that due to they way people from different areas perceive beauty, the perception is culturally learned (King, 2005).

References:

Balderrama, Anthony (2009). Piercings, Tattoos, and Mohawks at Work. MSN Career Builder. Retrieved from: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2065-Workplace-Issues-Piercings-Tattoos-and-Mohawks-at-Work/

Jones, Dorothy (2004). The eloquent sari. The Journal of Cloth and Culture, 2(1) 52-63. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxytu.researchport.umd.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=8&hid=101&sid=2dfd0678-5bd0-4570-93a4-e34a3833e52d%40sessionmgr112

Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., & Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Social Psychology: Goals in Interaction (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

King, Bruce M. (2005). Human Sexuality Today (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Li, Eric P. H., Min, Hyun Jeong, Belk, Russell W., Kimura, Junko, & Bahl, Shalini (2008) Skin lightening and beauty in four asian cultures. Advances in Consumer Research, 35. Retrieved from:http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v35/naacr_vol35_273.pdf

Winfrey, Oprah (2008). Beauty Secrets From Around the World. Retrieved from: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081024_tows_beauty/8