Essay On Western Beauty

Perpetuating Perceptions of Western Beauty

The influence of present day mass media over the perception of beauty is increasing with the expanding industry of facial cosmetic production and the advancement in medical beauty enhancement. However, mass media advertisements appear to be predominantly dictated by "Western beauty" as they promote the desire for fair skin and "Occidental" facial features worldwide. In this paper, I will explore the consequential effects on Asian women as mass media continues to globally perpetuate the communities ' culturally and racially established perceptions of beauty.

Fair skin is a physical trait desired by majority of both genders in Asia. Historically, Asian countries have associated fair skin with higher

Li et al. (2008) extended their studies in India, but state that India is an exception to the skin whitening phenomenon seen in other Asian countries because many of the advertisements do use local female Indian models. Interestingly, though, another literature by Reddy (2006) finds contradicting evidence towards Li et al. 's study. Local Indian models are represented in advertisements published in Femina, one of the most popular beauty magazines in India, but these models share common features stereotypically associated with Caucasian women (Reddy, 68). A magazine cover from the year 2000 printed a photo of Miss India and Miss World (who was Indian), both of whom had full lips, large round eyes, and pale skin. These features are seen among numerous other Indian models, as well. Reddy describes these traits as "stereotypes of Western beauty" (Reddy, 68). This indicates that India is also under the notion that Western beauty is the dominant preference, despite the increased representation of local

Krishen, LaTour, and Allishah (2014) define the gap between one 's ideal skin tone and one 's self perceived skin tone as "skin tone tension". This theory can be extended towards the literatures discussed thus far. The gap between the fair skin an individual desires and her actual skin tone is further exaggerated by the advertisements publicized globally. Mass media fenlarges this skin tone tension gap because it is evoking a specific image women "ought" to have. The general message is that pale is more