Feminine beauty ideal
Handling the pressure to conform to a certain definition of "beautiful" can have psychological effects on an individual, such as depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphia and low self-esteem that can start from an adolescent age and continue into adulthood.
The older generation seems comfortable and proud of their beauty by wearing rings as tourism booms in eastern Myanmar, but younger women and parents of young girls face a choice between observing an ancient cultural tradition, or being able to fit in better if they pursue education or employment outside of their community.
[24] In the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, the feminine beauty ideal created by white male colonists was for women to have a brown skin color with black hair.
[26] The legacy of this interracial beauty ideal continues to be reflected in local literature, as it was written in a popular novel that "a golden colored skin is the greatest gift Allah can bestow upon a woman", in reference to a blonde haired girl who did not inherit her grandmother's complexion.
[30] Starting from Song elites and eventually popularized and ended in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was seen as an idolized representation of women's petite beauty, and the practice was referred to as "三寸金莲", 'three inch golden lotus'.
[32] Hairdressing and apparel were of supreme importance in the Heian period; eyebrows were plucked and replaced with darker, wider ones that were painted higher on the forehead, a practice known as hikimayu.
The use of pale makeup known as oshiroi was common, which emphasized the colour combinations of Heian-period clothing - jūnihitoe for women and suikan for men - which were chosen for their seasonality and symbolism.
Japanese scholar and art critic Okakura Kakuzō stated in his compilations of lectures in 1905, that the considerable bases of beauty for modern Japan is: ...to make a beautiful women, She is to possess a body not much exceeding five feet in height, with comparatively fair skin and proportionally well-developed limbs; a head covered with long, thick, and jet-black hair; an oval face with a straight nose, high and narrow; rather large eyes, with large deep-brown pupils and thick eyelashes, a small mouth, hiding behind its red, but not thin lips, even rows of small white teeth; ears not altogether small; and long thick eyebrows forming two horizontal but slightly curved lines, with a space left between them and the eyes...a very high as well as a very low forehead being considered not attractive.
[39][38] More recently, as Korean women's wealth and social empowerment have improved, they have increasingly sought cosmetic surgery to produce the opposite look: a narrower face and wider eyes.
[44][45] In addition to idol culture, researchers have found that due to South Korea's hypercompetitive society, Korean women have gradually come to believe that they could achieve more from superior beauty even though they may have a limited amount of social resources.
[34] In one study, it was found that Korean women associated beauty with having an easier time searching for jobs, finding spouses and higher income levels.
Young girls will go onto various websites and social media outlets to promote behaviours related to the eating disorder anorexia,[46] such as how to throw away lunch at school without getting in trouble with the staff members and how to not get caught by parents.
[46] On rare occasions where the girls eat proper meals, they feel guilty for indulging, leading them to turn to bulimic tendencies and force themselves to vomit to maintain their thin shape.
[46] They are aware that anorexia is a disorder, but they believe their actions are justified due to their culture which harshly criticizes the perceived beauty of individuals based on their body shape.
[49] In terms of marriage, choices, and life outcomes, fair-skinned women are in a better position than those with darker complexions, since lighter skin is traded for a less expensive dowry.
[79][80] The "Brazilian butt lift" surgery also gained popularity, with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimating that the number of procedures increased by 38 percent between 2017 and 2019.
[103] The Encyclopedia of Gender in the Media states that "the postproduction techniques of airbrushing and computer-generated modifications 'perfect' the beauty myth by removing any remaining blemishes or imperfections visible to the eye.
"[104] Advertisements for products "such as diets, cosmetics, and exercise gear [help] the media construct a dream world of hopes and high standards that incorporates the glorification of slenderness and weight loss.
[114] A study published by Jennifer Mills- a professor at York University in Toronto found that in general, women felt more self conscious after taking a selfie than they did prior.
"[117] By contrast, the antagonist of Brothers Grimm fairy tales is frequently described as old and physically unattractive, relating beauty with youth and goodness, and ugliness with aging and evil.
Other common traits of female Disney characters include thin bodies with impossible bodily proportions, long, flowing hair, and large, round eyes.
[123] Continuously playing with fashion and beauty-centred dolls with such idealistic body proportions can cause psychological effects to an individual and can later stem into the development of eating disorders and other negative mental health outcomes sch as depression and anxiety.
According to Chong-suk Han, this explains why East Asian drag queens typically win trans beauty pageants, because they are thought to pass more easily as female.
[128] Charlie Anders notes that the best-selling transsexual pornographic films depict Asian trans women, and they are highly esteemed and sought after by men identifying as straight.
[133] Ussher's research suggests that the poor health outcomes experienced by many trans women are closely associated with their exposure to sexual violence as well as the social inequities and transphobia to which they are subjected.
[138] Through peer interaction and an environment of continual comparison to those portrayed in the media, women are often made to feel inadequate, and thus their self-esteem can decrease from their negative self-image.
Some of these extreme measures include limiting their food intake, participating in excessive physical activity, or fixating on one's diet to try to achieve what is considered the "ideal beauty standards".
[137] Researchers suggest that this behavior strongly correlates with societal pressure for women to live up to the standards of beauty set by a culture obsessed with being thin.
[149] The heterosexual evolutionary perspective suggests that men, over time and across cultures, prefer youthful features (smooth skin, white eyes, full lips, good muscle tone, leg length, lumbar curvature, facial symmetry, long/full hair, feminine voice) as indications of fertility or healthy genes.
"[151] These theories can help us understand why certain beauty or body trends fluctuate or remain stagnant, but some scholars argue that "unsound theoretical foundations will lead to imprecise predictions which cannot properly be tested, thus ultimately resulting in the premature rejection of an evolutionary explanation to human mate preferences.
