Western Beauty Pressures and The Impact on Young  Women

Western Beauty Pressures and The Impact on Young Women

As someone who works in the beauty and skincare industry - I find that it is necessary for me to want to see in the advertising a more diverse set of images.

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The global beauty market, is where Western beauty ads play a significant role in shaping women?s and girls? relationships to their bodies by promoting an unattainable beauty that does not leave room for cultural and individual differences. Globally, Western beauty “ideals” pressure women and girls to conform to a fair-skinned, youthful, thin, toned, able-bodied and physically “good looking” woman.

Pressure on women and girls to strive for the Western beauty “ideal” is replacing the great diversity of human bodies and beauty (Rossini, 2015). Through imagery in advertising and in popular culture, women and girls receive the message that their value largely depends on their physical appearance.

Advertisers have Extraordinary Power's

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Since advertisers have extraordinary power in determining the content of the media, women are conditioned from a very young age to believe that they can buy their way into achieving the Western beauty “ideal”. Kilbourne (2010) argues that pressure on women and girls to conform to the Western beauty “ideal” has become worse over the years and that the criteria for meeting such standards has become more demanding.

The unrelenting pressure on women and girls to meet Western beauty standards is shaped by inequality across gender, race, class, sexuality, gender identity and ability, making it a crucial social justice issue. I am aware and I am pushing towards seeing a change in this.

Diverse Beauty

While the West has recently embraced diverse beauty - Rihanna, take a bow - There is no doubt the global beauty industry now looks more diverse than ever. Thanks to Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and its 50-foundation standard, more dark-skinned women can finally buy a shade that matches their complexion.

Women in Southeast Asia still are craving Kim Kardashian Wests doll-like features and highlights. This "homogenisation of beauty, pushed by multinational, amounts to a new kind of colonialism" academics say. Some local companies have started to push back

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Western Centric Ideal of Beauty

Despite the heralding of a new dawn of diverse beauty in the West, a Western-centric ideal of beauty still dominates in Southeast Asia.

Drawn to this emerging markets trillions of dollars in spending power, multinational beauty brands press on it products, techniques and advertising that remain more one-size-fits-all than inclusive. This is far from the truth and Advertising and Brands need to realize that women need to see themselves reflected in these images.

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With the rise of K-beauty is elevating East Asian models, earning them a spot beyond tokenism in major campaigns.

In fashion, the catwalks for the autumn 2019 shows were more than twice as diverse as in 2015.

But when it comes to Southeast Asians, representation is still lacking. “Overall in beauty, Southeast Asian faces are not represented as well as the Koreans, Japanese or Caucasians,” Sharon Kwek, an analyst with Mintel Singapore, tells the Post.

It is really my hope

That these Multinational beauty giants start to buck the trend and become more inclusive and start to rethinking how their product ranges can be inclusive too. 

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Maybe one day we will get there, but for now, let’s just start by letting go of the things we cannot control. This goes beyond ceasing to force our bodies into shapes and styles that don’t work. It means actively choosing to accept that what we look like is not who we are at all.

Source 1- Why Western beauty ideals and ‘Instagram face’ rule in Southeast Asia, and women hide their ‘Asian noses’

Source 2 - Western Beauty Pressures and Their Impact on Young University Women

Source 3 - Western beauty ideals are missing the point




Dr. Yogesh Chander Sood

Promoting the Cause of Education

5 年

Beauty of life lies in its variety and versatility !

David P.

PhenonmenLOLogist NOT an expert. Try to be funny but know I can't know if am. Don't fear attenuated negative feedback.

5 年

The smile seems familiar. Is that you on the left Jo?

Katarina Hayston

"You can't wait for life to be good to be happy"

5 年

Thank you for the article. It is time that advertising starts celebrating how different we all are. Yes, I know. That's not the clientele they are aiming for. But I can dream

Michael Free McGlothlin

?? Code Jesus - I wash away your code sins so you can live in code paradise! ??Maker ??????Software Engineer ??Software Architect ??Legacy System Modernization Consulting ??E-Commerce Consulting ??LION #ONO

5 年

I like the green. Has a weird zombie vibe.

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