The Perception of Beauty Across Culture

The Perception of Beauty Across Culture
The article draws attention to the problem woman perception with theirs appearance, not
being convidence with their shapes, skin, . In particular, the author refers to the issues of
woman around the world that different culture brings the different perception of the beauty.
The article is rather expository than analytical or descriptive, and mostly uses data from
author's own experiences, which shows the author campaign passes the experiences about
beauty perception in all country around the world. First, she went to Singapore. Second, she
went to Africa. Third then she went to South America.
The article, however, seem to have any significant background, which could be, the
example, the author's own experiences, which is started when she was kid, she had a
beautiful face but when she started to grow up, she became ugly and fat. And made his
friends always annoyed her. It makes her traveling around the world, learn about beauty
perception in another country. Particularly, the author appeals to some picture and papers to
streghten her data.
That is the picture from the author, shows that beauty parameter in venezuala, it's surprising
to see the larger than life sized mannequins in this country.
the perception of beauty across cultures | a TEDx talk
BY BOI POSTED ON JANUARY 14, 2019
Event: TEDxNainiWomen
Theme: Womanhood – from Emotion to Transformation
Topic: The Perception of Beauty across Cultures
When I was 3, I used to drag the heavy chair from the dining room of our house with much
effort, to place it in front of the sink. The mirror above the sink was too high for me to reach.
So I climbed on this chair, switched on the light and stared at myself in the mirror for hours. I
thought I was the most beautiful creature in the whole universe and that there was nothing,
no one more magnificent than I was…
beauty perception
But as I grew up that sense of my self shattered. With puberty, I grew ugly, a face full of pimples,
short and fat. And people all around me pointed out my own ugliness to me; oh you can find
those bullies everywhere! For many years unto adulthood, I believed I was ugly, hence
unlovable. In the end, our minds equate everything to love. As if life was an attest to
the fact, I always ended up hanging out with friends who were prettier than me, taller than
me, thinner than me and all the boys’ attention were on them. I too yearned to be beautiful
like them. If only I were an inch taller, if only I were an inch thinner, if only my face were not
so round, if only I were a shade fairer, if only…
10391486_301357495611_3362081_nI was one of those girls who wanted to be perceived as

beautiful by society, but I believed I was not beautiful by any societal standards. So I focused
on academics and excelled. At a very young age, still in my teens, I won a full scholarship to
study abroad and left India. Since then I have not just traveled but lived in different continents
across the world on various student exchange programs for several years to perceive life
through my own eyes. I was quite surprised with what I encountered.
girl-1741920_1920When I was in Singapore, the small, petite women with their Chinese
features, demure nature and fair complexion were considered ‘beauty’ in that society.
Whereas when I lived in Africa, the big African women with their voluptuous figures &
features were considered beautiful. In fact, the fatter a woman is the more beautiful she is,
as her fat contributes to her curves! When I ate the African food consisting of yam, cassava,
plantain, garri, yucca, basically a lot of starch, I had put on quite a bit of tummy, but the men
there told me it was another curve in my body hence beautiful. Women there are celebrated
for their rounded assets, no matter what shape or size they come in. While some cultures
worship voluptuous curvaceous women, others like straight, thin, athletic figures. By whose
standards would you go by?
0f55969da20cd1e7521d1b54849dd6fd9665b58a6d7a7041346b4f9fdd2d93ba--fat-art-
beaux -arts2dd0500a4217462-639249858b0670227d438463ae0d546d56c9585--plus-size-
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Paintings of African women by Augustin Kassi
The African sun had scorched my skin quite a bit and I had become very dark there. Upon
my return to India, I was attending Diwali in a beautiful saree when one man, of about my
dad’s age, came up to me and said, “you look good but if only you had your dad’s fair color,
you’d look much more beautiful.” I never forgot that ungracious comment from the man!
Educated, civilized, cultured, respectable people in society who you expect to have broad
mindsets speak like this! Young and naïve that I was then, I gulped it down and did not have
the courage to retaliate. But today I do, hence I am here sharing this story with you.
So back to my story… when I was in Europe and the Americas, everybody loved my wheatish
complexion. In fact the darker I got, the more beautiful I felt. Although Latin women are
considered very beautiful, I was especially exotic there for my darker skin tone, hence beautiful
according to both men and women. Then when I was in South America, I got the shock of my
life! As a kid, I used to watch beauty pageants, Miss Universe contests and had the impression
that South American women were very beautiful. Venezuela is the country where women are
touted to be among the most beautiful worldwide. But what did I find in that country? In fact, I
would have never known this had I not been shown… in their culture, a woman’s beauty is so
blown up that every second girl, at as young as 15, 16, 17… years of age go under the knife, get
silicone implants to augment their assets, liposuction to lose
flab, cosmetic surgery to correct features and so on. In fact, there is a tradition that when a
girl turns fifteen, called ‘quinceañera’ in Spanish, her parents are supposed to give her a big
gift and most times that is a boob job! At the age of 15!! Can you imagine?
Sometimes when I went clothes shopping, I was surprised to see these larger-than-life
sized mannequins, with exaggerated assets that were set as the beauty parameters for
women in that society. Just google “Mannequins in Venezuela” and see what you get. Here
is a screenshot of the first few images that popped up on google search. It seems as if
footballs are glued to the chest of every mannequin in this country.
mannequins in venezuela
And here are some news extracts about plastic surgery in Venezuela on New York Post,
BBC News and The Guardian newspapers.
New York Post: “It’s a culture of ‘I want to be more beautiful than you.’ That’s why even
people who live in the slums get implants,” surgeon Daniel Slobodianik said, “…I’m not
saying they’re not safe, but I’ve removed more than a few ruptured Chinese implants. I
just don’t feel comfortable with them.” 15 Sep 2014
BBC News: In Venezuela – as in much of Latin America – there is little, if any, stigma to
having plastic surgery. What could be seen as vanity in some societies, is admired as good
personal presentation in Venezuela. Weekends are for spending at the beach and showing
off your physical attributes, be they natural or man-made. The plastic surgery sector has built
on this cultural cornerstone to become big business. 15 Jan 2012
The Guardian: Fuelled by an oil-rich culture of consumerism and instant gratification,

cosmetic surgey has become routine for wealthier Venezuelans and commonplace even
among poorer women who spend cash they can’t really afford on breast implants,
tummy tucks, nose jobs and buttock lifts. 12 Nov 2013
That's paper shows motivation to be beautiful in venezuela, womans there will do everything
to be beautiful even though by plastics surgery and boob job for bigger breast.
For the end of his text, the author explains that just tobe yourself, choose your own beauty
perception based on you. Because the beauty perception, it's just a system created by the
sociaty, thats will not impact to you.Because this is the story you are going to live out during
your time here on earth, and the history of the world will be impacted because of it.

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The Perception of Beauty Across Culture

10391486_301357495611_3362081_nI was one of those girls who wanted to be perceived as

The Guardian: Fuelled by an oil-rich culture of consumerism and instant gratification,

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