How Do You Define Beauty?

We develop our own standards of beauty by taking cues from our families, peer groups, society, and the media. The definition of what is considered beautiful varies from country to country. In America, we define beautiful as a pretty face, with bright blue eyes, and a nice thin figure.  Unique perceptions and different cultures and traditions tend to appreciate different aspects of what makes a female beautiful. For my semester project I wanted to focus on the the differences of what others consider to be beautiful, but I wanted to do a little spin on it. I decided to focus on different countries, and what characteristics they considered to be beautiful on their women. Of course every individual has their own opinions on what is beautiful for them, but I tried to focus on the conventional standards from each country. My finished project is a blog called, What Is Your Definition Of Beauty? 

I also did not just want to post the information I found on the traditional beauty ideals from each country on the blog, so I posted on the blog as if I was ten different young woman who just happened to stumble on this blog from various countries. I focused on 10 countries, including the U.S, Columbia, France, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines, Ukraine, Brazil, Bengal, and Japan. I also found popular names from each country to make the posts appear more realistic. These posts include their names, the country they are from, the characteristics that are seen as beautiful, and a picture of a popular actress from that country. I also included some videos related to the actresses that were posted. 

For the U.S. post, I decided to post as myself and how I and many other girls feel about the constant pressure to be beautiful. I posted on the blog to let the girls from the different countries and from my own country know that not only are the celebrities they posted are beautiful, but that they are too! I have seen a few Dove commercials from their Real Beauty Campaign and I posted a link to one of their experiments because I think what their doing for young and older women is amazing. They have been producing, films, commercials, and studies that in the end prove one thing, that every woman is beautiful no matter how different you look from the person next to you.

I also found interest in three artists: Elinor Carucci, Aleah Chapin, and Susannah Martin, who are 21st century artists who are breaking free from the male fantasy. Elinor Carucci, an Israeli-American photographer, focuses on intimate and private moments in her life that are different from the popular, celebrity version, such as menstrual blood and the post-pregnancy body. Aleah Chapin strays away from art of lean youths, and focuses on a topic not seen a lot in art, the beauty of elderly female bodies. A berlin based artist Susannah Martin, tackles issues of how female bodies are represented in art, by producing female nudes from a female point of view. 

Here is a link to my blog!

http://howdoyoudefinebeauty.blogspot.com


Works Cited:

"The 8 Standards Of Japanese Beauty." The Japan Guy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

"Beauty in Ukraine." Roman in Ukraine RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

"The Fat Of The Land: Western Standards Of Beauty Clash With West African Notions." International Business Times. N.p., 09 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

"Dove Choose Beautiful | Women All over the World Make a Choice." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

"So Why Are They so Awesomely Beautiful?" So Why Are They so Awesomely Beautiful? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

"The 'white Skin' Standard in Filipina Beauty." GMA News Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

"This Beautiful World: Standards of Beauty Around the World." Her Campus. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

"The Disturbing Effect Our Beauty Standards Have on Women Across the World." Mic. N.p., 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

Tornambe, M.D. Robert. "What Is Beauty? A Plastic Surgeon's Perspective." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

"Aleah Chapin's 'Aunties Project' Reprograms Perceptions Of Real Women - 4 Body Image | Health News - Women's Fashion & Lifestyle News From Anne of Carversville." Aleah Chapin's 'Aunties Project' Reprograms Perceptions Of Real Women - 4 Body Image | Health News - Women's Fashion & Lifestyle News From Anne of Carversville. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.