Western culture defines beauty through light skin, straight hair, small facial features. This affects the self-esteem of African American women, who are portrayed less positively in media if they have darker skin or kinkier hair. Research shows lighter skin African American women are viewed more positively. The media enforces these stereotypes through reality shows about cosmetic surgery and articles stating black women are less attractive. This standard of beauty causes African American women to alter their natural hair and features through relaxing hair and plastic surgery to match white beauty ideals.

1. Western Culture’s Standard of
Beauty and its Affect on the Self
Esteem of the African American
Female
By Marcia Debose

2. What is Beauty ?
A characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a
perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning , or satisfaction (Wikipedia,
2011).
The qualities that give pleasure to the senses (Websters, 2011).
Beauty is a thing seldom seen (Urban Dictionary, 2011).

3. How is Beauty Measured?
Skin Color
Colorism- the prejudice or discrimination in which human beings are accorded differing social treatment based
on skin color.
Hair
Hair texture has been categorized as good or bad and has evolved to assigning categories ranging from Type 1
to Type 4a-c.
Type 1, straight hair
Type 4, kinky or nappy

4. Beauty Measured cont.
Facial Features
Small nose
High cheek bones
Thinner jaw
Large eyes
Shorter distances between the mouth and chin and nose and mouth

5. Media’s Role in Enforcing this Beauty Standard
Media enforces stereotypes
codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people usually relating to
their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation (Media Awareness Network,
2010).
Psychology Today prints an article written by Social scientist, Satoshi
Kanazawa stating that scientifically black women are less attractive than
women of other races.
The Miss Universe Pageant chooses nation representatives of those contestants
who approximate the Western standards of beauty (Cunningham, 1986).

6. Media cont.
State Farm Insurance runs a commerical portraying a African American male
changing his dark skin girl friend into a lighter skin women because this is
what he “likes more”.
Cosmetic surgery becomes more popular
Doctor 90210
American reality series focusing on plastic surgery in the wealthy suburb of Beverly Hills.
Bridalplasty
American reality TV show where 12 women compete to win a dream wedding and plastic surgery
procedures.

7. How Does the African American female measure up?
Researchers who have investigated this topic have recognized the unfair and
imbalanced focus on the white female as the pinnacle of beauty.
Lighter skin African American women are portrayed more positively than
darker skin African American women.
Kinky hair is “relaxed” to be managed easier
Small eyes and a large nose are associated with the Africa American culture.

8. REFERENCES
Clark, K. & Clark, M. (1940). Skin color as a factor in racial identification of negro pre-school
children. Journal of Social Psychology, 11, 159-169.
Cunningham, M., Roberts, A., Barbee, A., Druen, P. & Wu, C. (1995). Their ideas of beauty are, on the
whole, the same as ours: Consistency and variability in the cross-cultural perception of female
physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(2), 261-279.
Eagly, A.H., Ashmore, R.D, Makhijani, M.G. & Longo, L.C. (1990). What is beautiful is good, but...A
meta-analytic review of research on the physical attraction stereotype. Psychological Bulletin, 110,
109-128.
Hall, C. (1995). Beauty is in the soul of the beholder: Psychological implication of beauty and african
american women. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 1(2), 125-137.
Perrett, D.I., May, K. & Yoskikawa, S. (1994). Facial shape and judgments of female attractiveness.
Nature, 368, 239-242.