3. THE AGE-OLD BEAUTY INDUSTRY
Although answers vary, certainly the perception
of beauty is as old as humanity itself since
attractiveness is an imperative for mating and
reproduction
The use of beauty aides (makeup), for example,
has been around for millennia
But is now an established and global industry
whose sales currently total over 330 billion
dollars
4. THE ROLE OF
INDUSTRIALIZATION &
GLOBALIZATION
From a global perspective, beauty is also
tied to industrialization, globalization,
and a biased image of Western beauty (i.e.
white) as ideal
In fact, beauty aides were mostly
available only to the economic elite, until
19th century industrialization allowed
affordable products to be made in factories
that then created brands
Exs: Ponds, L’Oreal
These brands became global during the
simultaneous imperialism of the U.S. and
Europe of most of the rest of the world
5. HOMOGENIZED IMAGE OF BEAUTY
This created an increasingly homogenized
view of what it meant to be beautiful
Paris became known as the capital of
fashion, reflecting its reputation for
luxury
With this came a white image of beauty
that infiltrated through a large part of the
world
6. CONSEQUENCES OF A NEW
HOMOGENIZED IMAGE
In the U.S. products catered exclusively to
white skin tones and hair textures, so
entrepeneuring African American women
created their own brands and products
which forged the hair-straightening
industry
In Japan, the modernizing Meiji
government (though it wanted to avoid
Western Imperialism) banned traditional
practices such as tooth blackening,
eyebrow shaving, and male use of
cosmetics
With the advent of film and Hollywood in
the early 20th century this trend only
solidified
7. INFLUENCE OF LOCAL
CULTURE & TRADITIONS
Local cultural and societal traditions did not
disappear and companies did adjust to the
market
For ex: In the 1930s Lancome launched five
fragrances that were meant to appeal to women
from different ethnicities
Colgate-Palmolive changed their marketing
strategies by hiring local celebrities rather than
Hollywood actresses
Even within Europe differences were seen
One study in the 1960s found that women in
France and Italy wore much less make up than
Germany or England
8. GLOBALIZATION PARADOX
After the decolonization of the world in
the late 20th century, a resurgence in local
ideals began
However, this also coincided with the
opening of markets that had closed during
Communist Russia (as well as China),
which meant a renewal in the decimation
of a western, Hollywood-based ideal of
beauty
Thus, the aftermath of this globalized
view of beauty can still be felt.
9. GLOBAL BEAUTY TRENDS INTRO
Clearly, beauty is a human obsession, one
that spans cultures and centuries.
From Iran, where the perfect nose is
considered the ideal form, to parts of West
Africa, where fat is fabulous, one country's
beauty can be another's ugly, or at least
bizarre.
Americans may obsess over the skinny,
plastic ideal, but we aren't always the
norm but look out for the effects of 19th
century globalization and homogenization.
10. IRAN
Both Iranian men and
women embrace
rhinoplasty as a display
of status and beauty.
Iran is now known as the
nose-job capital of the
world.
More than 30,000
Tehranians received
rhinoplasties in 2006
alone.
11. SOUTHEAST ASIA
Pale is the ideal and is
associated with
wealth, beauty, and
social class.
Over the past decade
the white skin often
seen in American
beauty magazines has
One market research survey
been aggressively estimates that 4 in every 10
marketed. women in Hong Kong,
In Thailand, for Malaysia, the Philippines,
example, it's hard to South Korea, and Taiwan use
find skin cosmetics a whitening cream.
that don't contain a
whitening agent.
12. AMERICA’S EVER-YOUNGER
BEAUTY AFICIONADOS
American young girls are
bombarded with a
Hollywood image that
embraces a combination
of Botox, implants, diet
and hair extensions-
43% of American 6 to 9
year olds are already
using lipstick/lip gloss
38% use hairstyling
products
12% use other products
13. WESTERN AFRICA
In parts of western
Africa still beholden to
traditional beauty ideals,
women are considered
most attractive when
they're overweight and
sporting stretch marks.
In Mauritania, many
parents send their
daughters, who are often
married at a young age,
to camps where they are
fed up to 16,000 calories
a day.
14. AFRICA & AMAZON – LIP PLATES
The tradition can be traced
to ancient cultures in Iran,
Sudan, and MesoAmerica.
Today, the custom is
maintained by a few groups
in Africa and Amazonia.
Significance of the size of
the lip plates vary from
social class to amount of
cattle given to bride
15. ETHIOPA
In Ethiopia, the women
of the Karo tribe wear
scars on their stomachs
meant to attract a
husband.
The scarring process
starts in childhood and
once finished it means
that the woman can get
married and have
children.
16. BRAZIL
Although revered as a
land where women have
a beautiful curvaceous
figure, a new trend
towards slim body has
been made manifest.
Historian Mary del
Priore told The New
York Times, "By
'upgrading' to LOST TO ANOREXIA Ana
international standards Carolina Reston as she was
of beauty," Brazilians 18 months before her death in
are giving up on the November. Five anorexia
belief that "plumpness is deaths in Brazil have followed
a sign of beauty." hers.
17. KOREA
Many Korean women
believe the surgery,
which makes their eyes
wider and rounder, also
makes them more
beautiful.
Plastic surgery in
general has skyrocketed
in Asia recently.
In Korea in particular, The surgery, essentially
researchers estimate an eye lift, creates a fold
that 1 in 10 adults has in the eyelid and gives
been nipped and tucked, the look of bigger, more
and even children are Western eyes.
getting their eyelids
18. EUROPE
In parts of Europe,
including France, it's the
natural look that's
considered most
"It really astonishes me
the way American
women wear so much
makeup," Laura Mercier,
the French creator of the
cosmetics line told The
New York Times. By
contrast, Mercier
continued, "French
women are not flashy."
19. THE MAORI OF NEW ZEALAND
Men and women adorn
themselves with swirling
face tattoos called moko--a
sacred beauty ritual that
spans centuries.
Originally worn by
Polynesian descendents as
a sign of status
Maori men and women
now wear moko as an
honorary throwback to
their cultural history.
One of the more distinctive
forms of moko is the
pattern women wear on
their lips and chins.
20. CHINA
In parts of China, men
and women are turning
to a painful leg-
lengthening procedure
that stretches their
bones to make them
taller.
Here, height is a sign of
status so for some it has
become prerequisite for
success.
Surgeons insert metal
bars into their legsthat
break their bones and
stretch their legs apart.
21. THE KAYAN WOMEN OF BURMA
Sometimes referred to as
“long necks” these women
represent an ethnic
minority that maintains a
centuries-old tradition
They wrap brass coils
around their necks when
young and add more as
they age
The women's shoulders are
weighed down by the
weight of the rings giving
the illusion that their necks
are They have now become a
In the wake of conflict in tourist attraction
Burma, (now Myanmar)
many Kayans were forced
to flee to neighboring
22. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Geoffrey Jones. “Globalization and
Beauty: A Historical and Firm
Perspective.” EurAmerica. 41.4 (2011):
885-916.
http://www.ea.sinica.edu.tw/eu_file/13239
3925714.pdf : 3 Jul 2012.
Tara Lewis. "The Lengths We Go For
Beauty.“ Newsweek
http://elizabethadcock.theworldrace.org/?
filename=beauty-ideals-around-the-world:
3 Jul 2012.
