Whiteness as a Standard of Beauty Domestically and Internationally

Alicia Humphrey
Class of 2017

To a large extent, it is still true that American women are constantly bombarded with images of photo-shopped models: tall, blonde, tan and cellulite-free, in clothing stores, at makeup counters, in magazines, on billboards, online and on TV as a representation of what it means to be beautiful. These undeniably gorgeous women are simply meant to sell products—clothing, makeup, jewelry, even food. However, the lack of a diversity of body types seen in advertisements has been recently recognized as damaging, communicating the idea that being thin is the only way to be beautiful. Although we as a nation are nowhere near a truly representative modeling industry, many companies have contributed to a growing body-positive movement, including women of different shapes and sizes in their advertisements as Dove has done, or refusing to photo-shop models, as Aerie does. The underlying idea is that one body type should not be held up as ideal, and that all women, thin, curvy, or in between, should celebrate who they are and what they look like. As a woman who continues to struggle every day to accept her body, this movement is one that I celebrate and am incredibly grateful for.

However, in light of recent progress, I failed to realize the extent to which unrealistic standards of beauty continue to exist, especially internationally. In China, I was struck not by the thin build of the models in advertisements, but their race; nearly all of them where white. Even the rare models of Asian descent were photo-shopped to look as much like white models as possible, with paler skin, larger eyes, long, styled, hair and heavy makeup. For another example, on hot summer days, Chinese women often carry umbrellas to shield their skin from the sun in order to stay paler. Whiteness is so obviously idealized as the standard of beauty to the extent that I saw Chinese men and women rush to take photos with my classmates and I as if we were celebrities. 

I originally thought that whiteness as a standard of beauty in China was simply because of its foreign nature, but this conclusion would ignore the same phenomenon that happens in the U.S., although it receives less media attention than the body-positive movement currently does. Women of color are just as often made to look as white as possible through glorifying lighter skin and styles instead of natural hair, for example. The presence of people of color in advertisements is not enough if they can only be considered beautiful to the extent that they look like their white model counterparts. 

We have certainly come a long way in regards to the way women are portrayed in advertisements and the media, but it is important not to be blind to the fact that we still have a long way to go. There should never be a single standard of beauty, whether that is thin, white, tan, curvy or tall. Globally, it is important for women to love and be proud of who they are instead of everyone aspiring to look exactly the same. This is an issue that should not be ignored and should in fact be talked about freely and openly because it is one that transcends physicality. Truthfully, how can we expect to learn about and embrace each other if we cannot even accept ourselves?

Alicia Humphrey is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science, English and Spanish at the University of Louisville.