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African Americans and their skin color and hair were once considered unattractive by white people. Black women and their bodies have been devalued and rejected by white ideal beauty standards. [1]
African American beauty focuses on the beauty of African Americans, as beauty is viewed differently by various groups. [2] Similar to other cultures, ideals of beauty in African-American communities have varied throughout the years. Influenced by the racial perspectives on beauty, lighter skin tones and straight hair have been considered desirable characteristics by different groups, including African Americans. [3] [4]
Racialized perspectives on beauty which led to lighter skin tones being considered desirable characteristics by different groups including African Americans can be traced back to slavery. [5] [6] The view of lighter skin tones as the ideal beauty standard are linked to colorism, which affects African Americans perceptions of themselves, with African women being disproportionately affected. [7] [8]
Despite some similarities between how African Americans and other groups view beauty, African Americans also view beauty as seen in body ideals as not being limited to one specific type that has been portrayed in the media. [9] This view of beauty transcends the physical perception of beauty and recognizes that beauty is not limited to physical characteristics only. [9]
African Americans hair is politicized, and this affects how African Americans choose to wear their hair as there is no way to know how it will be perceived, and the treatment that will arise from this. [4]
Similar to other minority groups, African Americans have been subject to Western beauty ideals which portray slim body types as the standard to aspire to. The portrayal of slim body types as the ideal in Western beauty ideals has been linked to various eating disorders. There have been limited studies that show the effects of Western beauty ideals and the resulting eating disorders amongst African Americans. [10]
African American beauty takes into consideration the intersectionality of African Americans and how this intersectionality has affected the representation of African Americans in media, which plays a significant role in communicating what society's beauty standards are. [11] [5]
Portrayals of straight hair in the media have set a beauty standard which is exclusionary of the different hair textures of African Americans. [12] Despite the role played by media in setting beauty standards for hair, social media has provided a platform for African Americans who are progressing beauty standards by wearing their hair in different states, including its natural state. [12]
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fields of study within philosophy. As a positive aesthetic value, it is contrasted with ugliness as its negative counterpart.
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. These behaviors include eating either too much or too little. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient keeps eating large amounts in a short period of time typically while not being hungry; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.
Human physical appearance is the outward phenotype or look of human beings.
Discrimination based on skin tone, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice and discrimination in which people of certain ethnic groups, or people who are perceived as belonging to a different-skinned racial group, are treated differently based on their different skin tone.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined. When an actual visible difference exists, its importance is disproportionately magnified in the mind of the individual. Whether the physical issue is real or imagined, ruminations concerning this perceived defect become pervasive and intrusive, consuming substantial mental bandwidth for extended periods each day. This excessive preoccupation not only induces severe emotional distress but also disrupts daily functioning and activities. The DSM-5 places BDD within the obsessive–compulsive spectrum, distinguishing it from disorders such as anorexia nervosa.
Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the media also often uses the term. Across these disciplines, there is no single consensus definition, but broadly speaking, body image consists of the ways people view themselves; their memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons about their appearances; and their overall attitudes towards their respective heights, shapes, and weights—all of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals.
Physical attractiveness is the degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from either. There are many factors which influence one person's attraction to another, with physical aspects being one of them. Physical attraction itself includes universal perceptions common to all human cultures such as facial symmetry, sociocultural dependent attributes, and personal preferences unique to a particular individual.
Self-objectification is when people view themselves as objects for use instead of as human beings. Self-objectification is a result of objectification, and is commonly discussed in the topic of sex and gender. Both men and women struggle with self-objectification, but it is most commonly seen among women. According to Calogero, self-objectification explains the psychological process by which women internalise people's objectification of their bodies, resulting in them constantly criticizing their own bodies.
Cosmetic advertising is the promotion of cosmetics and beauty products by the cosmetics industry through a variety of media. The advertising campaigns are usually aimed at women wishing to improve their appearance, commonly to increase physical attractiveness and reduce the signs of ageing.
Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that was started in the United States in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread beyond the United States, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko in South Africa. Black is beautiful got its roots from the Négritude movement of the 1930s. Negritude argued for the importance of a Pan-African racial identity among people of African descent worldwide.
Female Chinese beauty standards have become a well-known feature of Chinese culture. A 2018 survey conducted by the Great British Academy of Aesthetic Medicine concluded that Chinese beauty culture prioritizes an oval face shape, pointed, narrow chin, plump lips, well defined Cupid's bows, and obtuse jaw angle. The importance of feminine beauty in China has been deeply ingrained into the culture: historically, a woman's livelihood was often determined by her ability to find an eligible husband, a feat aided by fitting into the cultural ideals of beauty.
The figure rating scale (FRS), also known as the Stunkard scale, is a psychometric measurement originally developed in 1983 to communicate about the unknown weights of a research subject's absent relatives, and since adapted to assess body image.
The effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, ranging from psychologists to marketing professionals. While many factors, such as "parenting, education, [and] intimate relationships" also affect body image, "the media and body image are closely related." This is because thousands of advertisements contain messages about physical attractiveness and beauty, examples of which include commercials for clothes, cosmetics, weight reduction, and physical fitness. Researchers have conducted studies in an attempt to see if such advertisements have effects on teenage body image, and what those effects might be.
The thin ideal is the concept of the ideally slim female body. The common perception of this ideal is a woman who possesses a slender, feminine physique with a small waist and little body fat. The size that the thin ideal woman should be is decreasing while the rate of female obesity is simultaneously increasing, making this iconic body difficult for women to maintain. This creates a gap between the actual appearance of an average woman’s body and its expected appearance which, depending on the extent to which a woman internalizes the necessity of living up to this ideal for her well-being and peace of mind, may have serious psychological effects.
Body shape refers to the many physical attributes of the human body that make up its appearance, including size and countenance. Body shape has come to imply not only sexual/reproductive ability, but wellness and fitness. In the West, slenderness is associated with happiness, success, youth, and social acceptability. Being overweight is associated with laziness. The media promote a weight-conscious standard for women more often than for men. Deviance from these norms result in social consequences. The media perpetuate this ideal in various ways, particularly glorifying and focusing on thin actors and actresses, models, and other public figures while avoiding the use or image of overweight individuals. This thin ideal represents less than 15% of the American population.
Whitewashing in beauty is a phenomenon in the intersection of the fashion industry, digital photography, mass media, marketing and advertising. It describes a situation in which the skin tone of non-white people – when depicted in magazine covers, advertisements, commercials, music videos, etc. – is digitally retouched or physically modified to appear whiter. Whitewashing can also present itself in the alteration of hair texture to resemble Eurocentric beauty ideals of straight hair. Whitewashing can be seen in the form of skin whitening, either digitally or with harmful skin bleaching products, or by chemically relaxing textured hair to make it conform to Eurocentric beauty standards. Additionally, plastic surgery can be used to alter features to make them appear more European, such as double eyelid surgery.
The feminine beauty ideal is a specific set of beauty standards regarding traits that are ingrained in women throughout their lives and from a young age to increase their perceived physical attractiveness. It is experienced by many women in the world, though the traits change over time and vary in country and culture.
The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners and hair colours, and toiletries such as bubble bath and soap. The manufacturing industry is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses. Cosmetics must be safe when customers use them in accordance with the label's instructions or in the conventional or expected manner. One measure a producer may take to guarantee the safety of a cosmetic product is product testing. FDA occasionally does testing as part of its research program or when looking into potential safety issues with a product. Both the cosmetics business and consumers can benefit from the FDA's resources on product testing.
Body positivity is a social movement that promotes a positive view of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. Proponents focus on the appreciation of the functionality and health of the human body instead of its physical appearance.
Body image disturbance (BID) is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's own body.
