Popular Beauty Standards In Other Cultures

By Janey Dike on July 10, 2014

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Most people know what the societal beauty standards are in the United States. They’re plastered on billboards, flashing at us on commercials, and sitting on our coffee tables on the covers of magazines and catalogues.

But have you ever thought about the beauty standards that are held in other countries and cultures? The answers may surprise you. Beauty and attractiveness mean different things in different parts of our world.

Long Necks: Women of the Kayan tribe, located on the border of Thailand and Burma, practice a beauty ritual that is vastly different from those seen in America. Children as young as five years old begin the process of elongating their necks.

They place brass rings around their necks and more and more are added as the girls get older. As more rings are added, the women’s necks are elongated. This is a sign of beauty and status. The sets of brass rings the women wear can weigh around twenty pounds. The beauty standard has been around for centuries and continues today.

image via fotocommunity.de

Stretched Earlobes: Gauges are growing in popularity in the United States, but the holes are usually much smaller in comparison to some beauty practices in Africa. The art of creating long earlobes is a beauty practice performed in Kenya by the Masai.

Women gradually stretch out their earlobes using stones, bits of elephant tusk, or heavy jewelry. While gauges that you see among your peers are probably small and circular shaped, the elongated earlobes in Kenya tend to be longer and larger, especially if the person is older and has been working on stretching the earlobes out for decades.

image via skymotionvideo.com

Stretched Lips: If you think stretching out your earlobes sounds painful, think about stretching out your bottom lip. Certain African and Amazonian tribes have a beauty standard that involves making a hole in the lip and inserting wooden or clay plates. Over time, larger and larger plates are inserted and the hole stretches out.

In order for the larger plates to fit, sometimes the women need to get certain teeth pulled out. The stretched out lips and plates are a symbol of beauty and maturity.

image via Wikipedia.org

Body Scars: When you think about a scar, you probably think about all of the skin blemishes you’ve acquired over the years. You may have one from falling off of your bike when you were younger, from the bad case of acne you had during puberty, or from that time you had to get stitches.

In southern Ethiopia however, scars are not seen as a negative part of your body that resulted from some type of injury. Scars for Karo women are actually a sign of beauty. The scars are purposefully created on the skin in intricate patterns and designs. Self-scarring often occurs on the women’s stomachs and can be a sign that women are ready for marriage.

image via flickr.com

Chin Tattoo: Tattoos can be seen all over the world, but for the Maori women of New Zealand, their ink is placed in specific spots on their faces. Called moko, or the “art of tattoo,” each design is unique. Women get their marks on their lips, chin, or nostrils.

The most common tattoo is the kauae, which is on the chin and often continues down onto the neck. In addition, it is common for the upper and lower lips to be darkened so that they look deep blue. The people see the tattoos as flattering and a way to draw attention to beautiful features such as the lips and eyes.

image via pri.org

Bound “Lotus” Feet: Although foot-binding is no longer a popular practice, it was once an important beauty standard in China that symbolized wealth, status and eligibility for marriage. The first foot binding happened in the 10th century and by the mid-17th century, girls that wanted to be married often had to go through the painful process. Those who were too poor or needed their natural feet to work were not able to have their feet bound and were usually of low status in society.

Girls would begin the process at very young ages to get the smallest foot size possible. The girls’ toes were bent towards the heel and underneath the sole. The bones would break and the foot would be bound with long ribbons. The shape resembled the lotus flower and was considered very beautiful. The bound feet made it very difficult for women to walk and could be a very dangerous process. Infection could lead to illness or even death.

image via cvltnation.com

 

Most of these beauty standards probably seem bizarre to most of us. But for the populations that practice them, the looks provide more than just attractiveness. They often symbolize societal statuses, such as wealth, age, sexual maturity and the readiness for marriage.

The fact that some of these routines are no longer in practice or are dwindling in popularity shows that cultures and beauty standards change all the time for people all over the world.

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