The Social Construction of Beauty

Here are a few examples of cross-cultural views of beauty, which I’ve gleaned from the book ‘The Lolita Effect’. I’ve promised to review this and I will post up a complete review soon. First impressions though are that the book isn’t that great a source for sociology teachers, but it does have some moderately useful snippets in it. Read on for a few examples of how ideas of beauty have varied over time and in different cultures.

MG Durham makes the point that ideals of feminine beauty are historically and culturally variable. Here are a few examples:

* Maori women in New Zealand used to scar and colour their faces; this was considered to make them more attractive.

* Women in Thailand and Myanmar used to wear neck rings which made their necks much longer.

* In Japan before the mid-nineteenth century, the ideal figure for a woman was thought to be as straight and lacking in curves as possible and women bound themselves to achieve this look. White teeth were also frowned upon and so women often blackened their teeth.

* Ancient Indian carvings portray goddesses as having wide hips and large thighs - a vision of the perfect woman at that time?

* Durham reports that ‘a study’ (sorry, no ref provided) of Miss America contestants since 1959 found that their weight declined every year, i.e. they have got smaller, year by year.