European beauty standards are deep cultural norms that dictate an ideal physical appearance. People often feel pressured to conform to these standards, leading to self-esteem issues and body dysmorphia.
Although we see advancements come and go, European standards of beauty—which essentially worship white physical features as ideal—still dominate popular culture.
Read on to learn more about the harmful beauty ideal. In addition, from Sienna Ligginsan independent artist and singer, on how it affects the music industry and what is needed for change.
European beauty standards refer to specific physical characteristics, including light skin and eyes, thin body and nose, and poker straight hair, to name a few.
“Honestly, it’s just a ripple effect of something that exists on a much larger scale in our culture.” Liggins says about European beauty standards.
The Western ideal defines beauty through thinness and whiteness, which is what American culture has always stood for.
However, whiteness remains the most represented ideal, and we still obsess over thin bodies and regularly debate which celebrities are or aren’t in it. weight loss medicine.
The impression that European standards of beauty give us is that those who meet the challenge of light skin and eyes, thin noses, etc., are the best or the most interesting people – leaving some people of color to internalize the messaging resulting in emotions self loathing.
This Western ideal of beauty is not only exclusionary – to the exclusion of black, indigenous, Arab and Asian, Pacific Islander peoples – but also deeply harmful.
This standard certainly extends across the entertainment and beauty industries, from not finding your makeup shade to not seeing your features in the media.
It also permeates our daily work and play, creating social problems and challenges self-esteem which affects everything from getting and keeping a job to socializing and education, starting in kindergarten.
Some of the earliest research on skin color and self-concept among black children included “doll test.” Researchers presented black children between the ages of 3 and 7 with four dolls that were all identical — except for their skin color — and asked them a series of questions about which dolls were prettier or prettier and which they liked best.
Two-thirds of the black children chose the white doll. The test was repeated in the same way 2005with 16 out of 21 black preschoolers choosing the white doll.
“The truth is, you need people to challenge them if you ever see something changing,” Liggins says of beauty standards.
He’s referring to “AMERICAN REQUIEM,” a song from Beyoncé’s country music album CBoy Carter.
“He talks about how if things stay the same, they have to change again,” Liggins said. Although she believes Beyoncé represents hope for peace and healing in the United States, Liggins says the concept can lend itself to beauty standards.
When it comes to the idealistic view we place on celebrities and pop culture, Liggins says you need to reimagine what it is. “And what that requires is bringing in new people, and it can’t just be from a vantage point,” Liggins says.
Along with those represented in music videos, Liggins says change is also needed at the gatekeeper level. “It should be the people who come up with the ideas and implement them, they should also have diversity, not just thought, but background, culture and ethnicity,” he said.
Otherwise, Liggins says, we’ll just continue to see spikes in diversity, which makes inclusion more fashionable than radical change.
