Beauty Standards Across The World (Some May Make You Cringe)

Every person has their own standard as far as women are concerned. However, every country and every century has/had a list of qualities that a woman should have, and if they don't/didn't, they are/were considered ugly.

So let's make a quick journey around the world and meet some of the many beauty standards that women who live there want to have so badly!

Beauty Standards In Africa

Lip Plates (Ethiopia, Sudan): In the Mursi and Surma tribes, lip plates made of clay or wood are put in the lower lip to stretch them over time. A woman's social status and beauty are in direct correlation to the plate size. The bigger the plate, the prettier is the woman.

Scarification (Various tribes in West Africa): Scarification is used as a mark of bravery, beauty, and identity in intricate patterns that are raised, on the face and/or body. Different patterns are associated with a tribe, namely, patterns of war vs. those of mature women.

Induced Earlobe Elongation (Maasai, Kenya): The Maasai are known for their elongated earlobes that males and females stretch from ornaments. An ornament is referred to as an ornament if it is large and heavy. It could be a bead, wood or stone. Long droopy earlobes are markers of beauty and indicators of old age or wisdom.

Hair/Wig of Red Ochre (Himba, Namibia): Women of the Himba tribe cover their hair with a paste that contains butter, ochre and herbs, often making their hair and skin appear reddish. It is a cultural marker of identity and beauty.

Body Weight (Mauritania): Specific areas in Mauritania, fuller figures are viewed as a sign of beauty, wealth and status. Specific practices even encouraged feeding young girls a diet high in calories intentionally, so they can fulfil this standard. The "fatter" the woman is, the prettier she is.

Beauty Standards in Asia

Blackened Teeth (Japan, Southeast Asia): Tooth blackening, or "Ohaguro" in Japan, is a practice no longer widely followed but was well known throughout much of Japan and also some southeast Asian countries. Many noblewomen in Japan practiced this art to increase their beauty and some people in southeast Asia blackened their teeth for the same intent as well. It was thought to signify the outset of adulthood and protect the woman from evil spirits.

Crooked Teeth (Yaeba in Japan): Most people in the western part of the world desire their teeth to be perfectly straight. In Japanese culture, slightly crooked or overlapping canine teeth (known as "Yaeba") are actually viewed as cute and youthful since cat-like fang-appearances can resemble youth.

Long Necks (Kayan tribe, Myanmar and Thailand): Many women in the Kayan tribe, Myanmar and Thailand, wear many brass coils around their necks as young girls and various coils were added around the neck as it grew with the girl.

White Skin (East Asia, South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand): White skin has historically had huge prestige and totally reflects upward purity, youth, and generally higher social ranking and, components of china, every store has a designated section for skin-whitening products. Nowadays these products are safe for people's skin, but, centuries ago, these whitening products had toxic materials that irritated severely the skin of the person who used it, or it even caused death.

Unibrow (Tajikistan): An unibrow is thought to show beauty and good luck, particularly if on a woman. An appearance of a naturally connected brow is deemed better than drawing or shaving a brow, but no one in Tajikistan excludes or rejects women who have a unibrow.

Beauty Standards in Oceania

Facial Tattoos (Māori, New Zealand): "Tā Moko", which means to carve and cut skin, are highly decorative and symbolic tattoos that are an integral part of Māori culture. For women, the chin and lip tattoos, called "Moko Kauae", signify ancestral lineage and social status. Men's tattoos usually make up the entire facial area.

Stretched Earlobes & Piercings (Various Pacific Island cultures): As in some African cultures, putting large decorative plugs and other forms of ornaments in the ear lobe is an accepted beauty practice in many Pacific Islands cultures.

Beauty Standards in South America

Lip Plates (Amazonian tribes): Similar to the African tribes, some indigenous groups in the Amazon practice lip plating as a beauty and cultural identity practice.

It's important to remember that these beauty standards are deeply rooted in cultural traditions, historical contexts, and social values. What might seem "weird" to an outsider is often a cherished and meaningful practice within its specific cultural context. Furthermore, beauty standards are not static and can evolve over time, even within these cultures.

That's all I had to say for today's post.

Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night!

-Rose❤️