The Correlation Between Current Brazilian Beauty Standards And Racial Whitening

White companies and white faces with white products…white. With the population of America containing thirty-seven million African and African-Americans, racism is not only discriminatory but also is socially submerged within the terms of “beauty” (Bureau of labor statistics). Women in history have been seen as inferior to men; now, in the twenty-first century, women have been subcategorized in racial boundaries including color being the most prominent divider. As the famous Shakespeare said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In most 21st century companies the owners of major cosmetic brands such as Too Faced and Benefit are owned and founded by white individuals, which makes sense because the promotional models are mostly white.

Beauty is an important aspect of many women’s lives, often dictating their everyday behaviours. Women are held to narrow, unrealistic expectations of what they should look like; these expectations being portrayed through beauty ideals and trends. Although these trends, and the advertisements they are promoted through, seem relatively harmless, they can often reinforce racism and become their own system of oppression. Throughout cultures, dark-skin is seen as unwanted and unappealing, whereas light-skin is valued and privileged. This white supremacist ideal is propagated through these various beauty trends and their advertising, inseminating privilege towards lighter skin shades. The beauty trend of using skin-bleaching creams to lighten one’s

Dina Gerdeman’s article discusses how the cosmetic industry in India has created a stereotype in which individuals with lighter skin tones are more acceptable and successful in comparison to those with darker skin tones. The media has portrayed this image persistently despite social activists arguing against the implications. Even though many campaigns have been created to combat this stereotype, the March 2016 case author of “Fair & Lovely vs. Dark is Beautiful,” Rohit Deshpande says, “…if you look at whether it’s done anything to affect the sales of the product category, the answer is no. This is a big market by any standards, and it’s growing exponentially” (para. 12). By the cosmetic industry’s perspective, “The government

Moreover there are a lot of similarity between Brazil and American but both countries are denying having thing in common which they do. Black women in Brazil and the United States both of problems with their skin color, shortness and texture of their hair,

Much attention is given to the issue of the perfect body image among young girls and women in the United States; however, within this set of people, little attention is given towards black women and the topic of their hair. How are black women affected by these unrealistic standards for beauty, especially in a world that tends to favor the Eurocentric standards? This study discusses the phenomenon behind black women and their hairstyles and explains that their choice in hairstyle is not solely reliant on societal expectations, but also equally of their own personality, self-esteem, and time.

Beauty is skin deep but that’s only in theory especially when living in such a vanity obsessed society. The back history on the vision of beauty has so much turmoil and anguish attached to the word, it seems contradicting. This essay will delve into the depths of the foundation and perpetuating controversies around the standards of beauty drawing most of the attention to skin color, specifically in the North American and South American regions (primarily Brazil). Furthermore, this article will give insight on colorism and the impact it has had on ‘post-racial’ theories that have developed today, as well the deeming of ‘racial democracy’ for both continents.

There is a very wide known issue on hair in America based on the dynamics of hair around presentation and first impressions. There is a present concern in the work environment as well as in the public sector, where racial biases are within communities and society as a whole. After watching the documentary by Chris Rock called “Black Hair” (inspired by his daughter’s inquiry on nappy hair) there were many famous characters, which stated they would much rather wear straight hair verses curly, kinky hair also permed hair forced straight by chemicals. In the article Edited by Lilly Caldwell 2004 “Look at Her Hair” with the song “THE NEGRA IN BRAZILIAN POPULAR CULTURE” Lilly say’s, this song provides a telling example of Black women 's portrayal in Brazilian popular culture. After my researched online. I found a news source with a case pending here in the US where a Black woman with “Locks”, was hired on a job, then told she must change her hairstyle, it was not acceptable, which was racist and degrading.

The majority of the population in Brazil is predominantly Pretos and Pardos; there are very few “white” Brazilians in Brazil. Pretos are people who a very dark skinned, “black”. Pardos are considered as people who are a little bit lighter, “brown”. Though there are few “whites” in Brazil, “white” Brazilians still feel they are superior and still have a control over Brazil.

Firstly, an article that relates to my racial identity is called “Yearning For Lightness, Transnational Circuits in the Marketing and Consumption of Skin Lighteners.” This article was written by Evelyn Nakano Glenn. The purpose of this article was to examine the cultural and traditional boundaries associated with the profitable growth and large consumption of skin-lightning products across the world. Additionally, author Glenn focused on the practice of skin-lightness and the marketing of skin-lightning products within the African and African-American cultures (Glenn, 282). Findings from this article indicated that skin-lightning practices can be justified as a form of discrimination against people of dark skin color. In other words, skin bleaching

This image entitled “The perfect Body Campaign: Advertisement 1” portrays pale bodies juxtaposed against an achromatic backdrop, each either slyly looking away or smiling coquettishly at the camera. Thick, sizable lettering fills the center of the image audaciously proclaiming that these women have “The Perfect Body”. Each woman wears a matching bra and pantie. Their bodies are svelte with at least one of their feet angled into a pointed position as if they are dancing their way into the viewers’ bedrooms. A darker figure occupies the center of the image. Her skin is is just a few shades darker than those standing next to her, and her darkness is not palpable until the image is given a second glance, in part because the white bodies surrounding her act as a band-aid for her blackness. The very lighting of the image haunts the darker woman by painting her pores a shade lighter than they actually appear. If the viewer looks closely at the model’s left arm in comparison to their stomach, the stark contrast between the nearly white elbow and tan stomach becomes apparent. The contrast is hidden by the woman on her left shoulder and the positioning of the arm next to lighter panties. Again light and whiteness conceal the true nature of the middle model 's skin.

Beauty standards are portrayed everywhere: on magazines, social media, ads, commercials, and even flaunted among peers. While the ideals are supposed to promote health awareness, fitness motivation, and self love, it unfortunately results in many unfavorable consequences. Women are constantly “penalized for not being beautiful and at the same time are stigmatized, even pathologized, for not feeling beautiful, for having low self-esteem, for engaging in behaviors like dieting and excessive exercising, or for having eating disorders” (Johnston and Taylor 954). Beauty standards are unrealistic and unhealthy to pursue, and misinforms the public on what true beauty is. While not all beauty image ideals promote negative feelings and dissatisfaction, many believe that the negative effects far outweighs any positive effects.

It does not come as a surprise that women, in large, are dissatisfied with their bodies. This widespread body dissatisfaction amongst women was coined “normative discontent” (Rodin, Silberstein, & Streigel-Moore, 1984). Although body dissatisfaction seemingly plagues women as a whole, there are several factors that can either serve as a protective factor or a risk factor for the development of body dissatisfaction. Much of the research regarding this normative discontent excludes culturally relevant factors for African American (Black) women. Looking specifically at African American women, the factors that affect body image and body dissatisfaction greatly differ from those that affect non-minority White women. Skin tone or complexion,

“You would look so much prettier with your hair straight!” is a comment my sister of mixed descent has been receiving from her classmates since childhood. Straight hair is a Eurocentric beauty standard that has been pushed onto my lighter skinned sister for most of her life. I am of a darker complexion however and therefore am complimented often on my naturally curly hair. This leads to the question; do black beauty standards differ from white ones? The answer to this query is explored in Maxine Craig’s work Ain’t I a Beauty Queen? She claims that in many regards, though not all, the answer is yes. While Craig does a good job of defining the historical moments that lead to black beauty standards today, she lacks an explanation as to why darker skin tones are stigmatized the way they are and neither does she factor in how many people consider personality when determining beauty.

Being a woman this heightens my social awareness as how others perceive me. Society dictates ‘the body beautiful’. Magazines, Bill-boards, TV and newspapers constantly suggest the need to have a perfect complexion. This influences

Back in the third grade until the eleventh in Korea, I thought I was fat, and my dark skin was so unlikable because my friends sometimes teased my skin-tone as well as my physique. In addition, most celebrities in Korea who were commonly regarded as “beautiful” were so skinny and had pale skin-tone. These standards became stressful to me, so I stared to have only one meal a day and wear make-up covering my dark skin at my age of eleven. Of course, this became bad for my health. The bad