| |
News: Is ethnic beauty the new 'it' factor?
Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
|
Is ethnic beauty the new 'it' factor?
Quote:
(CNN) -- Women who desire a more "exotic" appearance are looking to the fashion world's growing multi-culturalism for inspiration.
There was a time when the Caucasian girl-next-door looks of Christie Brinkley, Cindy Crawford and more recently Kate Moss dominated the fashion pages. Then came new fashion icons: Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce - and then Giselle, Kim Kardashian and Shakira.
More voluptuous figures, fuller lips and darker skin, features traditionally associated with women of African, Latin and Asian cultures, are "in." Over the past decade, an appreciation for ethnic beauty has been on the rise, and these natural features are becoming popular among Caucasian women who desire to look more "exotic."
Dr. Nancy Etcoff, a Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital psychologist who studies the science behind the brain and beauty, believes that the shift in our perception of beauty is a sign of the times.
"Our standards of beauty are changing and ethnic women are at the forefront today," she said. "It emulates our growing sense of cultural awareness."
Etcoff, who also authored "Survival of the Prettiest," adds: "If you study plastic surgery textbooks, the notions of an ideal feature have changed. In the 50s, the ideal look featured thinner lips, upturned noses, smaller eyes, and paler makeup," Etcoff said. "Now you see broader noses, darker skin, and larger eyelids. All these attributes suggest shifts in demographics and an appeal to a more multicultural look instead of an overly Caucasian appearance."
See how Gabourey Sidibe is an Elle covergirl
With companies earning over $3 billion between 2005 and 2009 in the US multi-cultural beauty market, it seems ethnic women are not just embracing the trends -- they are setting them.
"What's not to love, embrace and emulate about ethnic beauty?" said Us Weekly fashion director Sasha Charnin Morrison. "The use of curvier, more rounded figures looks refreshing."
Celebrities and the media, Etcoff said, have helped promote ethnic beauty. One trait in particular is the larger bottom.
Susan Bloomstone and Lisa Reisler, co-creators of Booty Pop panties, a form of padded underwear used to give an illusion of a larger rear, said their product was inspired by ethnic women in Hollywood, such as entertainers Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez.
"Magazines, music, and movies have really created a window for more ethnic women to be noticed for their features," Reisler said. These women, she said, have made the larger, rounder bottom sexy.
Plus-sized runway show: A Fashion-Week first
Lip plumping and injections, techniques used to achieve fuller lips, remain popular among Caucasian women, said Dr. Ashkan Ghavami, a plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California.
"Fuller lips are definitely associated with ethnic cultures and I don't think these trends are going to fade away too quickly," Ghavami said. "What we are starting to see now is that curves on the body and fuller features on the face -- traits that were once deemed unappealing in our society -- are becoming more attractive."
Ronald Gavin, a 32-year-old single man from Tampa, Florida, agrees. "I mean let's face it, ethnic women have this exotic appeal -- it's the curves and the fact that they don't have this carbon-copy look like anyone else," Gavin said. "That's definitely sexy in my book."
Bottoms and lips are not the only ethnic features women are raging about, according to Ying Chu, Marie Claire beauty and health director. An obsession with rich, brown-skin complexions have boosted the sales of self-tanning products, and aspirations for bouncy, silky straight hair has attracted women to Brazilian and Japanese hair straightening, said Chu.
The desire for individuality leads people to embrace the image of ethnic women over typical "cookie-cutter American beauties," said Chu.
"It's this open acceptance to diversity that we are seeing in the younger generation and the longing for individuality that is really transforming our standard of beauty."
Dark, thick eyebrows, most notably associated with Indian women, have become more desirable and natural brown hair tones, as opposed to bleached and platinum blonde hair colors, are among the features highlighted in today's culture, she said.
The practice of sewing in wefts of hair extensions, a technique popularly used for African-American hair, is being adopted by Caucasian females, according to Roy Teeluck of Roy Teeluck salon in New York.
Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure magazine, said ethnic beauty is being embraced because of changing demographics of America.
Between the years of 2000 and 2008, the mixed-race U.S. population grew by nearly 32 percent to nearly 5 million, said Wells - citing US census bureau estimates.
"Our concept of beauty will always reflect culture," Wells said. "Beauty standards don't exist in a vacuum. Our standard of beauty today is definitely representative of America's melting pot."
The belief that certain ethnicities retain a youthful appearance longer may be attracting women to these trends as well, Wells said.
Sasha Muradali, author of littlepinkbookpr.com, a blog that follows pop culture and beauty trends, believes that the need to achieve certain standards of beauty has little to do with race and ethnicity and more to do with the obsession of perfection.
For Muradali, a 25-year-old working woman of South Asian descent, the current standard of beauty is still a bit blurry.
"We have definitely come a long way because people are embracing Middle Eastern, African-American and Latin looks and no one wants to just look like the quintessential American girl," Muradali said. "But I think we are subtly staying in the past."
"I mean, we are all raging about the curves of Beyonce and Kim Kardashian, but at the same time the media is telling girls that they need to be a size zero. That's what makes the beauty standards a bit skewed and contradicting."
Etcoff, though, is impressed with the recent trend to a more multicultural definition of beauty.
"Our changing standard of beauty shows a form of growing cultural acceptance," Etcoff said.
"We can't just wipe away the inequities and the attitudes that exist amongst races. But it's the beginning.
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/28/2009
Posts: 9,353
|
Quote:
|
The desire for individuality leads people to embrace the image of ethnic women over typical "cookie-cutter American beauties," said Chu.
|
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/8/2009
Posts: 5,072
|
Hm.
Interesting. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/4/2010
Posts: 38,919
|
The exotic type of women have always been the tea. CNN is late bootz!
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 2/9/2008
Posts: 32,819
|
Quote:
|
The practice of sewing in wefts of hair extensions, a technique popularly used for African-American hair, is being adopted by Caucasian females, according to Roy Teeluck of Roy Teeluck salon in New York.
|
Except extensions and weaves were used by black women to give them "whiter" hair in the first place...
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Rhythm
Hm.
Interesting. |
Indeed.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 12/31/2009
Posts: 3,465
|
 A great thing to see. We all know who's leading the pack. She's responsible for the "curve revival", and now she's making people embrace different ethnicities. I just can't.. This girl came out of Tina's--..
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
|
Quote:
Originally posted by eli's_rhythm
Except extensions and weaves were used by black women to give them "whiter" hair in the first place...
|
You mean "straighter" hair right? There is a very steep different between wanting "straight" hair and wanting to be "white".
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/23/2010
Posts: 5,226
|
Hopefully. Sick of seeing any common caucasian girl called gorgeous just because she's thin and has "good hair"
|
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 11/24/2009
Posts: 61,404
|
In film and in music, the prototypical, boring beauty is dead.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/7/2010
Posts: 4,179
|
Excuse Me!! Straight hair=White....GIRL BYE!!!
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Haus_of_Nicole
In film and in music, the prototypical, boring beauty is dead.
|
I know what you mean, the actresses who get praise on their beauty today tend to be very sexy like Megan Fox or very beautiful like Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria.
But what about Blake Lively?
|
|
|
|
Banned
Member Since: 11/24/2009
Posts: 61,404
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Satellites
I know what you mean, the actresses who get praise on their beauty today tend to be very sexy like Megan Fox or very beautiful like Scarlett Johansson.
But what about Blake Lively?
|
I mean that you hear so much about how in the entertainment industry, you have to be young and hot and white to be successful.
And if you look at the women who are on top of the film and music industry right now, most of them don't actually fit the young, hot, white mold.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/10/2010
Posts: 18,057
|
Cool! 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/14/2007
Posts: 29,341
|
Quote:
Originally posted by MissTina
She's responsible for the "curve revival"
|
Jennifer Lopez 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/4/2010
Posts: 38,919
|
Well society has always made it seem that when it comes to minorities that don't possess natural straight hair they seem to try and make themselves appear more caucasian by straightening it.
The same goes for when Asians have surgery on their eyelids to try and go for a more american/caucasian look, although they admit that they want to appear more caucasian.
It's so sad.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/24/2008
Posts: 14,256
|
No. The fashion industry is dominated by white models. The same can be said for Hollywood, the majority of younger actresses are white and different ethnic groups are not truly represented.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 2/9/2008
Posts: 32,819
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Satellites
You mean "straighter" hair right? There is a very steep different between wanting "straight" hair and wanting to be "white".
|
I guess I mean "straighter," but what I really mean is that they want hair that is easier to style and manage. I used "whiter" because I wanted to better point out the contradiction of the article.
Honestly, American society has encouraged black women to think that they are inferior to white women. So yes, the extensions and weaves probably come from a deep-rooted (bad pun) desire to look more white and fit in with the average. You know this.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/4/2010
Posts: 38,919
|
Quote:
Originally posted by eli's_rhythm
Honestly, American society has encouraged black women to think that they are inferior to white women. So yes, the extensions and weaves probably come from a deep-rooted (bad pun) desire to look more white and fit in with the average. You know this.
|
Which is absolutely correct, sadly.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 9/24/2008
Posts: 14,256
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Hi.Ðefinitiøn
Well society has always made it seem that when it comes to minorities that don't possess natural straight hair they seem to try and make themselves appear more caucasian by straightening it.
The same goes for when Asians have surgery on their eyelids to try and go for a more american/caucasian look, although they admit that they want to appear more caucasian.
It's so sad.
|
The white look is actual described as "European" not "American". America as a nation is very diverse.
I agree that it is so sad, but I have seen various documentaries on Beauty and in Asia in particular society perceives the European ideal of beauty as their own ideal. Surgery is becoming far more common in those countries to achieve a more European, Western look. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
