The Student Room Group

Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth

I just watched the second episode of the series focusing on the so called "globalisation" on beauty and how humans should look more white and "western"

the first thoughts gone through my mind when i saw ordinary asian/ black people willing to go to extremes to appear western was "are they frakking bonkers???"

personally i think they're crazy, they should be proud of their skin and heritage instead of ending up like michael jackson famous transition from black to white

so what you think of black or asian people choosing to become more "white" through extreme methods
(edited 13 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
discuss what ?
Reply 2
Seems pretty crazy. But then you get people that have loads of plastic surgery just to look like celebs. People are stupid vain and just plain silly.
Reply 3
Well western facial features are what's seen as attractive because they have global domination over culture. So you get chinese people getting western, double eyelids put in etc.

It's crazy admittedly

http://www.drmccurdy.com/double.htm
The World is an odd place. White women do their best to look as brown as possible and now naturally browner women are trying to look whiter.

Just why :facepalm:
Reply 5
Bottom line is that it's easier to be white (most of the time). White people suffer less discrimination.

And in old slave countries and those countries' communities, it desirable to have whiter skin because then you are deemed to be of a higher class/caste/status rather than having worked in the field or being a slave descendant.

My family are from Jamaica and my grandfather's family are from Cuba therefore we're lighter skinned (and we have less black features) than my grandmother's siblings' families (dear God all the apostrophes! I'm getting very confused) and we receive more respect from the neighbours and the community. It's stupid, but that's the way it is.

Lighter skin is seen as being more beautiful, if you look a beauty pageant winners from African, Arab and Caribbean etc countries, the woman chosen to represent the country is usually lighter skinned.
Reply 6
The beauty of individuality gets overlooked so hard.
Reply 7
Original post by tieyourmotherdown
The World is an odd place. White women do their best to look as brown as possible and now naturally browner women are trying to look whiter.

Just why :facepalm:


Westerners don't try to look browner, we try to look more healthy and sunkissed. It looks like you can afford to go on holiday. Coco Chanel made the tan fashionable.
But less than 100 years ago, pale skin was still desirable in the West as it is in other countries. If you're darker then you look like you've been working in the fields. Skin colour represents wealth.

Edit: To those who negged, these aren't my personal views, I'm just explaining the mindset of an aspect of the white beauty myth.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 8
A whole lot of BULLS***.
Seriously, why go to the extreme. You should love where you come from and be proud for who you are. There is no such thing as perfection for beauty. It's just what someone thinks it's beautiful.

You shouldn't try to be someone else but be your self.

Hey, there isn't only the white beauty myth. What about the tanning. Thats just stupid. A bit of tan alright no problem whatsoever. But too much where you go proper orange or brown is disgusting. Especially with the bleach blond hair. EWW!!!!! Who with the right mind will like someone like that.
Reply 9
Original post by RahRah09
Westerners don't try to look browner, we try to look more healthy and sunkissed. It looks like you can afford to go on holiday. Coco Chanel made the tan fashionable.
But less than 100 years ago, pale skin was still desirable in the West as it is in other countries. If you're darker then you look like you've been working in the fields. Skin colour represents wealth.


This sounds like it was directly taken from Glamour, Cosmo, etc.

And also: you contradict yourself in the first line. Yes, westerners want to look browner.
Reply 10
Original post by Dii Dii
A whole lot of BULLS***.
Seriously, why go to the extreme. You should love where you come from and be proud for who you are. There is no such thing as perfection for beauty. It's just what someone thinks it's beautiful.

You shouldn't try to be someone else but be your self.

Hey, there isn't only the white beauty myth. What about the tanning. Thats just stupid. A bit of tan alright no problem whatsoever. But too much where you go proper orange or brown is disgusting. Especially with the bleach blond hair. EWW!!!!! Who with the right mind will like someone like that.


it was terrible in high school, the girls who have bleached hair, drawn eyebrowns, too much make up and tanned so much they become orange, we call them "ferengis" a very very orange star trek alien :biggrin:
Reply 11
Original post by in_vogue
This sounds like it was directly taken from Glamour, Cosmo, etc.

And also: you contradict yourself in the first line. Yes, westerners want to look browner.


Okay I take "Browner" to mean darker skinned. Tanned is sunkissed/bronze.
And no, this is taken from what I know about racism and superiority due to skin colour. In the documentry that woman was outed by her own community because she was darker skinned (less beautiful in their eyes). Darker skin is still associated with slavery in certain countries.

Bronzed skin = wealthy enough to go on holidays.
Pale skin = wealthy (and high status) enough to not work in the fields.

Just depends where you are in the world and which community you live in. Neither of those two perception about skin colour are right, it's just how people think.
Reply 12
Original post by big-boss-91
it was terrible in high school, the girls who have bleached hair, drawn eyebrowns, too much make up and tanned so much they become orange, we call them "ferengis" a very very orange star trek alien :biggrin:


That's genius :biggrin:
Reply 13
I think people should do whatever they want with their looks. Why not criticise white people for using fake tan, etc?
Reply 14
Original post by RahRah09
Okay I take "Browner" to mean darker skinned. Tanned is sunkissed/bronze.
And no, this is taken from what I know about racism and superiority due to skin colour. In the documentry that woman was outed by her own community because she was darker skinned (less beautiful in their eyes). Darker skin is still associated with slavery in certain countries.

Bronzed skin = wealthy enough to go on holidays.
Pale skin = wealthy (and high status) enough to not work in the fields.

Just depends where you are in the world and which community you live in. Neither of those two perception about skin colour are right, it's just how people think.


I see your point. But this is true for Western cultures....IN THE PAST.
We USED to associate paleness with being wealthy enough to not work in fields.
Back in Coco Canel's day, we associated a tan with being wealthy enough to go on holiday.

What's our reasoning now? Paleness is back as a sign of wealth. Posh girls don't wear fake tan. Posh girls work the 'English Rose' look.

Is it just that we are more health-conscious now? Looking tanned = looking healthy? Or do we all secretly want to be latino?
Original post by Dii Dii
A whole lot of BULLS***.
Seriously, why go to the extreme. You should love where you come from and be proud for who you are. There is no such thing as perfection for beauty. It's just what someone thinks it's beautiful.

You shouldn't try to be someone else but be your self.

Hey, there isn't only the white beauty myth. What about the tanning. Thats just stupid. A bit of tan alright no problem whatsoever. But too much where you go proper orange or brown is disgusting. Especially with the bleach blond hair. EWW!!!!! Who with the right mind will like someone like that.


So, basically, naturally "brown" people are disgusting now?

:erm:
Original post by big-boss-91
I just watched the second episode of the series focusing on the so called "globalisation" on beauty and how humans should look more white and "western"

the first thoughts gone through my mind when i saw ordinary asian/ black people willing to go to extremes to appear western was "are they frakking bonkers???"

personally i think they're crazy, they should be proud of their skin and heritage instead of ending up like michael jackson famous transition from black to white

so what you think of black or asian people choosing to become more "white" through extreme methods

Michael Jackson had vitiligo. :facepalm:
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by im so academic
So, basically, naturally "brown" people are disgusting now?

:erm:


I think they mean that when people over-tan and look unnatural then it's not very appealing.
Reply 18
Original post by in_vogue
I see your point. But this is true for Western cultures....IN THE PAST.
We USED to associate paleness with being wealthy enough to not work in fields.
Back in Coco Canel's day, we associated a tan with being wealthy enough to go on holiday.

What's our reasoning now? Paleness is back as a sign of wealth. Posh girls don't wear fake tan. Posh girls work the 'English Rose' look.

Is it just that we are more health-conscious now? Looking tanned = looking healthy? Or do we all secretly want to be latino?


Yes, as I said, less than 100 years ago pale skin was a sign of wealth. I'm not really sure what posh people do actually, I think England has been overrun by rahs and their bloody orange skin and bleached hair. I haven't seen a proper posh person around for ages. Makes me sad :frown:

I think we've been conditioned into thinking that we all look better with a tan/looking orange. But most girls don't go about "looking healthy" in a healthy way. They'll use sunbeds or they'll skip out on sun cream and frazzle themselves all day in the sun.

I am Latina so I tan very easily and I am meant to be tanned (if that makes any sense to you) because I have olive skinned. Us olive kids tend to go yellowy-green due to lack of sunlight. We really do look unhealthy without a tan haha! So I fake tan all year round and I safely sunbathe in the summer, I prefer to walk around/play sports and get a tan rather than lie in the sun.

I think girls do want to look latina now actually... now you mention it.
Reply 19
Original post by coca
I think people should do whatever they want with their looks. Why not criticise white people for using fake tan, etc?


fake tans are acceptable because its not permanent unlike the methods the black/asian people are going through to feel ok in the white community

Quick Reply

Latest