American Versus Chinese Concepts of Beauty

Beauty trends come and go. Surrounded by millions of new information every day, we are forced to broaden our horizons and grab subversive ideas. People hold kinds of views on beauty individually in addition to stereotypes of the beauty displayed on the mass media, including fashion magazines and televisions. Moreover, people in different countries tend to have preferred beauty standards. Although the American seems to have a much broader concept of beauty than the Chinese people, both of them still have their standards when considering skin tone preference, body shape, and makeup style.

First of all, the main difference between the ideal beauty concept can come to skin tone preference. Although both Americans and Chinese societies have a specific skin tone that they spend much time and money maintaining, their specific preferred skin tones are different. In ancient times, people are all in the pursuit of the white perfect skin tone. However, due to reasons concerning fashion trends as well as social status, the American skin tone preference has changed gradually from white to tanned. According to Zoe Diana Draelos, who held a survey on about 4000 white female teenagers under the age of 19, above 30% of females in the USA used the tanning booth at least three times during their teenage years. However, in China, people still admire grow-in-the-dark skin at present. It is estimated that skin-whitening products make up for 60 percent of sales of skin-care items. Furthermore, skin tone preference influences daily behaviors. Hanging out the street, people can easily observe many Chinese girls wearing long sleeves, sunglasses, and hats under the umbrella to protect the skin from any tanning for beauty rather than from the UV for health.

Secondly, the most welcomed body shape is quite different in the US and China. Both American and Chinese people have an appreciation of many body shapes. Different people hold their unique beauty standards. However, the popular trend of body shape is different between American and Chinese people, especially on social media. American people prefer a body indicating gender characteristics to the utmost. In Kardashian-obsessed internet culture, lots of women desire a curvy body shape by consistently working out in the gym or even accepting a plastic surgery. In contrast, Chinese people do have stricter stereotype. Most Chinese girls want a slender body shape. According to a survey by Sing Lee of Hong Kong university students, almost all female students with a body mass index above 20.5 kg/m2 were on an even unhealthy diet for the sake of weight loss.

Last but not the least, big difference is displayed by the American and Chinese makeup style. Most American and Chinese females put their perfect makeups on when heading to conferences and parties. There are many American women out there whose goal is to have makeup that's done so flawlessly that it looks professionally airbrushed. Thus, people prefer a more substantial makeup style, with great foundations and concealers. When choosing the products, American girls tend to select a foundation cream that is warmer than her skin tone. However, other countries tend to go for a more natural look. Chinese girls tend to use a brighter color foundation since it will highlight their faces. Moreover, checks with pink blush and gradient lips in peach color construct the top look in Chinese girl makeup style. There is no doubt that people never apply a single makeup style. It is the most popular trend that is different in the US and China.

In conclusion, American and Chinese people have different concepts of beauty, when skin tone preference, body shape as well as makeup style are included into consideration. Although there are noticeable differences between American and Chinese concepts of beauty, both of them are in pursuit of beauty in their own eyes, indicating a positive life attitude. Thanks to friendly globalization, all kinds of concepts of beauty in different countries exist together, respected.

References

• Draelos, Z. D. (2009). The allure of tanned skin. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 8(1), 1-2.
• Leong, S. (2006). Who’s the fairest of them all? Television ads for skin-whitening cosmetics in Hong Kong. Asian Ethnicity, 7(2), 167-181.
• [bookmark: OLE_LINK3][bookmark: OLE_LINK4]Lee, S. (1993). How abnormal is the desire for slimness? A survey of eating attitudes and behavior among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. Psychological Medicine, 23(2), 437–451.
• Senseney, M., & Senseney, M. (2018, July 5). 8 Beauty Trends In America That Seem Weird To Other Cultures. 
• Lee, S. (1993). How abnormal is the desire for slimness? A survey of eating attitudes and behavior among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong.