In Comparison: Japanese, Caucasian, and African American Perceptions of Beauty

1
In Comparison Japanese, Caucasian, and African
American Perceptions of Beauty

2
Japanese Beauty Philosophy

• Beauty in Japanese thought "is not limited to
  physical beauty, i.e., beautiful flowers,
  beautiful women, but involves spiritual beauty
  also because Japanese ideology demands purity of
  mind, refinement of tastes, of individuals and
  mutual love.
• Extremely aesthetic culture

3
Wabi-sabi

• Zen-like philosophy which emphasizes tranquility
  with external. In other words, negates the idea
  that all beauty and knowing is not out there
  waiting to be discovered, but within each moment.
  
• Natural, ancient way which emphasizes simplicity.
  
• All things are impermanent.All things are
  imperfect.All things are incomplete.
• When accepted, these three tenants, allow for the
  maturation of contentment and happiness found in
  the unvarnished life. (Powell)

4
Tatemae and Honne

• Tatemae literally means the outward structure of
  a building
• Honne refers to the true and inner voice of a
  person.
• Japanese society recognizes these two might
  conflict due to the fact that society values
  harmony.
• This idea of face as it is called or tatemae is
  important to society which would make outward
  appearances important.

5
Past Present

• Japan has more of a mixture of traditional and
  modern styles in an everyday context. It is not
  abnormal to walk down the street and see people
  wearing kimonos in Japan.

6
Uniforms

• Uniforms are common in Japan. To the trained
  eye, it is possible to tell where everyone
  belongs based off of their uniform.
• Each school and company has a different uniform
  which everyone wears. In companies the
  presidents wear the same uniform as the factory
  workers.
• This is due to the fact that group unity is
  essential to Japanese culture.
• The Japanese view social harmony as vital and
  frown upon selfish individualism. It is expected
  that everyone is different, but social harmony is
  difficult to attain.

7
Bihaku

• Bihaku An expression which means 'beautiful
  white'
• The Japanese have long been derma-obsessed.
  Tanned skin is traditionally looked on with
  disdain in the Orient, where poets and writers
  idealized fair-skinned women in their work. Even
  the Japanese icon, the geisha, was rated by the
  condition of the skin on the back of her neck -
  the paler and softer it was, the more beautiful
  she was deemed to be.
• Japanese today will use chemicals to lighten skin
  color.

8
Harajuku

• Harajuku is a place in Tokyo where, on Sundays,
  Japanese youth will gather to exhibit their
  personal style wearing all sorts of odd clothing
  combinations. Additionally, there are sometimes
  informal music performances
• Considered to be the hottest new source of
  fashion
• This new fashion even more outrageous when
  juxtaposed with the uniformity or traditionalism
  typical of Japanese fashion.

9
Japanese Beauty Regimen

• According to the Challenging Beauty, a study
  conducted by Dove relating to differences in
  perceptions of beauty in different countries, the
  data illustrate that Japanese women are least
  likely to consider using deodorant, facial
  products, skin care as enhancing their beauty.
  This is considered a normal routine. Japanese
  women tend to turn more toward color enhancers to
  feel beautiful.
• The data collected for challenging Beauty also
  indicated that Japanese women felt that taking
  good care of themselves was the best way to feel
  beautiful
• According to the study, an important aspect to
  feeling beautiful is having a sense of style.
• The study showed that Japanese women do not feel
  pressured by society to look a certain way, in
  other words, the emphasis and strive for beauty
  is extremely internalized.

10
Hip-hop culture in the U.S. and Japan

• The European standard of beauty still applies to
  African-American women today despite the negative
  self-opinion it tends to promote.
• Hip-hop culture, despite its frequent
  objectification of women, seeks to break-down old
  gender roles and therefore gains a wider
  audience.
• In Japan, female Hip-Hopers use the genre to defy
  gender restrictions for women

11
Idealized Features Japanese

• Pale skin
• Straight hair
• Clean complexion
• Personal sense of style
• Slim and cute kawaii
• Despite amount of western models, retain a sense
  of national identity in terms of what is
  considered beautiful i.e. pale skin.

12
DUDES

• Men not considered part of the equation in terms
  of beauty
• In the past, men primping or being overly
  concerned with their looks was not attractive at
  it was un-masculine.
• Having a good physique is essential to the male
  model of physical attractiveness. ?

13
Men Past and Present

• Men who are admired at present tend to be more
  androgynous than in the past
• Men starting to take beauty into account and
  spend more time thinking about fashion and
  grooming etc.
• These men have been dubbed metrosexuals

14
Metrosexual Japanese Men

• Japanese men have overwhelmingly gone for the
  metrosexual lifestyle.
• Average 20 something males in Japan spend more
  time in a salon than average 20 something females
  in the U.S.
• Japanese men are using a range of products
  including Clinique etc.
• Men are spending exorbitant amounts of money, a
  man might spend 5,000 for a casual outfit
  consisting of only the most notable designers.

15
Ideal Features African-American

• At present
• Light skin color
• Styled hair
• European features
• Thin

16
Idealized Features Caucasian-American

• toned build
• Tanned skin
• Long, shiny hair
• As tall as possible
• Clear complexion

17
Comparisons

• Japanese and African-American culture prefer
  lighter skin.
• White people prefer tanned skin
• Japan everything goes (more of a mixture
  between traditional and modern)

18
Comparisons cont.

• Both Japanese and African-American women desire
  straight hair however, they utilize different
  methods of obtaining it.
• Especially important in African-American women,
  in Japan it is just a preference

19
Three different cultures not extremely varied
either in what is considered beautiful, nor how
to obtain beauty.
20

• If all our women were to become as beautiful as
  Venus de Medici we should for a time be charmed,
  but we should soon wish for variety, and as soon
  as we had obtained variety we should wish to see
  certain characteristics in our women a little
  exaggerated beyond the then existing common
  standard -Darwin

21

• I say let me never be completeI say may I never
  be contentI say deliver me from Swedish
  furnitureI say deliver me from clever artsI say
  deliver me from clear skin and perfect teethI
  say you have to give upI say evolve, and let the
  chips fall where they may
• Beautiful. Freaking beautiful.
• -Tyler Durden, Fight Club (inadvertently
  advertising the principles of wabi-sabi)

22

• Once there was an ugly barnacle, he was SO ugly
  that everyone died. The end.
• Patrick Star

23
Works Cited

• Non-Digital Sources
• Aint I a Beauty Queen?  Black Women, Beauty,
  and the Politics of Race by Maxine Leeds Craig,
  Oxford University Press, New York, 2002. 
• Contemporary Japan. McCargo, Duncan.

24
Works Cited

• Websites (Data)
• http//www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/uploadedfiles
  /dove_white_paper_final.pdf
• http//www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,7369,11853
  35,00.html
• http//www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is
  _47/ai_108722594
• http//www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history
  /2395/Black_hair_care_and_culture_a_story
• http//www.japanesestreets.com/magazines.htm
• http//www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/articles/2000
  _11_japanese.html

25
Works Cited

• Websites (Pictures)
• http//www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/images/Beyonc
  e.Carousel.jpg
• http//www.moviereporter.net/newsimages/newsGross_
  368.jpg
• http//img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/hikkiforeve
  r/magazines/08.jpg

26
Works Consulted

• English Japanese Dictionary. Harper Collins
  Publishers. Glasgow, Great Britain, 2003
• Making Out in Japanese. Geers, Todd Erika.
  Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, Japan, 2003.
• Oshare. Shiro Hana. Japan. (Its a Japanese
  fashion book, I cant read any of it!)
• http//www.translatum.gr/converter/currency.htm
• http//www.dickinson.edu/departments/amos/mosaic01
  steel/je/WIGS.jpg
• http//www.beautifulhairdos.com/pictures/beyonce.0
  1.jpg