tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/beauty-755/articlesBeauty – The Conversation2023-11-22T13:17:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169822023-11-22T13:17:37Z2023-11-22T13:17:37ZIn the face of death, destruction and displacement, beauty plays a vital role in Gaza<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560196/original/file-20231117-30-92u3yz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C79%2C1273%2C769&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Palestinian boy climbs on a painted wall in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57cf18ae6b8f5ba693497e1a/1474043441471-IU9GCH5Y6Z8XP9M8EYQJ/ap_63282323864.jpg?format=2500w">AP Photo/Hatem Moussa</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A small group of children in Gaza sit on a lavender and white blanket around a small tray of beverages, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzLUHMvtgo3/">singing “Happy Birthday”</a> to a young girl. Like kids her age around the world, she wears a sweatshirt with prints of Elsa and Anna, characters from “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">Frozen</a>”; unlike most kids, she’s celebrating against a backdrop of a war that, according to United Nations estimates as of Nov. 10, 2023, <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-44">has already killed more than 4,500 Palestinian children</a>. </p>
<p>Celebrating anything might seem odd or even inappropriate in the face of so much devastation – and in the middle of what <a href="https://time.com/6334409/is-whats-happening-gaza-genocide-experts/">many are calling genocide</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">in the research</a> of refugees that I’ve conducted with interdisciplinary artist and scholar <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">Devora Neumark</a>, we’ve found that the urge to beautify one’s surroundings is widespread and profoundly beneficial – particularly so in the harrowing circumstances of loss, displacement and danger.</p>
<p>When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter.</p>
<h2>Gaza today</h2>
<p>In the first six weeks of the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-40">70%</a> of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have had to leave <a href="https://sheltercluster.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/public/docs/Shelter%20Cluster_Gaza_Factsheet_%202%20November%202023.pdf?VersionId=yrMZO8faThzipir9nFzf8RNaOaefLSE5">or have lost their homes</a>. </p>
<p>Over half crowd into some type of emergency shelter, while others squeeze into relatives’ and neighbors’ homes. Food is scarce and increasingly expensive. According to the U.N., people are getting only <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-10#:%7E:text=As%20hostilities%20entered%20the%20tenth,Ministry%20of%20Health%20in%20Gaza">3% of the water</a> they need each day. Much of the water they do have is polluted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bird's eye view of buildings destroyed by bombs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rubble of the Yassin mosque, at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AP23282360829019-1696857723.jpg">Hatem Moussa/AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Crops <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/6/our-hearts-burn-gazas-olive-farmers-say-israel-war-destroys-harvest">are dying</a>. Moms <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231106-malnourished-sick-and-scared-pregnant-women-in-gaza-face-unthinkable-challenges">are not producing breast milk</a>. People are getting <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/disease-runs-rampant-gaza-clean-water-runs-rcna125091">sick</a>. There are severe shortages of <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190108-lack-of-medicated-baby-formula-puts-life-of-gaza-children-at-stake/">baby formula</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-hospital-procedures-without-anaesthetics-prompted-screams-prayers-2023-11-10/">anesthesia</a> for those <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/nightmarish-gazas-pregnant-women-endure-c-sections-without-anesthesia-15823792">needing surgery</a>. The lack of space and overwhelming stress and fear <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/oct/13/gaza-diary-we-survived-another-night-every-inch-of-my-body-aches-lack-of-sleep-is-torture">add sleep</a> to the list of things that are hard to come by.</p>
<p>These needs are urgent and essential. Without them people will die. <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-32">Too many already have</a>, while the conditions for those who live are horrific. They make it hard to see much else. </p>
<p>But the endless images of bombs and blood <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DaysofPalestine/posts/palestinian-school-girls-in-uniform-take-part-in-a-traditional-dabka-as-musician/2754532801440104/?locale=hi_IN">hide the story of the life</a>, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gaza-colorful-neighborhood-video_n_55c26079e4b0138b0bf4dc42">color</a> and <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/%E2%80%9Cwe-paint-safeguard-our-heritage%E2%80%9D">creativity</a> that existed in Gaza. And they hide the beauty that persists despite war. </p>
<p>Beauty is often viewed as a luxury. But this isn’t the case. It’s the opposite.</p>
<h2>A human impulse</h2>
<p>Beauty has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690900800205">a hallmark</a> of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt28557b">every human civilization</a>. Art philosopher <a href="https://books.google.it/books/about/The_Abuse_of_Beauty.html?id=hUFMv8LxuVUC&redir_esc=y">Arthur Danto</a> wrote that beauty, while optional for art, is not an option for life. Neuroscientists have shown that our brains are biologically <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/12/how-the-human-brain-is-wired-for-beauty/672291/">wired for beauty</a>: The neural mechanisms that influence attention and perception have adapted to notice color, form, proportion and pattern.</p>
<p>We’ve found that refugees worldwide, often with limited or no legal rights, <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">still invest considerable effort in beautifying</a> their surroundings. Whether they’re staying in shelters or makeshift apartments, they paint walls, hang pictures, add wallpaper and carpet the floors. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392120927755">They transform</a> plain and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2020.587063">seemingly temporary</a> accommodations into <a href="https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.43234">personalized spaces</a> – into semblances of home. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three people cover a tent with decorative fabric" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A decorative tarp added to a shelter at the Jeddah camp in Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sheltercluster.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/public/docs/GSC-Achievements-Report-2022_0.pdf?VersionId=ZQC_sNMTIhYrmybN1zjKIvMgqHcbYSEp">Sami Abdulla</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Refugees <a href="https://doi.org/10.3167/ame.2021.160103">rearrange spaces</a> to share meals, celebrate holidays and host parties – to greet friends, hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1798747">dances</a> and say goodbyes. They burn incense, serve tea in decorative porcelain and recite prayers on ornate mats. These simple acts <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">carry profound significance</a>, even amid challenges.</p>
<p>Urban studies scholars Layla Zibar, Nurhan Abujidi and Bruno de Meulder <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv25wxbvf.7">have told the story of Um Ibrahim</a>, a Syrian refugee. When she was pregnant, she and her husband transformed the tent they were issued at a refugee camp in the Kurdistan region of Iraq into home. They built brick walls. She planned paint colors and furniture. Around her, neighbors potted plants and set up chairs to create front porches on their temporary shelters to be able to gather with friends. They turned roads into places for celebrating special occasions. They painted a flag at the entrance of the camp. </p>
<p>They made a new home, but they also made it feel like it “<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv25wxbvf.7">used to in Syria</a>.” </p>
<h2>Creating hope in a hopeless place</h2>
<p>The benefits of beauty are both practical and transformative, especially for refugees. </p>
<p>Many refugees <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192%2Fpb.bp.114.047951">experience trauma</a>. All <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdt004">experience loss</a>. Beautifying is a way to exert agency, grieve and heal.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">Simple acts</a> – rearranging a home, sweeping the floor or intentionally placing an object – allow refugees to infuse an area with their <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv25wxbvf.9">own identity and taste</a>. They provide a way to cope when one has little control over anything else. Often, once someone is labeled a refugee, all their other identities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2015.1113633">are overshadowed or disappear</a>. </p>
<p>Devora Neumark’s study of over 200 individuals who experienced forced displacement found that beautifying the home helped <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">heal intergenerational trauma</a> caused by forced displacement. </p>
<p>Neumark observed that as children participated in efforts to beautify their home, it seemed to positively influence their own coping mechanisms and well-being.</p>
<p>Furthermore, if children could imagine their homes prior to displacement through the stories and images shared with them – what scholar Marianne Hirsch calls “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/472334.Family_Frames">postmemories</a>” – then the actions taken to beautify their present-day homes could be transformative. They served as a bridge connecting the past with the present and facilitated the ongoing process of healing and preserving identity. </p>
<p>Ultimately, making a space feel more comfortable, secure and personalized is a tangible expression of hope <a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40141">for a future</a>. </p>
<h2>Cultivating love and life</h2>
<p>Even prior to the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinians lived in the face of immense injustice and violence. </p>
<p>Our Palestinian research partner, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, described that their home in the refugee camp feels like living in jail, but that they still make it a beautiful place to live. </p>
<p>Prior to the start of the latest war, neighborhoods featured <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/%E2%80%9Cwe-paint-safeguard-our-heritage%E2%80%9D">striking murals</a> and <a href="https://banksyexplained.com/the-segregation-wall-palestine-2005/">embellished walls</a>. <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/02/gaza-mosque-history-islamic-civiliation-mamluk.html">Intricate mosaics</a> adorned buildings, and <a href="https://unicornriot.ninja/2023/colorful-neighborhood-in-gaza-celebrates-ramadan-with-vibrant-colors/">paint livened</a> the facades of homes. Neighbors would gather to pray, putting on new clothes, spraying perfume and burning incense to prepare for the rituals. As Christmas approached, Palestinian Christians, along with some Muslims, would <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2221441/middle-east">decorate their homes</a>. Both faiths would gather for <a href="https://www.newarab.com/media/images/gaza-begins-christmas-celebrations">annual tree lightings</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sit on a colorful carpet on a makeshift table eating prepared food." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Palestinians sit down for a meal of quail meat in a home at a refugee camp in Gaza in November 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/november-2020-palestinian-territories-khan-yunis-news-photo/1229669375?adppopup=true">Mohammed Talatene/Picture Alliance via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Geographer David Marshall described how youth living in a Palestinian refugee camp used beauty to focus on the positives in their environment and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2013.780713">dream about</a> a future beyond their camp – and the walls that constrained their lives. </p>
<p>In our community-based storytelling project in a Palestinian refugee camp this past summer, we witnessed the commitment to making homes beautiful in the thriving gardens that were created within very crowded quarters. Neighbors shared how their gardens <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandemics-gardening-boom-shows-how-gardens-can-cultivate-public-health-181426">calm them</a>, provide a place to gather with friends and serve as a reminder of fields they once tended.</p>
<p>In her 2021 research, Corinne Van Emmerick, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology, described Fatena, a Palestinian who was living in a refugee camp. She had <a href="https://romatrepress.uniroma3.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15.Aesthetics-from-the-Interstices.pdf">flowers on everything</a> – the roof, walls and windowsills. They were expensive and needed “lots of love.” But, Fatena added, they gave her “love back.”</p>
<h2>A form of resistance and resilience</h2>
<p>One Guinean refugee interviewed as part of Neumark’s study said, “As refugees we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">lose our sense of beauty</a>, and when that happens, we lose our sense of everything, of life itself.”</p>
<p>If the opposite of this is true, then clearly beauty cannot be thought of as superficial or an afterthought. One study of Bosnian refugees found that their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840490506392">ability to notice beauty</a> was a sign of improved mental health.</p>
<p>Creating, witnessing and experiencing beauty offers a connection to the familiar, works to preserve cultural identity and fosters belonging. </p>
<p>It’s what ensures that a little girl in Gaza not only has her birthday celebrated, but that it is also made as beautiful as possible.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl wears a birthday hat and holds three balloons in front of a destroyed building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Palestinian girl celebrates in front of a house destroyed by Israeli shelling during the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinian-girl-during-a-party-amuse-children-in-front-of-news-photo/526077258?adppopup=true">Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Devora Neumark, an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose trauma-informed work explores the intersections between a home beautification and the human experience in the context of displacement, contributed to writing this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Acker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter − and serves as a form of resistance and resilience.Stephanie Acker, Visiting Scholar of International Development, Community and Environment, Clark UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142702023-09-27T05:00:44Z2023-09-27T05:00:44ZIs TikTok right – will eating three carrots a day really give me a natural tan?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550462/original/file-20230926-27-87gql8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=367%2C22%2C2851%2C2132&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-knife-chopping-raw-carrot-2323628919">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A beauty trend gaining popularity on TikTok, dubbed the “<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@isabelle.lux/video/7255811427246558507?lang=en">carrot tan</a>”, claims eating three carrots a day will give you a natural tan. </p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-929" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/929/42552deab2963e0b80627704784d1a4b63fd0302/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>But can this really give you a natural glow? And is it healthy?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-are-carrots-orange-20646">Explainer: why are carrots orange?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why would carrots affect your skin tone?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225469/">Carotenoids</a> are natural pigments that give red, orange and yellow colours to fruits and vegetables. Think of them as nature’s paint. </p>
<p>There are many carotenoids including lutein, lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the carotenoid responsible for a carrot’s vibrant orange colour. </p>
<p>Once a beta-carotene containing food is digested, special cells in the gut break it into two molecules of retinol (also known as vitamin A). This vitamin A is then used in various critical bodily functions such as vision, reproduction, immunity and growth. </p>
<p>The body controls the conversion of beta-carotene into vitamin A based on what it needs. So, when the body has enough vitamin A, it slows down or stops converting beta-carotene into vitamin A. </p>
<p>Any extra beta-carotene is then either stored in the liver and fat tissue, excreted through poo, or removed via sweat glands in the outer layer of the skin. This is when the orange skin “tan” can happen. In medicine, this is called <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-4362.2003.01657.x#:%7E:text=Carotenoderma%20is%20a%20phenomenon%20characterized,finding%2C%20but%20a%20harmless%20condition.">carotenoderma</a>. </p>
<p>Carotenoderma gives your skin a yellow/orange pigment that is not the same colour you’d turn from a sun tan. It is <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/carotenoderma">concentrated</a> in the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and smile lines near the nose.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Carrots" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550463/original/file-20230926-27-jzcbex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eating lots of carrots can give your skin an orange tone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225469/">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Carrots are not the only food that contains beta-carotene. Dark-green leafy vegetables, some (not all) other yellow- and orange-coloured vegetables and fruits also contain high amounts. Beta-carotene is also found in parsley, basil, chives, chilli powder, sun-dried tomatoes and some dietary supplements. </p>
<h2>How many carrots are we talking?</h2>
<p>A few days of high carrot intake will unlikely result in a change in skin colour.</p>
<p>No high quality trials have been conducted to test the relationship between number of carrots eaten per day and skin colour changes or other outcomes. However, there is evidence that carotenoderma appears when blood levels get higher than <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534878/">250-500 µg/dL</a>.</p>
<p>One published <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eat.22015">case report</a> (where researchers talk about one patient’s case) found eating around 3 kilograms of carrots per week (about seven large carrots a day) induced skin colour changes. </p>
<p>Other experts suggest you would need to eat <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-eating-too-many-carrots-turn-your-skin-orange/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CYou%20would%20need%20to%20be,weeks%20you%20could%20develop%20it.%E2%80%9D">at least ten carrots per day</a>, for at least a few weeks, for colour changes to occur. Most people would find this carrot intake challenging.</p>
<p>The amount of carrots needed to change skin colour will also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523030289#:%7E:text=The%20absorption%20of%20%CE%B2%2Dcarotene,28%3A1%2C%20by%20weight.">depend on</a> the variety of carrot, its size and ripeness, the way the carrot is prepared (raw or cooked) and whether or not the carrot is eaten with a source of fat. A person’s weight and gastrointestinal health will also impact the amount of beta-carotene absorbed. </p>
<h2>Is it dangerous to eat too much beta-carotene?</h2>
<p>Vitamin A comes in two main forms, preformed vitamin A and provitamin A. </p>
<p>Preformed vitamin A is the active form of vitamin A found in animal-based foods including liver, fish liver oil, egg yolks and dairy products. When you eat these foods the preformed vitamin A is already ready to be used by the body. </p>
<p>Provitamin A compounds (including beta-carotene) are the precursors to vitamin A. Provitamin A compounds need to be converted into active vitamin A once inside the body. </p>
<p>Preformed vitamin A can be toxic if consumed in <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/vitamin-a">large amounts</a>.
However, provitamin A compounds <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225469/">don’t cause vitamin A toxicity</a> in humans because the body tightly regulates the conversion of provitamin A compounds to vitamin A. For this reason, there are <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/vitamin-a">no recommended</a> limits on how much beta-carotene a person can safely consume each day.</p>
<p>There is, however, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2793446">some</a> <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199404143301501">evidence</a> that taking high-dose beta-carotene supplements (20 mg per day or more) increases lung cancer risk in people who smoke cigarettes or used to smoke. This <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01635580903285155">may be due to</a> changes to chemical signalling pathways. </p>
<p>The Cancer Council therefore <a href="https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/cancer-prevention/diet-exercise/nutrition-and-diet/vitamin-supplements-and-cancer/">recommends</a> avoiding high doses of beta-carotene supplements (more than 20 mg per day), especially if you smoke. This <a href="https://wiki.cancer.org.au/policy/Position_statement_-_Beta-carotene_and_cancer_risk">does not</a> relate to wholefoods though, so people who smoke should still consume fruits and vegetables that have beta-carotene.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/carrots-and-pumpkin-might-reduce-your-risk-of-cancer-but-beware-taking-them-in-pill-form-75537">Carrots and pumpkin might reduce your risk of cancer, but beware taking them in pill form</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why you should aim for a variety of vegetables</h2>
<p>You can still use food to look great without focusing on eating carrots. Incorporating various colourful vegetables, particularly those high in carotenoids, into your diet may <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/7/7/5251">promote</a> a natural radiance and a gentle enhancement in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032988">skin tone</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than processed foods, a high variety of fresh vegetables provide various nutrients, and some may have what others lack. So it’s important to have a balanced diet that doesn’t depend on a single type of vegetable. </p>
<p>No matter how many carrots you eat in a day, it’s important to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523030265?via%3Dihub">protect</a> your skin with sunscreen when going outside.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health, Mater Misericordia and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Burch works for Southern Cross University.</span></em></p>Can this really give you a natural glow? And is it healthy?Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of QueenslandEmily Burch, Dietitian, Researcher & Lecturer, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2114272023-09-10T20:05:45Z2023-09-10T20:05:45ZGirlhood misery, bullying and beauty combine for Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s ‘unlikeable’ west-coast girls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546783/original/file-20230907-27-45npar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mart Production/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the post-menopausal generation reappraising what it means to be <a href="https://theshiftwithsambaker.substack.com/">an older woman</a>, the sheen of youth has become exposed. Women are told to fear the ageing process, but the truth is, I would not return to my teenage years, nor would any of the women I know. The worst part of growing older is watching the next generation go through it all again. </p>
<p>Female bullying is central to Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s fourth book, <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/west-girls-9781922585905">West Girls</a>, which aligns the misery of girlhood with the tyranny of conventional beauty. Weaving interconnected stories around a revolving cast of characters growing up in Western Australia, the novel cracks open the toxic power dynamics between a privileged huddle of “Blondes” and the culturally diverse girls they seek to marginalise. </p>
<p>Divided by wealth and ethnic discrimination, the two socially disparate groups are united in one respect: their alignment of prettiness with success.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Review: West Girls – Laura Elizabeth Woollett (Scribe)</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Not all the Blondes are pretty, “but there are a lot of them, and the prettiest ones have a way of boosting the average, like shiny tens added to a sequence of sixes”. Luna Lewis is in their thrall, but her Maltese heritage and Indonesian stepmother mean she blends in with the Asian girls instead. </p>
<p>As she grows up and sheds her childhood weight, she begins to realise the potential of her racially ambiguous looks after new student Makoto, an American who has appeared in Teen Vogue, mistakes her as “Eurasian” and advises her to audition for a modelling agency; Luna doesn’t correct the mistake.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546812/original/file-20230907-23-gleayw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Female bullying is central to Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s fourth novel, West Girls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leah Jing</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Harmful ideals of high school</h2>
<p>The vicious judgements and harmful ideals of high school feed into the adult world. Luna exploits the orientalism of the fashion industry and establishes a modelling career as Luna Lu. Chief Blonde, Caitlyn, represses her sexual desire for women to stay in a socially advantageous relationship with a controlling footballer prone to angry outbursts. Geli’s mental health declines as she struggles to work within the depersonalising environment of the cosmetic beauty industry. </p>
<p>Shifting between first- and third-person perspectives, these intersecting vignettes situate notions of femininity within equally precarious ideas about race and sexuality. </p>
<p>Woollett’s storytelling is stylish and sophisticated, and enquires into a range of urgent social and cultural issues. But the novel’s unerring insistence on a universal enslavement to beauty restricts the narrative scope and limits the depth of its characters. </p>
<p>When Luna flunks school after neglecting her studies to spend time with Blonde Caitlyn, she proclaims: “I chose the jagged rocks, the broken bones, the spattered brains. I chose beauty. I’d choose it again.” </p>
<p>The poetic drama of her statement is bold and impressive, though the sentiment rings hollow. In many ways, that’s the point of this clever, elegantly composed novel. But as a woman who actively resented “prettiness” when I was younger, I’m not buying it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-19th-century-ideas-influenced-todays-attitudes-to-womens-beauty-111529">Friday essay: how 19th century ideas influenced today's attitudes to women’s beauty</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Too pretty for words</h2>
<p>During my twenties, I was a music journalist in London who fought hard to be taken seriously. Despite publishing <a href="https://www.lizevanswrites.com/books-2">two books</a>, I was deemed too “pretty” for words. </p>
<p>Musicians expressed surprise at my intelligence, one male journalist offered to enhance a piece I did on <a href="https://theconversation.com/sexual-exhibitionism-riot-grrrl-and-climate-change-activism-30-years-of-raging-by-peaches-bikini-kill-and-bjork-still-going-strong-201388">Riot Grrl</a> and a senior editor butchered my exclusive interview with a vulnerable singer. The biggest shock came when a leading frontwoman, renowned for her baby-doll frocks, rock-star husband, and feminist lyrics, told me she’d assumed I wouldn’t be able to “give good interview”, because I was “pretty”. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546789/original/file-20230907-17-w9ihqk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An American who made headlines in the 1990s, my interviewee would make a perfect fit for Woollett’s book. Obsessed with her appearance, desperate for celebrity status, she was intelligent, charismatic and fascinating. She was also unstable and full of scorn for other women. Beneath the dazzle and shine, the outrageous lyrics and the sexy stage antics, there wasn’t a whole lot of intrigue. And that’s the trouble with West Girls. </p>
<p>The cleverest section of the book follows mining heiress Rikki, as she navigates relative poverty. Kicked out of her palatial family home for falling in love with an Indigenous boy who barely registers her existence, she ends up working in the print factory alongside the mothers of some of the Asian girls who make appearances elsewhere in the novel. “If you want your dad’s money, date someone white. It’s not hard,” says Caitlyn, or “the Goddess” as Rikki calls her. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-beyond-girl-gone-mad-melodrama-reframing-female-anger-in-psychological-thrillers-161583">Friday essay: beyond 'girl gone mad melodrama' — reframing female anger in psychological thrillers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unlikeable girls</h2>
<p>The novel’s only resistance to the towering myth of beauty comes from Katie. Blowing in from Europe on the run from personal trauma, she stumbles across the underbelly of Australia’s richest state in a remote mining town that simmers with violence. Her character offers a break from the ruthless, glamour-hungry west-coast girls, but it’s not enough to form a counterpoint. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546787/original/file-20230907-22-hxu0a7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Almost all the West Girls are unlikeable, which adds to the frustration. Unlikeable female characters offer some of the best potential for explorations of complex psychology, as shown by Nina in Harriet Lane’s <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/harriet-lane/her-a-fabulously-creepy-thriller">Her</a>, Laura in Paula Hawkins’ <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/a-slow-fire-burning-9781529176759">A Slow Fire Burning</a>, and Jasmine in R.F. Kuang’s <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780063250840/yellowface/">Yellowface</a>. Gleefully unfettered by what Irish academic Eva Burke calls “the social obligation of female likeability”, these are compelling women who refuse the complicity of niceness.</p>
<p>What sets these women apart from Woollett’s is a level of complication that makes the reader care: not necessarily about them, but about what they do. It’s not enough to feel invested in a character’s circumstances or situation, no matter how fascinating or significant. For a novel to have impact, ambitious themes need to be balanced by psychological and emotional depth. And in West Girls, that’s simply not the case.</p>
<p>Woollett is a self-assured and supremely talented writer, and the social and cultural subject matter of her novel sets it apart. But the beauty theme is too insistent, and the characters’ lack of interior complexity means they’re not as interesting as they could be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s fourth novel cracks open the toxic power dynamics between a privileged huddle of ‘Blondes’ and the culturally diverse girls they seek to marginalise.Liz Evans, Writer, Author, Journalist, Associate Lecturer in English & Writing:, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071712023-06-08T15:16:05Z2023-06-08T15:16:05ZBeauty procedures from manicures to cosmetic surgery carry risk — and the reward of a better life — podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530387/original/file-20230606-27-d4x6su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">UV lights in nail salons may be associated with the risk of skin cancer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Making yourself more beautiful can result in tangible, material rewards. <a href="https://thewalrus.ca/pretty-privilege-at-work/">Pretty privilege</a>, as it is called, can lead to greater access to money and social capital, resulting in a better quality of life.</p>
<p>In Brazil, this understanding that beauty is important to one’s social status and mental and emotional well-being has prompted the state to subsidize cosmetic surgery. But this pursuit of beauty has a dark side and can often mean exposure to harm. </p>
<p>And this isn’t limited to extreme beautification practices, like extensive cosmetic surgery. People are also willing to endure potential risks in more mundane and everyday beauty treatments — like manicures.</p>
<p>In this episode of <em>The Conversation Weekly</em>, we speak to an anthropologist and a cancer researcher about the potential harm inherent in seeking beauty treatments.</p>
<iframe src="https://embed.acast.com/60087127b9687759d637bade/6481c321a0ac590011369fbb" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="190px"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-561" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/561/4fbbd099d631750693d02bac632430b71b37cd5f/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>The illusion of choice</h2>
<p>Carmen Alvaro Jarrín is an associate professor of anthropology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, in the U.S. They research cosmetic surgery in Brazil and looked at how the state came to support access to cosmetic procedures as part of the delivery of health care. The plastic surgeon Ivo Pitanguy had campaigned for access to cosmetic surgery, arguing that everyone had the right to be beautiful.</p>
<p>“It surprised me how many of them get plastic surgery, and spend a lot of money on beauty because they see it as a way to attain upward mobility,” Jarrín said. Their book, <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520293885/the-biopolitics-of-beauty"><em>The Biopolitics of Beauty: Cosmetic Citizenship and Affective Capital in Brazil</em></a>, examined how beauty became a health right. </p>
<p>Many of those who access state-subsidized clinics cannot afford cosmetic procedures privately. And these clinics come with a risk — often they are used as training centres and many patients have experimental procedures tested on them, sometimes with drastic effects.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-brazil-patients-risk-everything-for-the-right-to-beauty-94159">In Brazil, patients risk everything for the 'right to beauty'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>“People believe that beauty gives you wealth. If you’re born poor and you’re beautiful, people think that it will give you upward mobility. Everybody was convinced that they would gain upper mobility,” Jarrín explains. “Anthropologists have noticed that the more unequal a society is, and the less upward mobility there is, the more that people will take to these magical means. In Brazil, beauty has that kind of magical quality to it.”</p>
<p>Access to cosmetic surgery promises better job opportunities and social mobility. In that context, seeking medical intervention to become more beautiful can be a rational choice.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lNt4S40RwoY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Unreported World’ looks at access to cosmetic surgery for lower income women in Brazil.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The risk of exposure</h2>
<p>It’s not just plastic surgery, or in Brazil, where the pursuit of beauty can carry an extreme price. The growing popularity of gel manicures, with their employ of UV lights, can also place people at risk.</p>
<p>In 2016, Karolina Jasko — the 2018 Miss Illinois — was diagnosed with a rare form of melanoma on her thumb nail. Her cancer had been triggered by exposure to UV lights in nail parlours from getting regular manicures.</p>
<p>Maria Zhivagui is a postdoctoral researcher in environmental toxicology and cancer genomics at the University of California, in the U.S. She recently co-authored a study on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-35876-8">the impacts of using UV light to cure nail polish</a>.</p>
<p>“We started hearing about a lot of cancer cases that developed from artificial UV lamp exposure,” Zhivagui said. “We found this UV nail machine that is used in nail salons and that has been linked to cancer in females, that occurs on the dorsum of the hand or on the nail and the finger. And that was a very rare cancer, we usually don’t observe it.”</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1625125501772627968"}"></div></p>
<p>Her team found that UV nail lamps can cause mutations in human and mice cells. Once she saw the effects, Zhivagui — who would often get manicures and would even do them herself at home — stopped using the UV lights.</p>
<p>“After seeing the effects on the mitochondria, on the DNA and cell death, I was like, no, this is very alarming,” she said. “And I stopped immediately getting exposed to these UV radiations in nail salons.”</p>
<p>While UV lights are widely used in nail salons, the devices are easy to acquire for home use. And as they become more widely accessible, it’s likely more people are exposing themselves to risk.</p>
<hr>
<p>This episode was written and produced by Nehal El-Hadi and Mend Mariwany, who is also the executive producer of The Conversation Weekly. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl.</p>
<p>You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>. </p>
<p>Listen to <em>The Conversation Weekly</em> via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmen Alvaro Jarrín received a Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion funding.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Zhivagui does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Being beautiful can improve a person’s quality of life and emotional wellbeing. But sometimes, there is a risk of harm — from exposure to cancer-causing UV light, to cheap cosmetic procedures.Nehal El-Hadi, Science + Technology Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2037512023-04-28T14:46:54Z2023-04-28T14:46:54ZBeauty ideals were as tough in the middle ages as they are now<p>After turning up at this year’s Grammys, Madonna was subjected to a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/madonna-now-grammys-facelift-recent-b2279848.html">vitriolic online attack</a> over her appearance, particularly what was deemed her excessive use of plastic surgery. The irrepressible 64-year-old instantly hit back, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in. I look forward to many more years of subversive behaviour pushing boundaries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s a familiar story. Standards of beauty have been embedded in different cultures, in varying forms, from time immemorial. The standards that women and, increasingly, all people are expected to meet to embody a certain level of beauty, are often based on binary notions of idealised forms of femininity or masculinity, or both. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1627713003238965248"}"></div></p>
<p>Women’s bodies have been pathologised throughout history, from Plato’s notion of the “<a href="https://www.rcn.org.uk/library-exhibitions/Womens-health-wandering-womb">wandering womb</a>” which was used to account for every female physical and emotional ailment. In medieval <a href="https://juliamartins.co.uk/what-is-the-humoral-theory">humoral theory</a>, women were considered <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2011/08/the-female-body-in-medieval-europe-theories-of-physicality-versus-practical-gynecology/">cold and wet in constitution</a>, and more prone to certain afflictions.</p>
<p>The association of beauty with health, and ugliness with disease, has been taken up in more recent feminist debate over the modern cultural obsession with women’s appearance as an <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/beauty-sick/renee-engeln/9780062469786">epidemic</a>. It’s no wonder that instances of anxiety, depression, eating disorders and dysmorphia can all be connected to modern – and indeed, pre-modern – people’s experience of beauty standards.</p>
<p>In her 1991 book <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/oct/18/classics.shopping">The Beauty Myth</a>, Naomi Wolf argued that the standards of western female beauty were used as a weapon to stagnate the progress of women. But in medieval culture, such pressures were doubly weighted, since beauty was closely aligned with morality: beauty was associated with goodness and ugliness with evil.</p>
<p>Such cultural associations are addressed by Eleanor Janega in her book <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/events/the-once-and-future-sex-eleanor-janega-in-conversation-with-cat-jarman/london-gower-street">The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society</a>. In her lively exploration of medieval women’s social roles, Janega shows how beauty “was a key to power”, crucially connected to wealth, privilege, youth and maidenhood – to create “a ‘perfect’ sort of femininity”. </p>
<p>Janega explores medieval gender norms to consider the ways that women’s roles have – and haven’t – changed. Focusing on female beauty standards and contradictions, sex and female sexuality, and women’s roles as workers, wives and mothers, Janega reflects on what this study of women in the middle ages means now:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Turns out that the way we think about and treat women is socially malleable, and while some of our constructs have changed, we continue to treat women as inferior to men. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Weaponising beauty</h2>
<p>I’ve recently been examining a type of weaponised beauty that some religious women in the middle ages appeared to practise to emphasise the more superior beauty of their inner selves. In BBC Radio Wales’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001l1rl">The Idea</a>, I explored how some medieval saints subverted standards of “traditional” female beauty to avoid living lives that would hinder their chastity and spiritual goals: in other words, taint the beauty of their souls.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An ancient pen and ink drawing of a female saint mutilating herself in front of vikings." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520863/original/file-20230413-14-ozhcz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">St Æbbe and her nuns mutilate their faces in front of the Vikings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecclesiae_Anglicanae_Trophae_-_Plate_18.jpg">Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri / Venerable English College, Rome / WIkipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of their tactics were extreme. In a female monastery in the Scottish borders, the abbess was a woman known as Æbbe the Younger, daughter of Æthelred, King of Northumbria. As marauding Vikings attacked the monastery, and terrified of being defiled, Æbbe attempted to repel them by disfiguring her face:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The abbess, with an heroic spirit… took a razor, and with it cut off her nose, together with her upper lip unto the teeth, presenting herself a horrible spectacle to those who stood by. Filled with admiration at this admirable deed, the whole assembly followed her maternal example. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><em><strong>From Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History, Comprising the History of England</strong></em></p>
<p>Though the nuns’ mutilated faces did cause the Vikings to flee, they later returned to set fire to the monastery, burning the women alive. But in their martyrdom, the nuns’ souls remained beautiful and untainted, which was what they had desired.</p>
<p>In 15th-century legend, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilgefortis">Wilgefortis</a>, a young Christian Portuguese princess determined to live in perpetual virginity, was commanded by her parents to marry a pagan Sicilian king. At her refusal, her father had her imprisoned and tortured. Wilgefortis starved herself in penance and prayed to God that she should be disfigured.</p>
<p>Her prayers were answered and she miraculously grew a moustache and a beard. Horrified at the loss of her beauty the suitor rejected her, and her furious father ordered that she be crucified. As she died on the cross, Wilgefortis beseeched other women to pray through her to be delivered from vanity and erotic desire. </p>
<p>Wilgefortis’s metamorphosis from female-coded standards of medieval beauty to a type of <a href="https://www.health.com/mind-body/transmasculine">transmasculinity</a> offered by her beard and moustache, is, like Æbbe’s self-mutilation, an act of physiological resistance. Wilgefortis prays for deformity and God bestows her with the facial hair that repulses her suitor and secures the beauty of her soul.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a beard wearing a dress being crucified on a cross." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520861/original/file-20230413-16-4lx37a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bearded Wilgefortis was crucified by her own father for wishing away her beauty so she didn’t have to marry a pagan king.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Hl_kuemmernis_museum_neunkirchen.jpg">Städtisches Museum Neunkirchen / Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Eternal beauty?</h2>
<p>Today’s cosmetic surgeons, in supplying women like Madonna with surgical answers to their supposed aesthetic problems, might also serve as God-like figures in the continuing quest to adhere more closely to the standards of beauty that medieval saints like Æbbe and Wilgefortis harnessed in order to subvert.</p>
<p>In fact, the “gods” of cosmetic surgery, like the God of medieval Christianity, somehow enable their worshippers to match their outward appearance with their inner feelings – the states of their souls – allowing them to make peace with the variants of beauty that they desire.</p>
<p>As in the medieval past, women today negotiate the parameters of beauty in which they have been historically confined, embracing change and letting their souls spill out as they decide what beauty means for them and their bodies.</p>
<p>The pursuit of youth and beauty – and beauty within – is rarely without pain, but as we know, that makes for a powerful weapon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Kalas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Standards of beauty have been embedded in different cultures, in varying forms, from time immemorial. What endures is that women are still regarded as inferior to men.Laura Kalas, Senior Lecturer in Medieval English Literature, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024222023-04-10T12:05:42Z2023-04-10T12:05:42ZA new femininity is starting to emerge in China<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519900/original/file-20230406-694-1vo2lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=756%2C24%2C4671%2C3084&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Models wearing outfits that reflect traditional Chinese culture walk the runway during China's International Fashion Week in March 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/model-walks-the-runway-at-to-ji-collection-show-by-chinese-news-photo/1477970906?adppopup=true">VCG/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the course of the last century, <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/isl/files/occidentalisation_of_beauty_standards_eurocentrism.pdf">Western beauty ideals</a> – thinness, light skin, large breasts, large eyes, a small nose and high cheekbones – have seeped into countries and cultures around the world.</p>
<p>But cracks are starting to emerge in these hegemonic beauty standards.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Qingyue-Sun-2238512322">In my work</a> as a social media scholar, I started to notice significant changes in beauty standards on Chinese social media over the past few years.</p>
<p>China’s <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview">economic success</a> has enabled it to emerge as a major player in the global beauty market, and the country’s own beauty industry is starting <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2854d9">to redefine the concept of feminine beauty</a>.</p>
<h2>From ‘iron women’ to Western idealization</h2>
<p>Around the world, the beauty industry has long been, as feminist scholar <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315733432">Meeta Jha writes</a>, a site of “ongoing struggles for economic development and mobility, modernity, social prestige, and power.” </p>
<p>As early as the 1920s, Chinese calendar posters began featuring Westernized women as symbols of “<a href="https://www.abebooks.com/Chinese-Woman-Modernity-Calendar-Posters-1910s-1930s/18300902511/bd">Shanghai modernity</a>.” </p>
<p>However, after the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, Mao Zedong rejected Western beauty ideals as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812205251.132">bourgeois vanity</a>.” His regime aimed to eliminate gender differences by promoting a more masculine-looking female image, such as “iron women” <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2854d9">who drove tractors and operated welding machines</a>. </p>
<p>But this started to shift in the 1980s after China’s <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5cgbnk">Open Door Policy</a> went into effect. </p>
<p>During this period, the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700701439499">Meinv Jingji</a>,” or Chinese beauty economy, emerged. Completely subverting the previous communist beauty ideology, it <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21114079/">legitimized beauty consumption through capitalist enterprises</a>. </p>
<p>This shift led to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2854d9">an obsession with mimicking Western features</a>, such as whiter skin, higher-bridged noses and <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/43499/1/why-double-eyelid-surgery-popular-asia">double eyelids</a>, which is also known as “Asian blepharoplasty,” <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/cosmeticsurgery/aestheticservices/face/asian-double-eyelid.html">a surgical procedure</a> that produces a crease in the eyelid, resulting in a larger, more symmetrical eye shape.</p>
<h2>Split femininity</h2>
<p>In recent years, however, a unique beauty culture has emerged on Chinese social media. To me, the different iterations represent the tensions and contradictions of various cultural forces.</p>
<p>One look that’s become immensely popular is what I call “split femininity.” I use the word “split” because this look <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498548847/From-Factory-Girls-to-K-Pop-Idol-Girls-Cultural-Politics-of-Developmentalism-Patriarchy-and-Neoliberalism-in-South-Korea%E2%80%99s-Popular-Music-Industry">oscillates between hypersexuality and infantilization</a>. </p>
<p>In split femininity, qualities such as purity and innocence coexist with sultry, erotic imagery. There’s even a Chinese term for this seeming contradiction – “chun yu,” or “purity and desire.” Another related term, “ke tian ke yan,” metaphorically links beauty to tastes, <a href="https://hahachn.wordpress.com/2018/08/16/ke-yan-ke-tian/">such as sweetness and saltiness</a>. </p>
<p>Together, these terms – and their accompanying looks – imply a flexible femininity that can switch between dominant and submissive, sexy and cute.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two social media posts displaying three headshots of the same model." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518848/original/file-20230401-16-wwkrh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A blogger named ‘MissPiggy’ showcases makeup that reflects ‘chun yu,’ or ‘purity and desire.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Qingyue Sun</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Split femininity is often customized for particular occasions, such as dates. Another popular makeup style under the split femininity umbrella is called “xian nv luo lei,” which translates into “the fairy wept, and the man knelt.” This particular look seeks to capture and celebrate feminine vulnerability. Many of its promoters say it’s the best look for women who are arguing with men.</p>
<p>In essence, split femininity fuses a form of passive femininity that’s redolent of China’s <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498548847/From-Factory-Girls-to-K-Pop-Idol-Girls-Cultural-Politics-of-Developmentalism-Patriarchy-and-Neoliberalism-in-South-Korea%E2%80%99s-Popular-Music-Industry">traditional patriarchal values</a> with the commodification of female sexuality. </p>
<h2>Globalized femininity</h2>
<p>Another beauty trend, “globalized femininity,” centers on transnational, cross-cultural beauty themes. </p>
<p>Chinese beauty influencers pull from the looks of international celebrities, historical periods and popular media coverage to craft diverse forms of femininity that span cultural boundaries. </p>
<p>For example, Thai beauty norms often showcase bold eyebrows and warm skin tones, whereas Western beauty ideals generally emphasize a sexualized, provocative look with dramatic facial contours. Chinese beauty bloggers will combine these various influences to craft new models of femininity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three social media posts depicting headshots of the same model featuring different looks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518849/original/file-20230401-20-hpuale.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Chinese influencer displays looks inspired by Thai, Western and Korean femininity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Qingyue Sun</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Korean culture has also influenced many beauty trends that are currently in vogue, with K-pop female idols serving as a significant source of inspiration. <a href="https://black-pink.fandom.com/wiki/Jennie">Jennie Kim</a>, a member of the K-pop group Blackpink, has become known for her edgy streetwear, coupled with a soft and feminine facial appearance. Her unique style has inspired the emergence of the “<a href="https://www.ifanjian.net/jbk/nxnx.html">baby fierce</a>” look. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two social media posts depicting two headshots of two different models." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519383/original/file-20230404-22-elacbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Influencers Ruby and YCC post two ‘baby fierce’ looks inspired by K-pop star Jennie Kim.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Qingyue Sun</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rise of globalized femininity might appear to indicate a shift away from Western-centric beauty ideals. But it is important to recognize that many of these global sources of inspiration have already been Westernized or are a product of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315733432/global-beauty-industry-meeta-jha">Western beauty assimilation</a>. </p>
<p>In China, the trend of globalized femininity can simply be seen as a re-imagination of established Westernized beauty standards adapted to a Chinese context.</p>
<h2>Nationalist femininity</h2>
<p>Nationalist femininity, referred to as “China beauty,” has also become increasingly popular on Chinese social media. </p>
<p>This form of femininity appeals to national pride by integrating Chinese aesthetics and modernity through inspiration from traditional Chinese culture, tropes and imagery. Classic Chinese myths such as “<a href="https://archive.shine.cn/sunday/now-and-then/Phoenix-leaves-mark-on-culture/shdaily.shtml">A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to The Phoenix</a>” and Chinese literature like the novel “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Journey-to-the-West">Journey to the West</a>” inspire extravagant looks imbued with symbolism. </p>
<p>One illustration of the fusion of traditional and modern beauty practices is the adoption of <a href="https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/peking-opera-00418">the Peking Opera’s</a> makeup techniques, which are characterized by ceramic white skin, red lips and finely arched eyebrows. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two social media posts showcasing two headshots of the same model." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518847/original/file-20230401-14-1htj6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The influencer YCC shows off two examples of ‘China beauty.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Qingyue Sun</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nationalist beauty trends have become a means for China’s <a href="https://firstclasse.com.my/guochao-chinese-trend-making-made-in-china-cool/">homegrown brands to expand their market share</a> and reverse the negative connotations of “<a href="https://daoinsights.com/works/guochao-the-chinese-brands-breaking-the-made-in-china-stereotype/">Made in China</a>.”</p>
<p>While Western capitalism and consumerism have long driven the global beauty industry, the evolution of Chinese beauty culture is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2012.723387">not simply a history of assimilation or suppression</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, it is a complex process that involves compromise, integration and resistance against the dominance of Western beauty ideals. The emergence of nationalist femininity, the popularity of split femininity and the trend of globalized femininity are all manifestations of this dynamic nature. </p>
<p>As contemporary Chinese beauty culture encompasses a blending of traditional Chinese culture, modern aesthetics and global influences, it promises to create a unique identity that is distinctively Chinese.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Qingyue Sun does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Contemporary beauty culture in China blends traditional Chinese culture with modern aesthetics and global influences.Qingyue Sun, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, Culture and Media, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007652023-03-03T12:51:03Z2023-03-03T12:51:03ZDavid Bowie: five must-have items for the V&A’s new centre<p>The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64729309">announced</a> the opening of a new David Bowie Centre for the Performing Arts in 2025 at V&A East Storehouse in east London. This follows the news that the museum has acquired – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/23/va-lands-huge-archive-of-david-bowie-memorabilia">through donation</a> – the artist’s fabled archive. </p>
<p>This collection of over 80,000 objects formed the basis of the museum’s 2013 exhibition <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/mar/24/david-bowie-is-exhibition-review">David Bowie Is</a>. It includes personal correspondence, lyric sheets, photographs, costumes, set designs, music awards, films, album artwork, instruments and plans for unrealised projects. </p>
<p>The show’s curators, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh, described it as “one of the most, if not the most, complete archive of any pop music artist” of all time, </p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4wyp6TmKmF6XnQBXvGnfCO?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p>In 2020, I was <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/english/news/article/1707/the-cambridge-companion-to-david-bowie">commissioned</a> to edit The Cambridge Companion to David Bowie, having long researched <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/123490/">the artist’s</a> (often ghostly) presence in both <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10486801.2014.885902">contemporary theatre</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2017.1334384">recent cinema</a>. </p>
<p>Here are my top five Bowie treasures, with a playlist that sounds out his <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-then-and-now-just-who-is-david-bowie-42052">playful curiosity</a> about how we occupy our bodies and <a href="https://theconversation.com/bowie-and-gender-transgression-what-a-drag-44569">genders</a>, his tender sense of our need for beauty and his passionate respect for <a href="https://theconversation.com/bowies-magical-wardrobe-led-his-fans-into-strange-new-musical-landscapes-53120">style</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Jockstrap</h2>
<p>During the 1973 Ziggy Stardust tour, <a href="https://www.snapgalleries.com/portfolio-items/david-bowie-by-masayoshi-sukita/">Masayoshi Sukita</a> photographed a <a href="https://www.snapgalleries.com/product/masayoshi-sukita-david-bowie-gimmie-your-hands/">near-naked Bowie</a> performing before a joyously crazed Japanese crowd, wearing only a <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2005/07/where-have-all-the-jockstraps-gone.html">jockstrap</a>. </p>
<p>This piece of athletic kit, so evocative of <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/304335047.pdf">sport’s homosocial energies</a> and of <a href="https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/6517/1/Humberstone-older_people_sexualities.phd.pdf">working-class culture</a>, creates an irreverent tension with the androgyny and strangeness of the costumes fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto created for that same tour. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="David Bowie on stage wearing red boxing gloves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512902/original/file-20230301-16-3ttafv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Diamond Dogs tour in 1974.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hdport/3329403108/in/photostream/">Hunter Desportes/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bowie was at his most gloriously <a href="https://core.ac.uk/works/9206049">queer</a> when trafficking in images of iconic, traditional (and intensely vulnerable) masculinity. Other notable accessories include the red boxing gloves he wore during live performances of his 1973 track Panic in Detroit and the darker gloves he sports on the cover of 1983’s Let’s Dance.</p>
<h2>2. The 1973 Hammersmith Odeon dressing table</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c9mq/">Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture</a>, the 1973 Donn Alan Pennebaker documentary about Bowie’s final Ziggy gig, we see the artist preparing for the stage. As he sits in front of a mirrored dressing table, his makeup artist applies rouge, eyeshadow and eyeliner, transforming him from a pallid young man into a feminine icon. </p>
<p>I’d like the new centre to recreate the dressing table: the two bottles of wine (one opened), the white plastic cups, the boxes of tissues, the large tin of hairspray, the container of Johnson & Johnson baby powder, the well-used green ashtray.</p>
<p>This gentle display of the mundane paraphernalia of 1970s femininity speaks to Bowie’s lifelong preoccupation with what English literature expert Shelton Walderp terms an <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-aesthetics-of-self-invention">“aesthetics of self-invention”</a>, stretching from Bowie back to Oscar Wilde, and beyond to Shakespeare and Japanese Kabuki theatre. </p>
<h2>3. Bowie’s copy of George Orwell’s 1984 – and other books</h2>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/noBhZMIQERI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>One installation in the 2013 V&A show featured a faceless mannequin with outstretched arms, high, high up in the space. It was draped in a cloak designed by Yamamoto in 1973, a white floor-length garment, made in the <a href="https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/kabuki/en/production/performance1.html">Japanese hikinuki tradition</a> and designed to be ripped off in a speedy onstage costume change. It is covered in red and black <a href="https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html">kanji</a> which translate as “one who spits out words in a fiery manner”. </p>
<p>Suspended around it in the V&A, like so many birds in flight, were 20-odd books from Bowie’s personal library by authors including RD Laing, Vladimir Nabokov and Hubert Selby Jr. </p>
<p>I’d love to see Bowie’s copy of George Orwell’s 1984 feature – a novel I read, aged 12, after I had heard Bowie was writing a musical based on it. Also, anything he owned by French writer Jean Genet, whose name inspired the title of the 1972 single, The Jean Genie, and whose final book, Prisoner of Love (1986) inspired the eponymous song Bowie recorded with Tin Machine in 1989. </p>
<h2>4. The Hedi Slimane three piece suit – and other blue suits</h2>
<p>On 1977’s Sound and Vision, Bowie <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/sound-and-vision">famously sang</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Blue, blue, electric blue<br>
That’s the colour of my room </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This sentiment chimes with the filmmaker, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/why-derek-jarman-s-life-was-even-more-influential-than-his-films-9137025.html">Derek Jarman</a>’s own take on the colour (in Chroma: A Book of Colour):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Blue, an open door to the soul<br>
An infinite possibility<br>
Becoming tangible</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bowie greatly admired Jarman, an extract of whose film, <a href="https://mubi.com/films/blue">Blue</a>, was played during the pre-show music for the 1995 Outside tour. Like Jarman, Bowie loved the colour blue, maybe, in part, because he knew how good he looked in it. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZKcl4-tcuo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Like he did in the turquoise suit Freddi Burretti designed for his 1973 Life on Mars? video, whose vivid hue echoed Bowie’s eye make-up; or the powder-blue suit designed by Peter Hall that featured regularly on the 1983 Serious Moonlight tour; and the gorgeous petrol-blue three-piece, designed by Hedi Slimane, that he wore on his 2002 Heathen tour. </p>
<h2>5. The white Supro guitar – and other instruments</h2>
<p>One of the most compelling photographs in the David Bowie Is catalogue is of the <a href="https://dshowmusic.com/supro-david-bowie-1961-dual-tone-guitar/">white Supro 1961 Dual Tone</a> electric guitar that Bowie played on his final tour, in support of the 2003 Reality album. The image remains emblematic of Bowie’s dogged commitment to the possibilities, and actual making of music.</p>
<p>Other instruments of note would include the <a href="https://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/2028/14-mar-2018-esteemed-music-producer-tony-visconti-shares-tips-on-working-with-artists-including-david-bowie-and/">12-string acoustic guitar</a> he turned to throughout his career; the <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-david-bowie-song-inspired-by-kyoto-japan/">Japanese koto</a> he plays on the 1977 track Moss Garden; the <a href="https://research.tees.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/6359081/344409.pdf">saxophone</a> he had played since he was a teenager; and the harmonicas that followed him from 1969’s song Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed to 2016’s I Can’t Give Everything Away, the final track on <a href="https://theconversation.com/david-bowies-late-revival-belongs-to-a-grand-tradition-dating-back-to-beethoven-71031">Blackstar</a>, his final album.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200765/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Denis Flannery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The artist’s fabled archive spans his entire career, showcasing his playful curiosity, his need for beauty and his respect for style.Denis Flannery, Associate Professor in American Literature, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989902023-02-15T01:51:42Z2023-02-15T01:51:42ZCould buccal massage – the latest celebrity beauty trend – make you look older, not younger?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509368/original/file-20230210-18-xqv6c9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C5%2C995%2C555&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manual-sculpting-face-massage-young-woman-1441681823">Alexander Egizarov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/05/meghan-markle-royal-wedding-prep">reportedly</a> had it before marrying Prince Harry. Jennifer Lopez is also <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/917768/jennifer-lopez-is-a-fan-of-meghan-markle-s-pre-wedding-facial-too">apparently</a> a fan. We’re talking about a type of facial called a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/jan/30/why-celebrities-love-buccal-massage-mouth-facial">buccal massage</a>”.</p>
<p>But what exactly is a buccal massage? Does it really sculpt the face, <a href="https://www.skincarebyamypeterson.com/buccal-sculpting-facial">as claimed</a>? Are there risks? Could it actually make your skin look “looser” and older?</p>
<p>You probably won’t be surprised to hear there isn’t evidence from rigorous controlled scientific studies to show buccal massage gives you a more contoured look. </p>
<p>But talking about it can raise awareness about our facial muscles, what they do, and why they’re important.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-amber-heard-really-have-the-worlds-most-beautiful-face-an-expert-explains-why-the-golden-ratio-test-is-bogus-187018">Does Amber Heard really have the world's most beautiful face? An expert explains why the Golden Ratio test is bogus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is buccal massage? Does it work?</h2>
<p>Buccal massage (pronounced “buckle”) is also called “intra-oral” massage. The term “buccal” comes from the Latin “bucca” meaning “cheek”. </p>
<p>In buccal massage, a beautician inserts their fingers into the buccal cavity – the space between your teeth and the inside of your cheeks – <a href="https://www.instyle.com/beauty/skin/buccal-facials">to</a> “massage and sculpt your skin from the inside”. </p>
<p>They apply pressure between the thumb (on the outside the mouth), and pinch and move fingers (inside the mouth), to stretch and massage the muscles. </p>
<p>You can also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPpPEG7ZX2w">perform it on yourself</a>, which may give you better control over stopping if <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/44445/1/buccal-massage-sharpen-cheekbones">it hurts</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBeua74FLm-","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>But could all of this (rather expensive) action really change the shape of your face, or how it looks, feels, or moves?</p>
<p>It’s extremely unlikely, since the shape of your face is influenced by a lot more than your muscles. Any claims of buccal massage providing any lasting impact or “uplift” on the contours of the face are purely anecdotal.</p>
<p>In the absence of controlled trials reporting on the effects of buccal massage, it’s unlikely stretching your skin and oral or facial muscles in this way will provide any lasting benefit.</p>
<p>That’s possibly because buccal massage is “passive” – the muscles are only moving by the effort of the beautician.</p>
<p>In contrast, “active” movement of face muscles, through a program of face exercises, was associated with some improvements to facial appearance in a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5885810/">small study</a> of middle-aged women.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-ugly-history-of-cosmetic-surgery-56500">Friday essay: the ugly history of cosmetic surgery</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>But facial massage and stretching can help some</h2>
<p>External massaging or stretching muscles in the face, however, can help some people with certain medical conditions affecting the jaw, or how the mouth opens.</p>
<p>This includes people with <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24086-trismus">trismus</a>. This is when the temporomandibular joint – where the jawbone meets the skull – can be so tight it’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493203/">hard to open your mouth</a>. </p>
<p>Face massage can also provide <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237268/">some relief</a> for people with jaw clenching or <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bruxism/symptoms-causes/syc-20356095">bruxism (teeth grinding)</a> when it relaxes the muscle and reduces tension. </p>
<p>Health professionals might also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305417915000546?via%3Dihub">prescribe</a> mouth and face stretches and exercises for someone recovering from <a href="https://www.vicburns.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Face-and-mouth-exercises_020419.pdf">facial burns</a>. This is to make sure that, as someone heals, their skin is flexible and muscles mobile for the mouth to open wide enough and move properly. Being able to open your mouth wide enough is vital for eating and tooth brushing. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-grind-my-teeth-and-clench-my-jaw-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-172298">Why do I grind my teeth and clench my jaw? And what can I do about it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is buccal massage safe?</h2>
<p>As there is no scientific research into buccal massage, we don’t know if it’s safe or if there are any risks.</p>
<p>The firm touch, squeezing and movement of another person’s fingers on the sensitive mucous membrane (moist lining) inside your mouth could be both uncomfortable and off-putting. This action will also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/odi.12867#:%7E:text=Stimulation%20of%20mechanoreceptors%20in%20the,%2C%20%26%20Berg%2C%201987">stimulate your salivary glands</a> to produce saliva, which you’ll need to spit or swallow. </p>
<p>As buccal massage involves a beauty therapist’s fingers being inside your mouth, infection prevention and control measures, including <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/beauty-treatment.aspx">excellent hand hygiene</a>, is essential. </p>
<p>It would also be interesting to know whether or not buccal massage could actually further <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-buccal-face-massage_l_6352be32e4b03e8038debf83">loosen your skin</a> and make you look older, sooner.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-or-covid-vaccination-can-cause-dermal-fillers-to-swell-up-192159">COVID or COVID vaccination can cause dermal fillers to swell up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Your face muscles are important</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Anatomical drawings of the face, from front and two sides" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your face muscles affect how we look, eat, drink and communicate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-illustration-female-head-muscles-anatomy-1525406915">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regardless of whether buccal massage has any effect, it’s a chance to talk about our face muscles and why they’re important.</p>
<p>We often take them for granted. We may not think about keeping these muscles “supple”, and they don’t usually feel “stiff” unless we hold a smile for long periods, grind our teeth, or have a medical condition affecting the face, jaw or mouth.</p>
<p>There are more than <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493209/">two dozen</a>, muscles in our face, most in pairs, one on either side of the face.</p>
<p>They’re a vital part of who we are, shaping our appearance, and allowing us to make facial expressions, lower and raise our jaw and the corners of our mouth, smile, blow a kiss, speak, suck and swallow.</p>
<p>Face muscles help define the shape of our face and our identity. It’s no wonder we can struggle with age-related changes that affect how our face looks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-face-it-first-impressions-count-online-71012">Let's face it, first impressions count online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3 cheers for our buccinators</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/buccinator#1">buccinator muscles</a>, which buccal massage moves, are vital to our survival. The buccinator is one of the first muscles <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546678/">to contract</a> when a baby suckles.</p>
<p>These muscles lie deep beneath the skin of the cheeks and are important for a number of reasons:</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The buccinator muscles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We have two buccinator muscles, one either side of our face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-rendered-medically-accurate-muscle-anatomy-1607241178">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>their main function is to help us eat. They contract to help move food between the teeth for chewing. We can squeeze our buccinator muscles to push food back into the mouth from the sides</p></li>
<li><p>they help us puff out our cheeks, blow out a candle, or blow a trumpet </p></li>
<li><p>when they contract, they move your inner cheek out of the way of your teeth. Without them, you’d bite your cheek every time you closed your jaw</p></li>
<li><p>they help keep your teeth in place.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>In a nutshell</h2>
<p>Buccal massage mightn’t make your face look “sculpted”. It probably comes with infection risks, and we know little about its safety. </p>
<p>But if nothing else, the buccal massage trend has highlighted just how important our face muscles really are.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Hemsley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the University of Technology Sydney</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Freeman-Sanderson receives funding from he University of Technology Sydney. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen L. Blake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You probably won’t be surprised there aren’t any clinical studies about whether buccal massage can give you a more contoured face. We also don’t know if your face could end up looking more ‘saggy’.Bronwyn Hemsley, Professor of Speech Pathology, University of Technology SydneyAmy Freeman-Sanderson, Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology, University of Technology SydneyHelen L. Blake, Lecturer in speech pathology, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1966072022-12-20T10:04:34Z2022-12-20T10:04:34ZChristmas films: there might be some truth to stories about hometown romances, according to research<p>The festive season seems to be a good time for love, or so many Christmas films would have us believe. One incredibly popular trope is “<a href="https://screenrant.com/reddit-best-christmas-movie-tropes/">the return</a>” – where the main character, usually with a successful career in the city, returns to their hometown for the festive period.</p>
<p>In their rustic homely surroundings, they come to realise that their life as a singleton in the city has been a sham, fall in love with some kind-hearted local hero or an old flame, <em>et voilà</em> – we have the magic of Christmas!</p>
<p>While certainly clichéd, the trope of “the return” may actually be based on a kernel of truth. Psychologists have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Attraction-Explained-The-science-of-how-we-form-relationships/Swami/p/book/9780367645793">long known</a> that a powerful spark of attraction and romance is familiarity. In contrast to the commonsense idea that familiarity breeds contempt, familiarity actually breeds liking.</p>
<p>So if you, like these cinematic heroes and heroines, are looking for love in your hometown this Christmas, here is the evidence that might help you with your search.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-dating-tips-from-the-georgian-era-186847?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Five dating tips from the Georgian era</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/workplace-romance-four-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-dating-someone-from-the-office-187809?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Workplace romance: four questions to ask yourself before dating someone from the office</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/online-dating-fatigue-why-some-people-are-turning-to-face-to-face-apps-first-184910?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Online dating fatigue – why some people are turning to face-to-face apps first</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>The allure of the familiar</h2>
<p>In one <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002210319290055O">classic American study</a>, researchers had four women attend university classes in different frequencies. One never went to class, another attended five classes, the third attended ten, and the fourth attended class 15 times over a semester.</p>
<p>At the end of the semester, it was found that the more classes the women attended, the more other students liked them and wanted to spend time with them. Familiar faces are not only <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.422?casa_token=6eWr_gkdehMAAAAA:3Ov1SPOUxliDoN5DUyQbXUzlMuJBaAiLz-1Jqsv76RglPGCG-dik973zAU6TatYSKgCGgV2w6nMVow">liked more</a>, they are also more likely to make us <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167201277011?casa_token=TVKT6DXu6KgAAAAA:gQa3dYxSj_lW1FdCgALnqaUtLjcK8I0IJI7b9XO9NJXrd2t9HoXoTSha8AJAfw_xidjw3_Wyduc">smile</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sGhc9J_pC28?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>One <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Attraction-Explained-The-science-of-how-we-form-relationships/Swami/p/book/9780367645793">reason</a> why familiar stimuli tend to be liked is because our brains process them more easily – or “fluently”, in the parlance of neuroscientists – and this fluency is experienced more positively.</p>
<p>Evolutionary factors may also play a hand in shaping our reactions to familiar people. In general, novel stimuli tend to breed feelings of uncertainty and result in wary reactions. But greater familiarity usually means we know the stimulus to be harmless and we’re more likely to respond favourably as a result.</p>
<p>So, when the main character in a Christmas movie returns to their hometown, familiarity fosters attraction because they seek the positive rewards that familiar others provide. Feelings of comfort and safety with others contribute to liking. Indeed, so powerful is the effect of familiarity that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315663074/psychology-interpersonal-relationships-ellen-berscheid-pamela-regan">some psychologists</a> have said it is “perhaps the most basic” of all principles of attraction.</p>
<h2>Beauty maps</h2>
<p>Familiarity may also work its magic in a more global sense.
To show this, I attempted to put together an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886908001724?casa_token=RxXkT7HE1JAAAAAA:RJy8f8XGz-2OUVJ5lMydQoCrPasVEEDFi3nHDAFGklDoLcz1nzM8sYKDlDCJ39Vv2yi0Pll1">empirical “beauty map”</a> of London. Over 400 participants in each of London’s 33 boroughs were asked to rate how attractive they thought people in each of the boroughs were, as well as how familiar they were with each borough.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vIBBVzy5UoQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Our data showed that people in richer boroughs tended to be rated as more attractive than those from poorer boroughs. But more interesting was the fact that attractiveness ratings were also strongly associated with ratings of familiarity. When participants were more familiar with a borough, they rated its residents as more physically attractive. Although limited to London, what this study shows is that our understanding of geographical space can impact who we think is attractive.</p>
<p>In another <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/psp.487?casa_token=rPJWwr307eEAAAAA:VRBF-gR2dMk7Xp_9Zhow2Z71GtGiPWVOeczwwVfSoSGpnESrOjfL6oRd32XOrPIDxChBW00feF5HLQ">study</a> conducted in the Netherlands, researchers interviewed residents in the village of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vriezenveen">Vriezenveen</a> about the effects of geography on partner choice. Residents preferred partners from their own village, who were more familiar and had similar knowledge that comes from sharing an upbringing in the same neighbourhood.</p>
<p>In contrast, residents of villages further away were perceived as being less trustworthy, “a different sort of people”. Even the littlest things – like washing windows on a Sunday – were taken as evidence of that difference. Such beliefs matter because they can affect who we interact and form relationships with. If you believe that people from your hometown are more familiar and trustworthy, then it would make sense to find yourself a partner there.</p>
<p>So if you’re single this Christmas, might it be a good idea to head back to your hometown? The people there will be more familiar, but bear in mind that real life is not a Christmas movie. Just because the trope of “the return” may have a kernel of truth, doesn’t mean that it’s a principle by which to organise your life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Viren Swami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We are unsurprisingly attracted to the familiar.Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893482022-12-19T16:23:57Z2022-12-19T16:23:57ZGen Z beauty brands can use ‘friendly’ chatbots to boost body image as well as sales, research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498308/original/file-20221130-14-yjbbq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=96%2C88%2C5170%2C3294&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some members of gen Z spend hundreds of pounds every year on makeup.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/top-view-young-teenage-girl-recording-2109862970">Anastasiia Vyshnevska / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some members of “generation Z” – people <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far-2/">born after 1996</a>, the oldest of whom are turning 26 in 2022 – spend hundreds of pounds per year on <a href="https://www.pipersandler.com/teens">beauty products</a>. In fact, gen Z members are often more willing to spend on beauty and skincare products <a href="https://assets.ctfassets.net/inb32lme5009/7wDIuSsLOnSxTUqPmRb081/603b8ffb77757549d39034884a23743c/The_Youth_of_the_Nations__Global_Trends_Among_Gen_Z.pdf">than previous generations</a>. </p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/gen-z-beauty-brands-can-use-friendly-chatbots-to-boost-body-image-as-well-as-sales-research-189348 &bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>But research also shows that <a href="https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/12465/dickman_christina.pdf;jsessionid=8B007CA9A5AC55D4F8861509D6B787C1?sequence=1">young women’s body image</a> is linked to cosmetics use. They often use beauty products to conceal perceived flaws or compensate for body parts they may not like. Members of gen Z are particularly plagued by <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/gen-z-least-confident-generation">negative perceptions of body image</a> and low self-esteem. This has been linked to <a href="https://wp.nyu.edu/dispatch/2019/04/09/marketing-to-gen-z-amid-social-media-panic/">the high use of social media</a> among this age group. </p>
<p>So, cosmetics companies that are trying to sell to this age group – as most of them are – should be mindful of these self-esteem issues, particularly where makeup purchases are involved. Research I conducted with colleagues shows they can incorporate this awareness into the technology tools they offer shoppers – in particular, the new breed of “beauty chatbots” – in order to help boost body confidence while also making sales.</p>
<h2>Beauty tech</h2>
<p>Cosmetics brands often use <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.21699">cutting-edge technology</a> to sell their wares. Companies such as <a href="https://graziamagazine.com/me/articles/mac-cosmetics-launches-augmented-reality-makeovers/">Mac</a>, <a href="https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/sephora-tries-on-augmented-reality-update-for-real-time-facial-recognition">Sephora</a> and <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2022/07/12/L-Oreal-patents-makeup-artist-virtual-makeup-app-for-Augmented-Reality-images-and-video-streaming#:%7E:text=International%20beauty%20major%20L'Or%C3%A9al,services%20and%20image%20sharing%20platforms.">L’Oréal</a> all use tech including artificial intelligence, augmented reality and data analytics to help customers discover and choose new makeup these days. </p>
<p>In particular, augmented reality has been used to develop <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563220302983">virtual try-on tools</a> that help online shoppers test makeup online to see how it looks, based on things like skin type and hair colour, before buying. Research shows this experience supports people’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318305228">existing perception of their body image</a>, whether those perceptions are positive or negative.</p>
<p>Alongside such tools, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-chatgpt-chatbot-is-blowing-people-away-with-its-writing-skills-an-expert-explains-why-its-so-impressive-195908">chatbots</a> are often used by makeup brands to support online shopping. As an AI-powered online sales assistant, a chatbot can communicate with shoppers via a small box on-screen, into which a person can type questions or answers while they’re browsing a website. This allows makeup buyers to interact with brands through <a href="https://chatbotsmagazine.com/how-chatbot-helps-businesses-improve-customer-service-121530ebe60f">online conversations</a>.</p>
<p>Around 80% of <a href="https://www.servicebell.com/post/chatbot-statistics#:%7E:text=How%20many%20companies%20are%20using,rely%20on%20a%20small%20number.">companies worldwide use chatbots</a>, and they can also be a way to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563220302983">collect data</a> about site users.</p>
<p>Two of the benefits of using chatbots are the ability to personalise interactions with customers – such as when they are using virtual try-on tools – and to automatically <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563220302983">offer relevant products and services</a>. Of course, any salesperson knows the power of personality when it comes to enticing shoppers to buy, but can chatbots charm in the same way? </p>
<h2>Friendship goals</h2>
<p>Our research analysed how <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.21715">experiences of using various cutting-edge technologies</a> when shopping for beauty products affect body image, self-esteem and purchase behaviour among younger females. Our data was collected from three studies, a survey and two experiments involving 1,568 gen Z women. </p>
<p>While these tools are designed to provide a better customer experience, our research shows there are benefits to programming chatbots to be “friendlier”.</p>
<p>The majority of cosmetics brands currently offer chatbots with two types of personality: friend or assistant. Assistant types offer intelligent, factual and organised support and information in response to customer enquiries. But chatbots that also have friend‐like characteristics – such as being sassy, perky and humorous – encourage stronger feelings of warmth.</p>
<p>We found that, for women in this age group, receiving support from a chatbot in the form of a “virtual friend” can have a more positive effect on their body image and self-esteem. The type of communication used by these chatbots was characterised by our respondents as being helpful, nice and friendly. The findings also show that that chatbots with these characteristics positively affected participants’ self-esteem and buying behaviour when using beauty brands’ virtual applications. </p>
<h2>Sales boost</h2>
<p>As well as improving gen Z women’s interactions with virtual makeup try-on applications, friendlier chatbots can encourage people to buy more as well. We found that purchase behaviour was stronger when the gen Z women in our study had conversations with chatbots that they categorised as being helpful, nice and friendly. </p>
<p>But beauty brands that offer chatbot services can create benefits beyond increasing sales and improving customer relationships. They can also boost shoppers’ body image – an important benefit for gen Z beauty-lovers.</p>
<p>Brands should keep this in mind when choosing the style of language used by their chatbots. Using a more personalised, conversational style when interacting with young female customers will not just increase sales, it could also boost their body confidence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189348/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nisreen Ameen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Boosting body confidence should be as important as boosting sales to beauty brands.Nisreen Ameen, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1842112022-06-16T14:54:01Z2022-06-16T14:54:01ZSports Illustrated Swimsuit: Is inclusive objectification something to celebrate?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467314/original/file-20220606-16-nfbo5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3994%2C1277&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The swimsuit issue continues to promote sexual attractiveness as women’s main currency.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2022)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/sports-illustrated-swimsuit--is-inclusive-objectification-something-to-celebrate" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The last two weeks of May generated a flurry of celebratory media commentary about the diversity of models in the <a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/model-years/2022">2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue</a>. It was praised for “<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/lifestyle/sports/si-swimsuit-issue-maye-musk-breaks-barriers-cover-model-at-74">breaking barriers</a>,” “<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220516005285/en/Kim-Kardashian-Ciara-Maye-Musk-and-Yumi-Nu-Are-Revealed-as-Sports-Illustrated-Swimsuit%E2%80%99s-2022-Cover-Models">empowering women</a>” and “<a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-2022-maye-musk-kim-kardashian-84748799">trailblazing</a>.”</p>
<p>This year’s firsts included: Ashley Callingbull (<a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/3492947-indigenous-first-nations-woman-featured-in-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition-for-first-time/">the first Indigenous model</a>), Yumi Nu (<a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/yumi-nu-2022-si-swimsuit-photos">the first Asian American curve model to appear on the cover</a>), Maye Musk (<a href="https://people.com/style/maye-musk-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-2022-cover-at-74-something-i-could-never-dream-up/">the first woman in her 70s</a>), Kelly Hughes (<a href="https://www.thecut.com/2022/05/a-model-with-a-c-section-scar-is-in-sports-illustrated.html">the first swimsuit model to show her C-section scars</a>) and Katrina Scott (<a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/katrina-scott-first-visibly-pregnant-woman-in-si-swimsuit">the first visibly pregnant model</a>). </p>
<p>In recent years the magazine has highlighted more diversity, including <a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/halima-aden-si-swimsuit-2019-model-kenya">Halima Aden in a burkini</a>, more <a href="https://parade.com/1381969/allienelson/athletes-sports-illustrated-swimsuit/">athletes</a>, trans models like <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/20/1018381498/sports-illustrateds-swimsuit-issue-trans-model-leyna-bloom">Leyna Bloom</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/07/10/valentina-sampaio-becomes-first-trans-model-in-sports-illustrateds-swimsuit-issue/">Valentina Sampaio</a> and more <a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/hunter-mcgrady">curve models like Hunter McGrady</a>.</p>
<p>But most of the models are still stereotypically young, thin and white. </p>
<p>With the celebration of firsts, an important question falls by the wayside: Is including a broader range of women in the pages of a magazine issue whose sole commercial purpose is to present them as sexual objects for a mostly straight male readership a good thing? </p>
<h2>‘Properly feminine’</h2>
<p>I am a feminist philosopher who works on <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/moral-responsibility-in-collective-contexts-9780199782963">responsibility in oppressive social contexts</a> and co-founder of the blog <a href="https://fitisafeministissue.com/">Fit Is a Feminist Issue</a>. In society, where sexist structures and attitudes are abound, women’s value — and by extension, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-a-womans-glam-appearance-affects-her-career/11671912">range of opportunities — is frequently determined by their attractiveness and sexual desirability to straight men</a>. So I question whether expanding the field of women who are sufficiently sexy and, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Femininity-and-Domination-Studies-in-the-Phenomenology-of-Oppression/Bartky/p/book/9780415901864">to borrow the words of philosopher Sandra Bartky</a>, “properly feminine” to “merit” inclusion in the swimsuit issue, constitutes overall meaningful progress for women. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1531645368659849217"}"></div></p>
<p>Granted, there is something to be said for <a href="https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2019/12/20/one-size-does-not-fit-all-the-rise-of-diverse-fashion-models/">challenging the stereotypical esthetic ideals of normative femininity with diverse models</a>. And even though <a href="https://www.shape.com/celebrities/news/kate-upton-body-attention-criticism">model Kate Upton expressed discomfort about the public scrutiny and discussion of her body</a>, others, including Yumi Nu, describe appearing in the swimsuit issue as <a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3179391/sports-illustrated-swimsuits-first-asian-plus-size-cover">a validating experience</a>. </p>
<p>Yet the swimsuit issue continues to promote sexual attractiveness as women’s main currency. As <a href="https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en.html">women fight to be taken seriously</a>, repeating this message <a href="https://www.forbes.com/2009/12/05/appearance-work-pay-forbes-woman-leadership-body-weight.html">is harmful</a>. </p>
<h2>Sex does sell</h2>
<p>When <a href="https://fitisafeministissue.com/2022/05/28/inclusive-objectification-anyone/">I wrote a blog post about this</a>, readers on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/feministfitness">the blog’s Facebook page</a> mostly agreed with me in comments writing: “yay, now us fat girls can be objectified too” and “even in ‘inclusivity’ the goal of the swimsuit issues is still policing feminine bodies.” </p>
<p>But some said “sex sells: get over it” and “where’s the harm?” Others argued my view throws a wet blanket over a beach party where finally (finally!) women of diverse shapes and sizes are not just welcome but considered sexy and beautiful. </p>
<p>Sex does sell and it’s too bad that the sexualization of women is a multi-billion dollar industry in which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/business-facts-about-the-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue-2013-2">the swimsuit issue trades</a>. </p>
<p>The swimsuit issue is a setback for women and models are engaging in what philosopher Shay Welch, in her book <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498505413/Existential-Eroticism-A-Feminist-Approach-to-Understanding-Womens-Oppression-Perpetuating-Choices"><em>Existential Eroticism</em></a>, calls “oppression-perpetuating choices.” She defines “existential eroticism” as women’s oppression through beauty and sexuality.</p>
<p>Basically, some women’s choices contribute to conditions of oppression for women as a group even if we can understand why women make them.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Ced0FcSgm3t","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>While we would be better off without the swimsuit issue (we’d be better off without lots of things), I’m not suggesting it be censored or banned. Nor is this an objection to the display of bodies, even skimpily clad bodies. But is there a different way of going about it? </p>
<p>Look to <em>ESPN</em>’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/27400369/the-body-issue">The Body Issue</a>, which depicts a diversity of athletes (not only women and not only non-disabled), nude and often in action shots that display their athleticism within their chosen sport. </p>
<p>It presents a completely different esthetic of physicality, based in athleticism. Athleticism isn’t the only dimension along which to appreciate bodies, but it’s not clear how the swimsuit issue, the very essence of which is to represent a particular type of sexualized bodies, could morph into something that celebrates the body in a different way. </p>
<p>Swimsuit issue editor-in-chief <a href="https://swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-2022-cover-models-kim-kardashian-ciara-maye-musk-yumi-nu">MJ Day says</a>, “We encourage readers to see these models as we see them — multifaceted, multitalented and sexy while they’re at it.” As multi-dimensional as these women may be, their suitability for the swimsuit issue ultimately depends on being sexy. </p>
<p>We should be wary of uncritically accepting the sexual objectification of women for the sake of inclusion and diversity. When we do, we’re celebrating the swimsuit issue as something empowering for women and praising it for “breaking barriers.” Given its context and target-audience — straight, cisgender men — doing so perpetuates the pernicious idea that women (all women) need to be sexy-to-men to be acceptable. </p>
<p>We can promote inclusion and celebrate the beauty of diverse bodies without piggybacking on that relentless message about what makes women worthy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy Isaacs is affiliated with the blog Fit Is a Feminist Issue as co-founder and regular contributor. The blog is not-for-profit, ad-free, and generates no revenue.</span></em></p>We can promote inclusion and celebrate the beauty of diverse bodies without piggybacking on that relentless message about what makes women worthy.Tracy Isaacs, Professor (Philosophy), Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823362022-05-26T20:37:13Z2022-05-26T20:37:13ZFriday essay: grey-haired and radiant – reimagining ageing for women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464893/original/file-20220523-90509-27imdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C23%2C5277%2C3515&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Musician and poet Patti Smith: 'always evolving'.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/men-and-young-people-more-likely-to-be-ageist-study-93057">Ageist</a> thought patterns and reactions are so embedded in Australian culture that even educated people, people who otherwise insist on political correctness, will open their mouths and deliver a hurtful, hateful judgement. </p>
<p>Like the time a few years ago, sitting on the grass at a writers’ festival with a group of other women writers of whom I was the oldest. We were fellow graduates from a postgraduate <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-rise-of-creative-writing-730">creative writing</a> course, some of us just beginning to be published; I knew the generational difference made parts of my life inaccessible to them, as parts of their lives would remain mysterious to me. </p>
<p>That afternoon, with literary conversations buzzing all around, I remarked in passing that I was thinking of colouring my hair with henna. That rich and blazing plant-based red had once been my signature shade, but what with study, family and moving countries, the process of sourcing, mixing up and applying the henna had all come to seem too messy, too difficult. </p>
<p>So I had let my colour fade; I had allowed a succession of hairdressers to cover my grey hairs with chemical dyes, at ridiculous expense. </p>
<p>Perhaps it was a niggling sense of needing to seize control again that prompted me to say what I did.
“I think I am going to henna my hair.”
Immediately, one of the women blurted: “Oh, I wouldn’t. Not at your age!”</p>
<p>My thoughts seemed to skid to a halt. I was 59: too old to need anyone’s approval or permission. Lost for a response, I remained silent. Out of all of us, this woman was the one who was always bleaching or dyeing or doing something to her hair, in the process often leaving it visibly damaged. </p>
<p>My memory of that moment is that she realised what she had said was offensive, and tried to retrieve it by disparaging the older women with hennaed hair who regularly fill seats at the festival. However, a second ageist comment could not defuse the first. </p>
<hr>
<p>Going further back, during the demanding MA year that would eventually result in my first published novel, I was paying the household bills by freelancing – words and pictures – for a local glossy lifestyle magazine. </p>
<p>The editor had sent me to a country race meeting, with instructions to take plenty of pictures of racegoers for the social pages. At the end of a long hot afternoon, filling time while waiting for the bus to take me back to Adelaide, I gathered a few last shots as people clambered into hired stretch limos. </p>
<p>Two suited-up young men were lounging in the back seat of one of these vehicles. I leaned into the open door and asked if they’d like to have their photographs taken for the social pages, and I named the magazine. They beamed obligingly; I snapped the picture, recorded their names, and turned away. </p>
<p>And then I heard one of them say in a sniggering undertone: “Why the hell are (name of the magazine) getting old grannies to do this work?”
I was checking their image on my digital camera, making sure the exposure was good, the framing right.
“Shhh!” hissed the friend. </p>
<p>I was a 54-year-old woman at the end of a long working day: I was not going to put up with this shit. My vengeful thumb moved to delete their image. </p>
<p>Of course, I should have turned to that arrogant boyo and asked whether he had a grandmother and, if he did, how he would feel if someone insulted her the way he had just insulted me. But I couldn’t face him because my eyes had filled with tears. </p>
<p>Walking away, I blamed my loss of control on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shift-in-social-attitudes-can-make-menopause-a-positive-experience-46742">menopause</a>. But it wasn’t that: it was the shame women are made to feel simply for having lived a certain number of years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grace-and-frankie-is-the-longest-running-series-on-netflix-and-a-show-for-women-who-dont-see-themselves-on-television-182298">Grace and Frankie is the longest running series on Netflix – and a show for women who don’t see themselves on television</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Youth-obsessed culture</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-madonnas-hairy-armpits-and-sexy-older-women-24706">youth-obsessed</a> culture, old people have become invisible. If we dare to put ourselves in the line of sight, we may become targets of this kind of humiliating, knee-jerk ageism. Both men and women suffer from the social erasing of the old, but it is worse for women. </p>
<p>The premium placed on feminine beauty means that older women often find themselves at the terrible nexus of sexism and ageism. </p>
<p>In 1972, in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429496059-2/double-standard-aging-susan-sontag">“The Double Standard of Ageing”</a>, Susan Sontag identified the oppressive belief that men are enhanced by age while women are progressively destroyed. “Competing for a job” writes Sontag, “her chances often partly depend on being the ‘right age’, and if hers isn’t right, she will lie if she thinks she can get away with it.” A woman’s age, Sontag insists, is “something of a dirty secret”.</p>
<p>It often seems as if not much has changed since 1972. <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-party-faithful-drift-away-can-bill-shorten-reinvent-labor-31098">Bill Shorten</a> once admitted that his mother Ann, having qualified as a barrister at 53, discovered, in Bill’s words, that “sometimes, you’re just too old, and you shouldn’t be too old, but she discovered the discrimination against older women”. </p>
<p>Sex-ageism is not merely demoralising, but has the potential to affect women’s ability to survive. If we are not to be allowed to continue to work even though we are fit for it, if we have always been paid less than our male colleagues, if we have given years of our lives to the unpaid labour of child rearing, if we have <a href="https://theconversation.com/spirals-and-circles-snakes-and-ladders-why-womens-super-is-complex-103763">insufficient super</a> (or no super at all), what is to become of us in our sixties, seventies, and eighties? Alarmingly, older women make up the new demographic joining the ranks of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-chinese-courtyard-housing-can-help-older-australian-women-avoid-homelessness-151378">homeless</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/755360.At_Seventy">At Seventy: A Journal</a> (1987), May Sarton writes, “This is the best time of my life. I love being old.” She goes on to explain that she does not feel old at all, “not as much a survivor as a person still on her way”, and she speculates that perhaps real old age will only begin when you find yourself looking back rather than forward. </p>
<p>Sarton’s journals are rightly celebrated, and are a cache of gold well worth digging to find. For together with <a href="https://theconversation.com/doris-lessing-was-a-radical-in-the-truest-sense-20425">Doris Lessing</a>, May Sarton is one of the few women writers who have not shied from writing about age and ageing. </p>
<p>The shocking scarcity of older women in fiction that has left me with a sense of marching forward in the dark is balanced by the steadying beam of their work – especially Sarton’s, for the light she sheds is age-affirming, ever hopeful, an antidote to the “state of decline” narrative. </p>
<p>For example, when asked why she thought it was good to be old, Sarton replied: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Because I am more myself than I have ever been. There is less conflict. I am happier, more balanced, and more powerful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She amended this to “I am better able to use my powers”. And May Sarton continued to use those powers, writing <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/603966.At_Eighty_Two">At Eighty-Two: A Journal</a> (1997). Though it was published under that title, her preferred name for it was Kairos, after “a Greek word meaning a unique time in a person’s life and an opportunity for change”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-women-over-45-are-at-risk-of-homelessness-in-australia-142906">400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Realising our authentic selves</h2>
<p>This question of how to be, as we move from <a href="https://theconversation.com/age-and-happiness-debunking-the-myth-of-middle-aged-blues-7451">middle-age</a> into old age, is a lot like the dilemma of the teenage self. Back then it was the childish body transforming to adulthood, and although that destination was where most of us wished to be, the unfamiliarity of the changed self, and the pressures of <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-new-york-fashion-week-came-to-be-54389">fashion</a>, popular culture, and one’s peers, often made the transition awkward and painful. </p>
<p>While the destination of Old is not where most of us wish to be, if we live long enough we will have no choice. If there is any advantage to this passage, it must be the power described by May Sarton, to be more ourselves than we have ever been. Yet how many of us know ourselves well enough to be “more”? </p>
<p>Lately I have been taking inspiration from the musician, artist and poet, Patti Smith. Now pushing deeper into her seventies, Patti is a creative force; she still performs with her band. Smith describes herself as “always evolving”, but not changing because of any outside pressure. </p>
<p>Never one to conform to expectations of <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-19th-century-ideas-influenced-todays-attitudes-to-womens-beauty-111529">feminine beauty</a>, or of how a woman should appear on a stage, Patti Smith appears to be a completely authentic version of her younger self, only older. </p>
<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LoWfnFJ52rc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<p>Realising this authentic self is the task old age sets us, but how is it to be done? How are we to tell what the authentic self is? </p>
<p>In the preface to <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780007136445/the-diaries-of-jane-somers/">The Diaries of Jane Somers</a> (1983) Doris Lessing – who initially submitted the two novels in this volume using a pseudonym – explains that by writing under another name she wanted “to get free of that cage of associations and labels that every established writer has to learn to live inside”. </p>
<p>She also wanted to “cheer up young writers, who often have such a hard time of it”. Interestingly, both the novels in Lessing’s publishing experiment deal with women and age. </p>
<p>The first, <a href="http://www.dorislessing.org/thediary.html">The Diary of a Good Neighbour</a>, evokes the unforgettable Maudie Fowler, who in her nineties remains so fiercely independent that she will not consider moving from the dauntingly uncomfortable rooms she inhabits, or even having helpers. (“With your own place,” Maudie says, “you’ve got everything. Without it, you are a dog. You are nothing.”)</p>
<p>In England, Doris Lessing’s publishers Jonathan Cape and Granada <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/doris-lessing-and-the-perils-of-the-pseudonymous-novel">rejected</a> The Diary of a Good Neighbour, with Granada saying it was “too depressing” to publish. It was then accepted by Michael Joseph, who said it reminded them of Doris Lessing. When it was acquired by Lessing’s French publisher he rang her to ask if she had helped Jane Somers, because Somers reminded him so much of Lessing. </p>
<p>The perceptiveness of these publishers made Doris Lessing question what it was they had recognised. She had deliberately made Jane Somers’ style different from her own, and felt that each of her novels had a characteristic tone of voice, a style peculiar to itself. Lessing reasoned that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>behind this must sound another note, independent of style. What is this underlying tone, or voice, and where does it originate in the author? It seems to me we are listening to, responding to, the essence of a writer here, a groundnote.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am fascinated by this concept of the groundnote as it relates to writing, and in whether or not one can recognise it one’s own work. I am reminded of those black-and-white films we once watched on television that were set on board a submarine; the only soundtrack was the persistent <em>bleep bleep</em> of the sonar. </p>
<p>Often the act of writing itself is like being one of the submarine’s crew – tensed within the finite oxygen supply of a tiny lit capsule, pushing on through darkness under crushing force. I can still picture those submariners: sweating, silent, while the vessel shook and water trickled dangerously, and the periscope was cranked up to scan the surface. </p>
<p>Aside from writing, Doris Lessing’s experiment easily relates to the dilemmas of ageing, for older women, too, suffer the “cage of associations and labels”. It is good to be reminded that, whatever style we adopt, or imagine we possess, there is underneath, the groundnote of the true self. </p>
<p>Patti Smith writes in <a href="https://theconversation.com/hop-aboard-patti-smiths-m-train-a-memoir-on-the-right-side-of-the-tracks-49288">M Train</a> (2015): </p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a child I thought I would never grow up, that I could will it so. And then I realized, quite recently, that I had crossed some line, unconsciously cloaked in the truth of my chronology. How did we get so damn old? I say to my joints, my iron-coloured hair.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet, Smith continues: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If we walk the victim, we’re perceived as the victim. And if we enter […] glowing and receptive […] if we maintain our radiance and enter a situation with radiance, often radiance will come our way.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464924/original/file-20220524-25530-npuujy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding our groundnote must surely release us into our power. Hearing it, will we not become comfortable, even radiant, in our own skins? </p>
<p>I am visualising a state of being that has nothing to do with the positive ageing or <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-much-physical-activity-is-enough-in-older-age-103686">active ageing</a> campaigns directed towards the elderly. Those campaigns could be termed passive-aggressive, for their subtext is that ageing is bad. And in denying age its due dignity, in promoting a fantasy in which old people do not appear to age at all, they set the scene for many levels of failure. </p>
<p>So how are we to hear this groundnote? </p>
<p>It could be a case of careful and consistent listening. It must be different for everyone. Perhaps the transition is less about growing old and more about growing up. </p>
<p>When I think about this what comes to mind is the Michelle Shocked song <a href="http://www.azlyricdb.com/lyrics/Michelle-Shocked-When-I-Grow-Up-204312#.YowffZNByrc">“When I Grow Up (I want to be an old woman)”</a>, with its implication of a genuine desire to experience being old. If there are stages we must pass through, the first stage might be the cessation of denial.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-shakespeare-helped-shape-germaine-greers-feminist-masterpiece-59880">Friday essay: How Shakespeare helped shape Germaine Greer's feminist masterpiece</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ageing feminists</h2>
<p>In her book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99173.Fountain_of_Age">The Fountain of Age</a> (1993) ground-breaking feminist writer Betty Friedan admits that in her fifties she “didn’t even want to think about age”; she, too, was locked in denial. </p>
<p>But as she researched that book, she “began to recognize some new dimension of personhood, some strength or quality of being in people who had crossed the chasm of age – and kept on going and growing”. </p>
<p>In her earlier book <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-feminine-mystique-9780141192055">The Feminine Mystique</a> (1963), Friedan, at 35, had refused to let women be defined as sex objects, and in her book on age she refuses to let women or men over 65 be defined as objects of “care”, or old age be defined as a “sickness” to be “cured”. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/a-human-being-not-just-mum-the-womens-liberationists-who-fought-for-the-rights-of-mothers-and-children-182057">Feminism</a> has fought hard for women’s rights, but despite some of the movement’s leaders like Friedan researching exhaustively and writing about women and ageing, ageism persists, the last of the undesirable “isms” to ever be mentioned. </p>
<p>Old women remain the butt of jokes; in real life, old women are some of society’s most marginalised people, while in literature they are disgracefully underwritten, other than as stereotypes. </p>
<p>Feminists have typically tended to address matters affecting younger women. This is a reflection of the age of the women involved in the battles for <a href="https://theconversation.com/50-years-after-equal-pay-the-legacy-of-womens-work-remains-118761">equal pay</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/paid-parental-leave-plan-ignores-economics-of-well-functioning-families-67549">paid maternity leave</a> and the calling-out of <a href="https://theconversation.com/sexual-harassment-is-too-much-and-not-enough-about-sex-93486">sexual harassment</a>. Sadly, when it comes to old women, even younger women do not see them. </p>
<p>The result is mutual deprivation: old women have no opportunity to contribute their experience and wisdom, and young women have no role models to show them how to manage their own inevitable ageing. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-double-standards-and-derision-tracing-our-attitudes-to-older-women-and-beauty-79575">Friday essay: double standards and derision – tracing our attitudes to older women and beauty</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An ordeal of the imagination</h2>
<p>One thing that gives me hope this will change is the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/greyhair/?hl=en">#greyhair</a> movement on Instagram.</p>
<p>When in preparation for my own switch to natural colour, I ceased dying my hair – no more henna, no more expensive sessions at the hairdressers – I stumbled over pages that led me to communities of women dedicated to supporting each other through this process. </p>
<p>And I needed encouragement, for when I had announced I would no longer colour my hair even my 92-year-old mother advised against it, telling me I would be sorry. </p>
<hr>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CdxILuTI3w9","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>From the stories shared on Instagram, I learned that for many women, the grey kicks in early – sometimes even during their teens. The candid posts with photographs of every imaginable shade and patterning of grey, and the ease of sharing them, make social media the perfect tool for this new women’s movement. </p>
<p>It could become instrumental in chipping away at our damaging self-beliefs about ageing, and recalibrate perceptions of female beauty.</p>
<p>Another signal of positive change is the recent high-profile publication of at least one Australian novel in which the main characters are all women in their seventies. Charlotte Wood’s <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/The-Weekend-Charlotte-Wood-9781760292010">The Weekend</a> (2019) goes against the grain of decades of published fiction, with just a few notable exceptions. </p>
<p>Wood’s literary currency means the book has been widely read, and at literary festivals has sparked conversations about ageing, and especially about what it means for women. In the novel, the elderly actress Adele has a moment where she feels “on the edge of discovering something very important – about living, about the age beyond youth and love, about this great secret time of a person’s life”. Perhaps Adele is about to discover her <em>kairos</em>.</p>
<p>Liz Byrski is another Australian writer who has identified the absence of old people, especially old women, in fiction, and has set herself the task of addressing it. In her novels she makes a point of showing old women using computers and mobile phones, busting the stereotype of elders baffled by technology. </p>
<p>In her slender book <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743340479/">Getting On: some thoughts on women and ageing</a> (2012) Byrski insists we need to challenge the public perception of ageing and change it to </p>
<blockquote>
<p>a positive conversation in which the phrase “the fight against ageing” is banned and the use of “anti-ageing” as a descriptor for any product is greeted with derision. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>She goes on to suggest how as individuals we should “start seeing old people”; we should strive to put aside our blindness, denial, and fear, and to focus instead on the richness and value of the lives old people are still living. </p>
<p>The negativity around ageing, the elitism of youth, means there are few older role models to encourage our young people. This has the effect of leaving them marooned, unable to imagine a way forward beyond middle age – and further on into the kind of old age that, if they are lucky enough to reach it, they might be willing, even proud, to be able to live. </p>
<p>Susan Sontag, while describing old age as a “genuine ordeal” maintained it was mainly “an ordeal of the imagination”. </p>
<p>I don’t believe she was underestimating the physical tests and challenges age brings, but rather acknowledging that nothing about it is so testing as being looked through, looked past, being patronised, being treated by others as diminished, or worthless. </p>
<p>By continuing to denigrate old age we are contributing to this ordeal, condemning young folk to “walk the victim”, denying them, and ourselves, the possibility of <em>kairos</em>; the possibility of radiance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182336/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol Lefevre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Old women remain the butt of jokes; they are some of society’s most marginalised people. But age also invites us to become our most authentic selves, writes Carol Lefevre.Carol Lefevre, Visiting Research Fellow, Department of English and Creative Writing, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1726992021-12-02T14:21:13Z2021-12-02T14:21:13ZThe furore over Miss South Africa’s decision to compete in Israel: here’s a feminist critique<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435061/original/file-20211201-21-j4ku25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters call on Miss South Africa to withdraw from the Miss Universe contest in Israel.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gallo Images/Via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The participation of Miss South Africa 2021, Lalela Mswane, in the Miss Universe competition <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2021/11/29/questions-raised-as-lalela-mswane-sneaks-into-israel-amid-travel-ban">in Israel</a> on 12 December has created a furore. Some South Africans support her participation while others have called for her <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/furor-miss-south-africa-appearing-pageant-israel-81273467">withdrawal</a>.</p>
<p>The Boycott, Disinvest and Sanctions <a href="https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds">movement</a> in South Africa views Miss South Africa’s participation as tacit support for Israel’s policies toward Palestine, which the movement views as <a href="https://bdsmovement.net/what-is-bds">a form of apartheid</a>. </p>
<p>The South African government has called on Mswane to boycott the pageant, and has withdrawn its support for her participation in line with its <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/government-withdraws-support-miss-sa-pageant">foreign policy towards Israel</a>. This is a policy of solidarity with the people of Palestine and rejection of Israel’s annexation of Palestinian land, and its negation of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/two-state-solution">two state policy</a> that would give Palestine independence. </p>
<p>Regardless of the political controversy, and Miss South Africa’s decision to participate, there are also other contested aspects to beauty competitions from a feminist perspective.</p>
<p>Feminists are divided on the merits of beauty pageants. The criticism relates closely to the type of feminism individual feminists embrace. It also reflects a generational divide between older and younger feminists. </p>
<p>I review these perspectives as a feminist theorist who has <a href="https://scholar.google.co.za/scholar?q=amanda+Gouws+feminism&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart">published widely</a> on feminist theories and women’s movement activism over the past 30 years.</p>
<h2>Evolution of feminist views on pageants</h2>
<p>Second wave feminism of the 1970s and 1980s (also called <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3173832?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents">radical feminism</a>) was the first significant push-back against patriarchy. It relates women’s oppression to relations of power between men and women. According to this perspective, women’s bodies are viewed as a battlefield on which men exercise sexual and reproductive control.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-women-for-leaving-fields-like-engineering-blame-bad-attitudes-101853">Don't blame women for leaving fields like engineering. Blame bad attitudes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Patriarchy also inflicts ideals of beauty that exploit women through setting beauty standards that are mostly impossible to reach. From this perspective women’s bodies are objectified and creates the conditions for their exploitation in the pornography industry. This is detrimental to all women.</p>
<p>Second wave feminists accept the binary relationship between women and men and are concerned with how women’s bodies and sexuality are used against them to satisfy men’s sexual desires. Sexual liberation is linked to women’s choices over their own bodies in relation to reproduction. Examples include campaigning for the <a href="https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/Faculty/Siegel_AbortionandtheWomanQuestion.pdf">legalisation of abortion</a>.</p>
<p>The advertising industry, by exploiting sexualised images of women, sets the standards for what is viewed as beautiful. </p>
<p>Radical feminists are concerned with structural inequalities created by the beauty industry. Beauty pageants are, therefore, viewed as <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/sex-sells-the-objectification-of-women-in-advertising/a-47282358">exploitative</a> of women’s natural beauty to the detriment of all women. This is especially so for those women who cannot meet these impossible standards, fuelling the epidemic of dietary diseases and <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd">body dysmorphia</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://feminisminindia.com/2018/04/27/brief-summary-third-wave-of-feminism/">Third wave feminists</a>, or a younger generation of the 1990s reject the idea that women are without the ability to make choices. They support women’s choice to participate in beauty contests as a form of empowerment and agency.</p>
<p>They reject the binary distinction between women and men to the exclusion of other genders – such as transgender. They also advocate that women should embrace diverse ideas of sexuality, sexual pleasure and beauty. This is a rejection of what they view as the “victim feminism” of the second wave.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unpacking-the-difference-between-feminist-and-womens-movements-in-africa-45258">Unpacking the difference between feminist and women's movements in Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If women want to dress scantily, wear high heels, tight skirts and make-up, that is their choice as a form of sexual liberation. These feminists focus on individual choice and women’s agency, rather than structural inequalities. In South Africa they would view the “<a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/a-look-at-characteristics-of-slay-queens/">slay queen</a>” phenomenon, where women parade their looks and dress very seductively, while pursuing rich men, as this type of expression of women’s sexual emancipation and control over their own bodies and beauty choices.</p>
<h2>South African and beauty pageants</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.missworld.com/#/">Miss World</a> pageant has been strongly supported in South Africa over many years. But it had a rocky history under apartheid, when only white contestants could compete. In the latter years of apartheid black contestants could compete in their own competition, known as <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-05-23-too-black-for-miss-sa-party-pageant-flayed-for-excluding-past-beauty-queens/">Miss Africa South</a>. This blatant segregation between white and black women for the purposes of the competition showed, in a very visible way, the racist assumptions about beauty that normalise the light skinned, thin, straight-haired appearance. </p>
<p>The lack of integration of these two competitions was widely criticised by other countries and fell victim to international boycotts. That meant Miss South Africa and Miss Africa South could not compete in the Miss World or Miss Universe competitions.</p>
<p>It was this reliance on boycotts (economic, academic and cultural) that significantly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/23/israel-apartheid-boycotts-sanctions-south-africa">contributed to the end of apartheid</a>. These boycott tactics against apartheid underlie the call to boycott the Miss Universe 2021 competition in Israel, because of the belief that international political, cultural and economic boycotts may change Israel’s political policies toward Palestine.</p>
<h2>More than beauty</h2>
<p>The nature of the pageants has changed over time, from judging women merely on appearance and awarding them for simply being beautiful, to including <a href="https://ecowarriorprincess.net/2016/01/a-feminist-perspective-on-beauty-pageants-including-miss-universe/">other characteristics</a> such as education, being articulate and displaying general knowledge. Many candidates who participate now have university degrees. </p>
<p>Regardless of this, the question remains if these competitions reproduce patriarchal norms. Whether contestants are more than just beautiful is not relevant, because in the end it is beauty that determines who wins.</p>
<p>Beauty contests reproduce the patriarchal idea that women should be feminine, groomed to be beautiful from a young age and their beauty put on display. Women who do not meet these standards of beauty, or who choose to reject this type of femininity, are viewed as odd or subversive by those who support <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/heteronormativity">heteronormativity</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spoken-word-poetry-challenges-gender-based-violence-in-namibia-132608">Spoken word poetry challenges gender-based violence in Namibia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Beauty pageants also set a certain standard by which most men judge all women. Women become trophies by which men measure their success in heterosexual relationships. </p>
<p>The mere fact that women who participate may not be married, divorced or have born children reinforces the idea of a sexist femininity that supports <a href="https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/2019/04/23/disqualified-for-being-a-single-mother-miss-ukraine-2018-on-the-punishment-of-being-a-woman/">women’s “purity”</a>. </p>
<h2>A social construct</h2>
<p>Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder. Being beautiful is carefully cultivated through androcentric processes that single out a small minority of women, and make their appearances the norm for all women. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-feminist-research-and-teaching-gained-a-foothold-in-the-nigerian-academy-156598">How feminist research and teaching gained a foothold in the Nigerian academy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This objectification of women’s beauty measured by competitive processes, linked specifically to the body, strengthens patriarchal norms rather than erodes them, whether women have agency or not.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172699/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Gouws receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF)</span></em></p>The objectification of women’s beauty measured by competitive processes, linked specifically to the body, strengthens patriarchal norms.Amanda Gouws, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the South African Research Initiative in Gender Politics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1686322021-10-05T15:42:23Z2021-10-05T15:42:23ZPraise for Kim Kardashian’s Skims ignores her family’s relationship with body augmentation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424549/original/file-20211004-13-1r2300t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C4612%2C3014&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Valued well above US$1 billion, Kim Kardashian’s Skims is now among the most successful and quickly growing shapewear brands.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kim Kardashian’s much talked about <a href="https://skims.com/">shapewear brand, Skims</a>, made headlines in September for its most recent campaign featuring her sister <a href="https://people.com/style/kourtney-kardashian-megan-fox-pose-topless-skims-campaign/">Kourtney Kardashian and close friend, Megan Fox</a>. </p>
<p>The two appear in a intimate embrace, wearing nothing but underwear. <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a37693560/kourtney-kardashian-megan-fox-skims-campaign-photos/"><em>Cosmopolitan</em> </a> wrote that the pair “look so good […] wow,” with industry heavyweights like <a href="https://www.nylon.com/fashion/megan-fox-kourtney-kardashian-skims-campaign"><em>Nylon</em></a> and <a href="https://www.instyle.com/fashion/megan-fox-kourtney-kardashian-skims-cotton-campaign"><em>InStyle</em></a> adding to this praise. Important questions surrounding these images and their implications for viewers however are missing from mainstream conversations. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1440846302229630983"}"></div></p>
<p>Also missing from conversation is the <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/the-kardashian-effect">Kardashians’ now infamous relationship to body augmentation</a>, beauty ideals and the pressures these ideals often cause. This should raise some concern, especially from a brand devoted to dressing, shaping and changing the body. </p>
<h2>Promises made to women</h2>
<p>Valued well above <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/business/dealbook/kardashian-skims.html?searchResultPosition=3">US$1 billion</a>, Skims is now among the most successful and quickly growing shapewear brands. Even amid COVID-19, Skims experienced <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/business/dealbook/kardashian-skims.html">an uptick in sales</a>. So, what explains this tremendous growth? </p>
<p>Kim’s brand(s), much like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-kylie-jenner-make-money-2018-7#in-march-2019-forbes-dubbed-kylie-jenner-then-21-the-worlds-youngest-self-made-billionaire-1">that of her sister, Kylie’s</a>, thrive off promises made to women. Namely, promises that the purchase of their products can produce a figure and face closer in shape and size to the Kardashians. Skims’ images and online advertisements communicate as much, drawing viewers’ attention to an (increasingly) narrow waist and full hips like those Kim Kardashian first made famous.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1438261345229565952"}"></div></p>
<p>Of course, these promises aren’t real, from lip kits that failed to produce Kylie’s perfect pout, <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/kim-kardashian-says-this-suppl">to vitamin supplements</a>, <a href="https://www.revelist.com/celebrity/kim-khloe-diet-tea-defense/15085/kim-and-khlo-kardashian-have-been-promoting-flat-tummy-tea-and-other-dangerous-diet-products-for-a-while-now/1">teas</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/kim-kardashian-sells-waist-trainers-doctors-say-dangerous-2019-9">and waist trainers</a> that couldn’t quite “snatch” a Kardashian-like silhouette. Yet, media continue to levy praise and admiration, as if these promises shouldn’t warrant some suspicion. </p>
<h2>Understanding the beauty ideal</h2>
<p>In my work as a researcher studying appearance and attractiveness, as well as their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405211022074">representation and reception across media platforms</a>, I take questions related to beauty, its various pressures (and privileges) seriously. </p>
<p>I look to images and advertisements, as well as videos and online trends, to better understand how beauty has come to shape our mediascape, and what this means for everyday viewers including and especially young people who consume and engage with digital content. </p>
<p>Throughout, I observe <a href="https://people.com/style/kuwtk-reunion-kim-kardashian-doesnt-think-family-promote-unrealistic-beauty-standards/">a quintessentially Kardashian ideal</a>, with an increasingly large number of social media users postured in ways that <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7133655/charlotte-crosby-curvy-figure/">reproduce the sisters’ figures and faces</a>. Consider, for example, online makeup tutorials and outfit shots dedicated to the sisters’ likenesses. Kim’s own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QvgzfNzHbY">beauty tutorial</a> has generated more than 15 million (and counting) views online, with everyday consumers tuning in to see just how to achieve the Kardashian look. Contour sticks and face powders — they are told — are all that is needed to sculpt, highlight and lift the face. </p>
<p>The popularity of these images and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuwtdKj4Z2g">videos</a> reflects Kim and her sisters’ respective influence within the world of beauty, even as they continue to <a href="https://people.com/style/kuwtk-reunion-kim-kardashian-doesnt-think-family-promote-unrealistic-beauty-standards/">deny their role in its pressures</a>. </p>
<p>In my ongoing work on appearance, with sociologists Shyon Baumann and Josée Johnston, young people often explain that the Kardashians define what it means to be beautiful today. Drawing our attention to the sisters’ full lips, round hips and tapered waistlines, they remind us just how important (and impossible) the Kardashian ideal has become (thin, but curvaceous, full, but flat in <em>all the right places</em>). </p>
<h2>One step forward and two steps back</h2>
<p>To her credit, Kim’s work with Skims represents a step forward in she and her sisters’ enviable empire of brands, and their relationship to beauty. The brand has a focus on more diverse bodies in many (if not most) of its images and advertisements online, and shapewear in a range of sizes and skin tones, <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/kim-kardashian-west-future-of-skims">Skims is far more inclusive than some of its industry competitors</a>. In fact, consumers can shop up to sizes 4X and 5X across most product categories to find, in the brand’s own words, “a <em>solution</em> for every body” (emphasis added). </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1443968962983776263"}"></div></p>
<p>But with this step forward, Kim has taken two steps back. As the brand’s messaging (however subtle) so often suggests, women ought to rein in their figures and discipline their bodies if they are to be <em>made</em> beautiful, sculpted and “solved” — she is suggesting that womens’ bodies are necessarily flawed, and in need of correction. </p>
<p>Though messages like this are not new in the world of beauty and fashion brands, their demands and attendant pressures from contouring the face to binding the belly, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image">have never been more persistent or damaging than they are today</a>. </p>
<p>As philosopher Heather Widdows, points out in her work on beauty, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691160078/perfect-me"><em>Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal</em></a>, we have, as never before, a “duty” to perfect our appearance or at the very least, try. And this duty, as Kim and her sisters well know, can be packaged for purchase.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Foster receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Important questions surrounding the praise over Kim Kardashian’s Skims are missing from mainstream conversations.Jordan Foster, PhD Student, Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1663182021-08-24T12:16:48Z2021-08-24T12:16:48ZIn ‘Rumors,’ Lizzo and Cardi B pull from the ancient Greeks, putting a new twist on an old tradition<p>It isn’t often that a pop star releases a music video that aligns so well with <a href="https://www.bu.edu/amnesp/profile/grace-mcgowan/">my academic research</a>.</p>
<p>But that’s exactly what Lizzo did in her new song, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9XUrniiK4">Rumors</a>.” In it, she and Cardi B dress in Grecian goddess-inspired dresses, dance in front of classically inspired statuary, wear headdresses that evoke <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/caryatid">caryatids</a> and transform into Grecian vases. </p>
<p>They’re adding their own twist to what’s called <a href="https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195399301/obo-9780195399301-0003.xml">the classical tradition</a>, a style rooted in the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome, and they’re only the most recent Black women artists to do so. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4P9XUrniiK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lizzo and Cardi B evoke ancient Greece in the video for ‘Rumors.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>White supremacists wield the classics</h2>
<p>The classical tradition has been hugely influential in American society. You see it in the branding of Venus razors, named after the Roman goddess of beauty, and Nike sportswear, named for the ancient Greek goddess of victory; in the names of cities like Olympia, Washington, and Rome, Georgia; <a href="https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/buildings-grounds/neoclassical">in the neoclassical architecture</a> found in the nation’s capital; <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/greek-influence-us-democracy/">and in debates</a> over democracy, republicanism and citizenship.</p>
<p>However, in the 19th century, the classical tradition started being wielded against Black people in a specific way. In particular, pro-slavery lobbyists and slavery apologists <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574674.001.0001/acprof-9780199574674">argued that the presence of slavery</a> in ancient Greece and Rome was what allowed the two empires to become pinnacles of civilization.</p>
<p>Even though ancient Greece and Rome traded with, fought against and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-african-roots-of-swiss-design-154892">learned from</a> ancient African civilizations such as Egypt, <a href="https://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/nubia">Nubia</a> and Meroe, the presence and influence of these societies have tended to be downplayed or ignored.</p>
<p>Instead, ancient Greek and Roman aesthetics were held up as paragons of beauty and artistic sensibility. Classical statues such as the <a href="https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/ideal-greek-beauty">Venus de Milo</a> and the <a href="https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/museo-pio-clementino/Cortile-Ottagono/apollo-del-belvedere.html">Apollo Belvedere</a> are often considered the apex of human perfection. And because marble statues from antiquity have, over time, <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/383776/why-we-need-to-start-seeing-the-classical-world-in-color/">lost their painted colors</a>, it’s influenced the widespread belief that all the deities were imagined as white.</p>
<p>For these reasons, Black women have rarely appeared in classical depictions and reproductions.</p>
<p>When they did – and especially in Western neoclassical art – it was usually in the form of mischaracterization or mockery.</p>
<p>For example, in Thomas Stothard’s 1801 engraving “<a href="https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/254621.html">Voyage of the Sable Venus from Angola to the West Indies</a>,” he depicts a Black woman in the style of Botticelli’s “<a href="https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/birth-of-venus">Birth of Venus</a>” romanticizing the harrowing trauma of the slave trade’s <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html">Middle Passage</a>. In the mid-19th century, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sarah-baartmans-hips-went-from-a-symbol-of-exploitation-to-a-source-of-empowerment-for-black-women-160063">Sarah Baartman</a>, a Black South African woman, was paraded around Europe and put on display due to her large buttocks. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/crj/clz008">She was derisively</a> dubbed the “Hottentot Venus.”</p>
<h2>Black artists push back</h2>
<p>At the turn of the 20th century, however, Black women started reclaiming classical deities of beauty, such as Venus. </p>
<p>Pauline Hopkins, a writer working in Boston for <a href="http://coloredamerican.org/">The Colored American Magazine</a>, played a pivotal role. A 1903 issue of the magazine published an editorial with no byline, though there’s scholarly consensus that Hopkins penned the piece. </p>
<p><a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3793663&view=1up&seq=495">The editorial controversially argued</a> that the models for two paragons of classical beauty had actually been enslaved Ethiopians. </p>
<p>“Authorities in the art world demonstrated that the most famous examples of classic beauty in sculpture – the Venus de Milo and the Apollo Belvedere – were chiselled from Ethiopian slave models,” Hopkins wrote. Although it is difficult to know for sure, her editorial proposes an exciting set of possibilities around how African people and civilizations influenced classical beauty standards. </p>
<p>During her time with the magazine, Hopkins also wrote several serialized novels, including “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-black-writers-and-journalists-have-wielded-punctuation-in-their-activism-161141">Of One Blood</a>,” which was published over the course of 1902 and 1903. </p>
<p>In it, the protagonist discovers a hidden African civilization called Telassar that has retreated from the world and so was able to escape the ravages of colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The protagonist discovers that he is the heir to Telassar and should join forces with Queen Candace to bring the country out of hiding and take its place in the world. Hopkins frequently describes the great beauty of all the women in the novel in terms of their likeness to the classical deity Venus. </p>
<p>In both the editorial and the novel, Hopkins questions the very idea that the classical tradition can be deemed “white” or “European.” She calls on her readers to consider if these aesthetics and beauty ideals were, in fact, rooted in African traditions, only to be corrupted and co-opted by white supremacists. </p>
<p>Other artists have followed Hopkins’ lead. Toni Morrison’s fiction has reworked stories from the classical tradition, including Euripedes’ “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medea-Greek-mythology">Medea</a>” and Ovid’s “<a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-ovids-metamorphoses-and-reading-rape-65316">Metamorphoses</a>.” In Morrison’s novel “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/117660/tar-baby-by-toni-morrison/">Tar Baby</a>,” the protagonist is a model who’s depicted as the “Copper Venus” in a magazine spread.</p>
<p>More recently, Beyoncé <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/arts/music/beyonce-twins-photo.html">announced the birth of her twins</a>, Rumi and Sir, by adapting Botticelli’s 1480 painting “Birth of Venus.” Meanwhile, artist <a href="https://linktr.ee/bbychakra">3rdeyechakra</a> has inserted Black female artists, such as Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion and Lizzo, into paintings of classical deities like Venus and Aphrodite.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZ0uEUFrum","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>An old tradition with a new twist</h2>
<p>Which takes me to Lizzo’s joyful and gleeful reclamation of the classical tradition in her new music video with Cardi B.</p>
<p>In a song that focuses heavily on female empowerment and body positivity, Lizzo and Cardi B deploy the visual imagery, fashion, art and architecture of the classical era, while also populating it with people and bodies that have so long been excluded.</p>
<p>Lizzo and her dancers perform their choreography atop classical columns, positioning themselves as the muses – an allusion, perhaps, <a href="https://imgix.bustle.com/nylon/18433024/origin.jpg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=jpg">to the Black muses</a> in Disney’s animated film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119282/">Hercules</a>.” </p>
<p>The bodies of the statues in Lizzo’s video are not the chiseled physiques you’re accustomed to seeing in museums, while the various Grecian-style vases are painted with images of women in bondage gear, performing on poles and twerking. Lizzo and Cardi B also perform in front of statues that are deliberately centered on the buttocks. It’s an allusion not just to classical statues like the <a href="https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/italy-museums/naples-museums/national-archaeological-museum-naples/venus-callipyge/">Venus Callipyge</a> – which translates to “Venus of the beautiful buttocks” – but also a playful dig at a culture <a href="https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-inequality-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2017/08/girlhood-interrupted.pdf">that historically has hypersexualized the bodies of Black women</a>. </p>
<p>I’d never suggest reading the comments section of any YouTube video. But with “Rumors” you don’t have to scroll for very long before coming across a heated debate around “cultural appropriation” in the music video. Some say that it’s Greek and Roman art that’s being pilfered and sullied.</p>
<p>But to me, it’s just another example of Black women trying to stake their own claim to the beauty, joy and power of this tradition. </p>
<p>When Lizzo and Cardi B touch their acrylics in a gesture reminiscent of Michaelangelo’s famous “<a href="http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/">Creation of Adam</a>” painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, they’re transfigured into a Grecian vase in a flash of lightning. </p>
<p>Just like that, the centrality of Black women to the classical tradition is no longer just a rumor. </p>
<p>It’s true.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grace B. McGowan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The classical tradition has long excluded anyone who wasn’t white. But a succession of Black female artists have attempted to broaden these ossified boundaries.Grace B. McGowan, PhD Candidate in American Studies, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642412021-07-20T20:08:36Z2021-07-20T20:08:36ZNetflix’s Sexy Beasts tells us you can take physical attraction out of love. The reality is much more complicated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412025/original/file-20210719-17-gr9pw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3840%2C2149&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Netflix’s Sexy Beasts, out today, promises to move past superficial dating by having contestants meet while wearing heavy make-up and prosthetics to disguise their physical attributes.</p>
<p>First up is Emma, the demon, a six-foot tall model from New York. When asked about her expectations of dating and her ideal partner, Emma explains “it is just all in the chemistry” and “sexual attraction is definitely a must.” </p>
<p>Throughout the series, contestants speak of physical attributes they want to see in a romantic partner: mandrill Bennett hopes to find someone with “big boobs”; beaver James explains it is “ass first, personality second”; and the pixie Amber connects with her date over his big bicep muscles.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IJO5m6EFL6A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Masks aren’t enough to disguise build, height, and complexion — or the fact all of the contestants are conventionally attractive. Although we are shown the pairs connecting in disguise, the lead up to the unmasking proves expectations of meeting someone physically attractive still remains. </p>
<p>In a modern-day <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuD2rx2a1hQ">Perfect Match</a>, Sexy Beasts asks if people can fall in love “solely” based on personality. </p>
<p>But how do we really fall in love?</p>
<h2>The biology of love can be measured …</h2>
<p>Signs of physical attraction can be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014579307004875">measured</a> in the brain as biological responses to an appealing visual stimuli. Brain imaging has shown a number of areas actively light up when we see someone we consider attractive. These activated areas are consistent regardless of an individual’s gender identity and sexual preference.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man with the head of a beaver." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412026/original/file-20210719-21-ozj339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Specific areas of our brains light up when we see someone attractive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Physical attractiveness is not just based on facial qualities. We judge physical attractiveness based on waist-to-hip ratio and breast size (<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474704916631614">for female bodies in particular</a>); waist-to-chest radio (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/SOCP.147.1.15-26?casa_token=JWBtyqwitxkAAAAA:nGnYW7GW5F2OmFgtgiPSzCsQmM9R4TaxVhDD_0IOUNNY82lkzn7l4bbXgz70u9CgdkWpwD2YD8No">for male bodies in particular</a>); and skin tone. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J056v18n02_05">evolutionary psychology</a>, heterosexual males tend to look for a partner who signifies youth and fertility. Heterosexual females tend to look for a partner with a strong immune system and who can provide support for the young. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-really-a-single-ideal-body-shape-for-women-38432">Is there really a single ideal body shape for women?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15990719/">neurobiology of love theory</a>” posits love is an emotion that has evolved to encourage beneficial biological behaviours such as sex, reproduction and survival of individuals and their species. </p>
<p>The general thesis here is love is a learned conditioned response.</p>
<h2>… but it’s not all biology</h2>
<p>This explanation for how we understand love is limited. </p>
<p>Social and developmental researchers specialising in relationships (such as myself) believe individuals will evaluate potential romantic partners based on a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15155031/">trade-off of three different desirable characteristics</a>: physical attractiveness, yes, but also kindness and wealth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A demon" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412028/original/file-20210719-15-1b884c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can’t just be hot. You must also be kind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In relationships, “kindness” can also be described as warmth and trustworthiness, having a partner who is understanding and supportive. “Wealth” relates to both status and resource, having a partner who is successful in their profession. Globally, kindness has been rated as the most important criteria, followed by physical attractiveness and then wealth. </p>
<p>It is highly improbable one individual will be able to perfectly meet <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-12810-007">all these standards</a>. Therefore, expectations are often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pere.12297">modified</a> to justify partner selection.</p>
<p>Failing to adjust expectations, some individuals will continually change partners to try and find someone who can fit all of their expectations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/men-are-from-mars-women-are-from-mars-how-people-choose-partners-is-surprisingly-similar-but-depends-on-age-161081">Men are from Mars, women are from... Mars? How people choose partners is surprisingly similar (but depends on age)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>My research has shown “falling short” or “not living up” to partners’ expectations is a recipe for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2020.1795039">relationship sabotage</a>.</p>
<p>Sexy Beasts tries to take “physical attractiveness” out of the equation, forcing contestants to rely instead on their judgements of “what is important” to establish and maintain a long lasting relationship. But we can’t modify our expectations simply by completely removing one factor from consideration.</p>
<h2>How to build a relationship</h2>
<p>Watching Sexy Beasts as a relationship expert, I was not convinced contestants in this show connected based on personality alone. The show removes some elements of judging physical attractiveness, but it doesn’t give the space for the individuals to judge kindness and wealth.</p>
<p>Social context is an important factor when deciding which partner characteristics are important. As with all reality dating shows, these contestants are motivated not by love, but by winning a competition — even if that means going against what is important to them in a partner and a relationship.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with a panda head and a man with a bull head feed meerkats" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412029/original/file-20210720-21-6q9xq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">True love requires compatibility, but also work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Netflix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The owl, Gabi, is a veterinary student from West Virginia who talks about her love for dogs — but she is matched to a potential partner who is allergic to dogs. The dolphin Nina is looking for a “cowboy” — but does not chose the contestant who matches that description. </p>
<p>The panda Kariselle, an outgoing and “nerdy” party motivator from New Jersey, is looking for a husband. But, on the show, she rejects the bull, Josh, who is “dating to marry” and looking for an outgoing partner with the same “nerdy” interests as him. </p>
<p>To promote connection without physical attraction we should look at other qualities. Warmth, expressivity, openness, and a good sense of humour are <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-04146-002">common factors</a> conducive to long-term relationships. Although individuals might be able to meet and start a relationship disguised as “sexy beasts”, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2020.1795039">long-term commitment</a> requires a connection based on personal insight and understanding of what we need in a partner. </p>
<p>Hours of work have gone into the creation of each of these “sexy beasts”. But it is nothing compared to the work it takes to make a relationship last.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164241/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raquel Peel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We fall for people based on appearance, kindness and wealth. It’s not as simple as removing one part of the equation.Raquel Peel, Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1600632021-07-15T12:26:27Z2021-07-15T12:26:27ZHow Sarah Baartman’s hips went from a symbol of exploitation to a source of empowerment for Black women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411507/original/file-20210715-25-v3qw7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C4%2C968%2C727&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sarah Baartman was an international sensation of objectification.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/7B5C/production/_87508513_spl.jpg">British Library</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In “<a href="https://genius.com/The-carters-black-effect-lyrics">BLACK EFFECT</a>,” a track from Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 2018 collaborative album “<a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-carters-everything-is-love/">EVERYTHING IS LOVE</a>,” Beyoncé describes a quintessential Black female form:</p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>Stunt with your curls, your lips, Sarah Baartman hips
Gotta hop into my jeans like I hop into my whip, yeah
</code></pre>
<p>The celebration of Sarah Baartman’s features marks a departure from her historical image. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/baartman-sara-saartjie-1789-1815/">Saartjie “Sarah” Baartman</a> was an African woman who, in the early 1800s, was something of an international sensation of objectification. She was paraded around Europe, where spectators jeered at her large buttocks.</p>
<p>With celebrities like Beyoncé recognizing Baartman’s contributions to the ideal Black female body – and with the curvaceous posteriors of Black women lauded on TV and celebrated on social media – I wanted to understand how this ideal is viewed by the very people it most directly effects: Black women.</p>
<p>So I interviewed 30 Black women from various cities in South Africa and the mid-Atlantic U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211006483">and asked them about Baartman</a>. Would her image represent a reviled past or a canvas of resilience? Were they proud to bear a similar buttocks or ashamed to share a similar stature?</p>
<h2>Hips and history</h2>
<p>Baartman, a Khoisan woman from South Africa, left her native land in the early 1800s for Europe; <a href="https://archive.org/details/sarabaartmanhott00crai">it’s unclear whether she went willingly or was forced to do so</a>. Showmen exhibited her throughout Europe, where, in an embarrassing and dehumanizing spectacle, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Venus-in-the-Dark-Blackness-and-Beauty-in-Popular-Culture/Hobson/p/book/9781138237629">she was forced to sing and dance before crowds of white onlookers</a>.</p>
<p>Often naked in these exhibitions, Baartman was sometimes suspended in a cage on stage while being poked, prodded and groped. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/hyp.2003.0079">Her body was characterized</a> as grotesque, lascivious and obscene because of her protruding buttocks, which was due to a condition <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00449795">called steatopygia</a> that occurs naturally among people in arid parts of southern Africa. She also had elongated labia, a physical feature derogatorily referred to as a “<a href="https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Hottentot+apron">Hottentot apron</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A drawing depicts Sarah Baartman being ogled and mocked by onlookers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411323/original/file-20210714-27-1vzk7q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baartman had a naturally occurring condition called ‘steatopygia.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.britishmuseum.org/media/Repository/Documents/2014_11/12_11/58060ffd_0fcb_4075_86f1_a3e100bc7c83/mid_00099425_001.jpg">British Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both became symbolic markers of racial difference, and many other women from this part of Africa <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211006483">were trafficked to Europe for white entertainment</a>. Because they diverged so drastically from dominant ideas of white feminine beauty, Baartman’s features were exoticized. Her voluptuous and curvaceous body – mocked and shamed in the West – was also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/hyp.2003.0079">described in advertisements</a> as the “most correct and perfect specimen of her race.”</p>
<h2>The Baartman ideal</h2>
<p>Of course, Black women’s bodies vary; there is no monolithic – nor ideal – type. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, there is a strong legacy of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934716686022">curvaceous ideal</a>, more so than in other races. </p>
<p>It persists to this day.</p>
<p>In my interviews, Black women revealed how they felt about Baartman’s story, how they compared her to their own body image and what her legacy represents. </p>
<p>One American participant, Ashley, seemed to recognize how entrenched the Baartman ideal has become.</p>
<p>“[Baartman] was the platform for stereotypes,” she said. “She set the trend for Black women [to] have these figures and … now these stereotypes are carrying through pop culture.”</p>
<p>Mieke, a South African woman, described being proud of her proportions and the way they’re connected to Baartman, saying, “I’m proud of my body because of the resemblance I feel it has with hers.”</p>
<h2>Exploitation or empowerment?</h2>
<p>Today, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934716686022">the Baartman body can be advantageous</a>, especially on social media, where Black women have the opportunity to produce content that’s socially and culturally relevant to them and their audiences – and where <a href="https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/megantheestallion/thotshit.html">users can make money off their posts</a>. </p>
<p>On various platforms, women leverage their looks to obtain paid advertisements or receive free gifts, services or merchandise <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/05/152932/instagram-influencer-gender-salary-difference">from various beauty and apparel companies</a>. They’re also more likely to gain more followers – and perhaps attract more wealthy suitors, depending on their ambitions – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211006483">by hewing more closely to the contemporary Baartman ideal</a>. </p>
<p>So you could argue that Black women are taking control of their objectification and commodification to earn money. They’re also protesting the ideals of white mainstream beauty, seizing Baartman’s exploitation and mockery and recasting her as a source of pride and empowerment on places like #BlackTwitter, Instagram and OnlyFans.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CPzepgwA18G","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Baartman’s image is rooted in a legacy that is engulfed by slavery, unwillful submission and colonialism. The white gaze that fetishized Baartman’s body as exotic and overtly sexual was the same one that <a href="https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/jezebel/">promulgated the stereotype</a> that Black women were sexually promiscuous, lascivious and hypersexual. </p>
<p>While Baartman may not have been able to keep the cash people paid to ogle at her, Black women today can strive for her body type and make money off it. Once subjected to the mockery of an insidious white gaze, Baartman’s physique is now profitable – as long as these women are comfortable with being objectified. </p>
<p>But is selling this body type always a form of empowerment? Would someone who wasn’t already exploited do it?</p>
<p>This may explain why Black women today are conflicted when they think about Baartman. </p>
<p>Lesedi, from South Africa, highlighted this tension. </p>
<p>“I feel you do find girls like me who are not proud of what they see when they look in the mirror and they just feel like, ‘I need to drop this off,’” she said. However she added that “you find other girls that are just so happy about it that they twerk. … I guess Sarah Baartman definitely does have an influence, but it’s either positive or negative whether you’re proud to have a bum.”</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rokeshia Renné Ashley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the 19th century, Baartman was dehumanized and mocked for her large posterior. So what does it mean when Black women today strive for ‘Sarah Baartman hips’?Rokeshia Renné Ashley, Assistant Professor of Communication, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1641822021-07-08T15:13:51Z2021-07-08T15:13:51ZLove Island: how women with ‘fake’ faces have been belittled throughout history<p>After a recent episode of the British dating reality show <a href="https://www.itv.com/loveisland">Love Island</a>, Twitter buzzed with the word “fake”. In a challenge designed to test the couples’ knowledge of each other, the islanders were quizzed on everything from their partner’s favourite sex positions and turn-ons and turn-offs to which cosmetic procedures they had undergone.</p>
<p>Contestant Hugo Hammond’s repeated disparagement of women who were “fake” was read as a slight against women who chose plastic surgery. This offended several of the women, with fellow participants Faye Winter and Sharon Gaffka calling Hammond “ignorant” for not understanding why women undergo aesthetic procedures.</p>
<p>The game’s neglect of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/mar/03/zoom-ready-male-demand-for-cosmetic-procedures-rising#:%7E:text=Amid%20news%20that%20comic%20Jimmy,for%20video%20consultations%20over%202020.&text=A%202019%20report%20from%20the,%E2%80%9D%20rather%20than%20%E2%80%9Ctucked%E2%80%9D.">growing market in men’s plastic surgery</a> (only the women were quizzed on their procedures) and the association of aesthetic surgeries with “fake” bodies and personalities isn’t surprising. Issues of gender, identity and authenticity have been relevant throughout the long history of plastic surgery.</p>
<h2>Reconstructive surgery</h2>
<p>The earliest operations akin to today’s plastic surgery focused on restoring the face and body to “normal”. This stretched from the <a href="http://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/browse/issue-11/treating-facial-wounds/">neat suturing of wounds</a>, to reattachment and then full recreation of a cut-off nose. Such procedures were uncommon, and mainly used by men who had been wounded in duelling or warfare.</p>
<p>The earliest accounts of a nose being recreated from a skin flap <a href="https://ispub.com/IJPS/3/2/7839">date back to 600BC India</a>. European operations to build a new nose from a flap of skin from the forehead or cheek began in 16th-century Italy. Bolognese surgeon Gaspare Tagliacozzi published the first major <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/r5e3unwm">Latin guide</a> to reconstructing the nose, lip or ear using skin from the arm in 1597, claiming the credit and biggest space in the history books.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-400-year-old-botched-nose-job-shows-how-little-our-feelings-about-transplants-have-changed-156774">This 400-year-old botched nose job shows how little our feelings about transplants have changed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of 16th-century plastic surgery on the nose." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410340/original/file-20210708-27-15hjlk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Illustration of 16th-century plastic surgery on the nose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:16th_century_plastic_surgery_on_the_nose_Wellcome_M0013854.jpg#/media/File:Plastic_surgery_on_the_nose_-_16th_century._Wellcome_M0013856.jpg">Wellcome Collection.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 17th- and 18th-century Britain, this operation was associated with another kind of damaged nose: the collapsed nasal bridge of caused by syphilis. Bodily changes and augmentations that were seen as intended to hide disease were especially associated with “loose women”, out to deceive men into marrying poorly or paying for the pox (syphilis). </p>
<p>The 17th century English Poet <a href="https://poets.org/poet/robert-herrick">Robert Herrick</a> was one of many writers to describe women using padding, cosmetics, transplants and other tricks to “cheat” men. These women were “False in legs, and false in thighs; / False in breast, teeth, hair, and eyes.” </p>
<h2>The conundrum of ‘effortless’ beauty</h2>
<p>Perhaps Love Islander Aaron Francis should have landed in hotter water for naming women’s arm hair as his biggest turnoff. But between him and Hugo we see the classic women’s conundrum: change your body too much and you’re fake, but don’t show yourself too naturally either. Herrick’s contemporary, English poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44452/still-to-be-neat-still-to-be-dressed">Ben Jonson</a> put it bluntly. In the poem “Still to be neat, still to be dressed”, he praised women for a style of effortless “sweet neglect” that required them “still to be powdered, still perfumed” but with the “art” and labour of it carefully hidden away.</p>
<p>Rare and disparaged through these centuries, the use of skin flaps for reconstructive procedures like rhinoplasty was <a href="https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/joseph-constantine-carpue-and-the-revival-of-rhinoplasty/">revived</a> at the very end of the 18th century, as new information arrived from India. Patients included men and women whose noses had been damaged by accidents and fights, but also diseases like cancer and lupus. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-wyXGl55hMk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Male surgeons began to compete and brag about the speed and success of operations, including the beauty of the resulting noses. Major facial procedures remained restorative up to the huge improvements made by <a href="https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp121917/harold-delf-gillies">Sir Harold Delf Gillies</a>, who is considered the father of modern plastic surgery, and his teams in the first world war. But aesthetic options were also increasing, with the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342080522_History_of_Dermal_and_Subdermal_Injectable_Fillers_Before_Collagen_The_Early_Years">first facial fillers</a>— made of ingredients like fat and paraffin — appearing in the late 19th-century.</p>
<p>People make strong distinctions today between reconstructive and “normalising” surgeries, and those seen as merely “aesthetic”. These divisions carry serious implications, such as whether something is covered by the NHS. This is the case even if the operation is very similar, or even identical: breast reduction for aesthetics is usually not NHS eligible, but <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cosmetic-procedures/breast-reduction-female/">breast reduction to help with mental health or back pain</a> often is. </p>
<p>There are also continuing levels of stigma and accusations of deception or “fakeness”, as we saw on Love Island. On the other hand, feminists, disability activists and other ethicists have raised important concerns about the normalisation of cosmetic surgeries and the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35380469">pressure to achieve “perfect” looks</a>. “Sweet neglect” remains a difficult line to tread.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164182/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Cock previously received postdoctoral funding from the Leverhulme Trust for for ‘Fragile Faces: Disfigurement in Britain and its Colonies (1600–1850).’. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Han does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A woman’s right to use fillers and have plastic surgery was a topic of discussion on the show after a male contestant alluded that he found women who used such enhancements ‘fake’.Emily Cock, Lecturer in Early Modern History, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1532492021-02-09T15:25:22Z2021-02-09T15:25:22ZDistance learning: How to avoid falling into ‘techno traps’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378915/original/file-20210114-23-t660cn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C1345%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's strong pressure to use more technology to capture student attention, but what about inviting students to adopt a contemplative posture? </span> </figcaption></figure><p>As another virtual university semester unfolds — the second or even third for some since the beginning of the pandemic — fatigue and declining satisfaction with this remote format seem to be increasingly felt on both sides of the screen.</p>
<p>On the one hand, there are <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/university-students-online-learning-mental-health_ca_5fc933f6c5b6e3f2bebab958">students worried about the quality of the courses</a> they are taking, but above all, they are missing out on campus and community life. On the other hand, there are <a href="https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/were-exhausted-teachers-overwhelmed-by-online-transition/271289">teachers feeling breathlessly short of resources</a>, who have been pushed overnight to change their practices and run their classes from home.</p>
<p>Beyond the purely pedagogical impacts, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/online-university-burnout-1.5793757">issue of mental health for everyone is of concern</a> today. Having personally had to give online courses to more than 250 undergraduate students over these past weeks, I have been able to experience these issues and to feel the limits of this new way of teaching.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Succulent plants on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382920/original/file-20210208-19-1ylrhwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students and professors are feeling fatigued with screens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Web influencer or academic expert?</h2>
<p>The temptation — but also often the pressure — to draw out a host of technological tools to capture and maintain the attention of students or facilitate their collaboration is often very strong. Certainly, the idea of teaching a class live on <a href="https://kotaku.com/professor-calls-students-idea-to-teach-class-on-twitch-1842277603">Twitch</a> or in a fictional world on <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/21200972/college-students-graduation-minecraft-coronavirus-school-closures">Minecraft</a> and then continuing the discussion on Discord or Slack can be exciting. But in this particular context, the teacher is sometimes more of a <a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2019/06/28/1373473/the-teacher-as-social-media-celebrity">online influencer</a> than an academic expert.</p>
<p>These technological choices also confront teachers with limits, both logistical and human. What can we say to the many students who access this content from their cell phones and therefore from their cellular data, or to <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/students-without-laptops-instructors-without-internet-how-struggling-colleges-move-online-during-covid-19">those who do not yet have a computer</a> and a high-performance internet connection? </p>
<p>What to do with students who have to share their workspace with the rest of the family, who don’t have a good grasp of these different tools or who have to learn how to use a range of different applications for each of their courses?</p>
<p>These issues also illustrate the very real risk of creating <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/6/21168463/coronavirus-covid19-seattle-public-schools-networks-broadband">new barriers </a>to inclusion in education. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
À lire aussi :
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-learning-during-covid-19-8-ways-universities-can-improve-equity-and-access-145286">Online learning during COVID-19: 8 ways universities can improve equity and access</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So, before mobilizing such hardware, it is important to consider not only the ability of students to grasp it, but also the ability of teachers to train themselves sufficiently to offer a positive learning experience. More importantly, this is also an opportunity to learn about other modes of distance education and finally to move away from a vision requiring more and more tools and overstimulation.</p>
<h2>A more human approach</h2>
<p>What if one of the answers to the challenges of distance learning is to go back to basics and set up contexts that are less “techno” and more human?</p>
<p>In their work on the <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy">experience economy</a>, consultants Joseph Pine and Jim Gilmore explore how value can be created based on the experience of “guests” (whether as consumers in shops or visitors to museums). They propose four categories for experience: educational, entertainment, escapist and esthetic. “Esthetic” experiences, they argue, are those in which participants are invited to adopt a contemplative posture. The experience then aims at harmony of the senses and attaining a kind of individual fullness.</p>
<p>An example of that could be a visit to a museum, where people walk around, sit on a bench and get lost in their thoughts. It contrasts sharply with an entertainment experience such as a music show or an amusement park. It’s a celebration of slowness, of a more subtle but equally engaging non-technological stimulation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
À lire aussi :
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-slow-professor-could-bring-back-creativity-to-our-universities-121170">The 'slow professor' could bring back creativity to our universities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This kind of call for a slower, more informal pedagogical approach isn’t new. Moreover, the idea of lowering the pace, or to prune the content a little to facilitate retention without affecting the quality, was <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/02/01/581864513/would-college-students-retain-more-if-professors-dialed-back-the-pace">slowly gaining ground</a> long before the pandemic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A guy listening to music." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382918/original/file-20210208-17-c3xfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Offering podcast courses or transmitting evaluations via audio not only gives you a break, but also gives you more flexibility as to when and where to view this content.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Create an atmosphere conducive to reflection</h2>
<p>So, instead of using yet another collaborative tool during a Zoom course, why not simply create an atmosphere conducive to reflection through a warm decor, a little nature, something to watch or music that is pleasant to listen to?</p>
<p>Similarly, why not open the virtual rooms earlier, or close them later, for those who want to exchange in a more informal setting. Why not send the content in advance so as to take advantage of these so-called “synchronous moments” to interact and inject some human warmth?</p>
<p>Finally, it is possible to enhance non-visual stimuli to allow students to take a break from their screens for even a brief moment. The simple act of recording podcast episodes or transmitting assessments via audio not only gives students a break for their eyes but also offers more flexibility in when and where they can view the content. The opportunity has also come to rediscover the charms of a simple telephone conversation, instead of another videoconference.</p>
<p>Since this virtual mode of teaching is expected to continue at least until next fall or winter and to play a greater role in university curricula after the pandemic, it is not too late to imagine modes of engagement that are more mindful of individual constraints.</p>
<p>According to Pine and Gilmore, any good experience must be thought of in the broader context in which it takes place. So, rather than relying on the equivalent of an online lecture, let’s reconsider. Keep in mind the constraints of the moment and imagine courses that allow you to vary the contexts in which you immerse yourself, whether it’s by the fire or even under the comforter!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153249/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louis-Etienne Dubois ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>What if one of the answers to the challenges of distance learning was to go back to basics and set up less “tech” and more human contexts?Louis-Etienne Dubois, Assistant Professor, School of Creative Industries, Faculty of Communication and Design, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1482782020-10-16T14:25:19Z2020-10-16T14:25:19ZLookism: beauty still trumps brains in too many workplaces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363946/original/file-20201016-17-3rr2oa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How to get ahead. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businesswoman-applying-lipstick-while-preparing-work-1778800661">Ines Bazdar</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities position themselves as places where brains matter. It seems strange then that students at a US university would rate attractive academics to be better teachers. This <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/attractive-female-academics-rated-better-teachers">was the finding</a> of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307538?dgcid=coauthor">recent paper</a> from the University of Memphis, which concluded that female academics suffered most from this. </p>
<p>It raises an uncomfortable proposition, that beauty trumps brains even in 21st century workplaces. It would certainly be supported by veteran female broadcasters <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/sep/22/bbc-subjects-older-women-to-lookism-says-libby-purves">such as</a> radio presenter Libby Purves, who recently complained about the way the BBC dispenses with women of a certain age. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/quarter-of-women-asked-to-dress-more-provocatively-for-video-meetings">Another survey</a>, this time in the UK, gave a deeper sense of the problem. It reported that employers were asking female employees to dress “sexier” and wear make-up during video meetings. </p>
<p>Published by law firm Slater and Gordon over the summer, and based on a poll of 2,000 office-based staff working from home during lockdown, the report found that 35% of women had experienced at least one sexist demand from their employer, usually relating to how they dressed for video meetings. Women also reported being asked to wear more makeup, do something to their hair or dress more provocatively. Reasons offered by their bosses were that it would “help win business” and be “pleasing to a client”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman on zoom call at work" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363945/original/file-20201016-13-8abs5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women get it worst.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/riga-latvia-april-04-2020-beautiful-1697168977">Girts Ragelis</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It seems as though the shift to more virtual working has not eradicated what Danielle Parsons, an employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon, described as “archaic behaviour” which “has no place in the modern working world”. When employees’ performance is judged on the basis of their physical appearance, potentially shaping their pay and prospects in work, it is known as lookism. It’s not illegal, but arguably it should be. </p>
<h2>Beauty and the boss</h2>
<p>The Slater and Gordon survey findings affirm that many trends that we describe in our recent book, <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/aesthetic-labour/book232313">Aesthetic Labour</a>, are widespread and continuing despite remote working. Our book reports over 20 years of research and thinking about this problem. Although our research started by focusing on frontline work in hospitality and retail, the same issue has expanded into a diverse range of roles including academics, traffic wardens, recruitment consultants, interpreters, TV news anchors and circus acrobats. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman acrobat performing at circus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363948/original/file-20201016-13-fep9ph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No escaping it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-acrobat-ring-young-girl-performs-1051991558">David Tadevosian</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Companies think that paying greater attention to employees’ appearance will make them more competitive, while public sector organisations think it will make them more liked. As a result, they are all becoming ever more prescriptive in telling employees how they should look, dress and talk. </p>
<p>It happens both to men and women, though more often to women, and is often tied in more broadly with sexualising them at work. For example, while Slater and Gordon found that one-third of men and women had “put up with” comments about their appearance during video calls, women were much likelier to face degrading requests to appear sexier. </p>
<p>When we analysed ten years of employees’ complaints about lookism to the Equal Opportunities Commission in Australia, we found that the proportion from men was rising across sectors but that two-thirds of complaints were still from women. Interestingly, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719307538?dgcid=coauthor">University of Memphis study</a> found no correlation for male academics between how their looks were perceived and how their performance was rated. </p>
<h2>Society’s obsession</h2>
<p>Of course, workplaces cannot be divorced from society in general, and within the book we chart the increasing obsession with appearance. This aestheticisation of individuals is partly driven by the ever-growing reach and importance of the beauty industry and a huge rise in cosmetic – now increasingly labelled aesthetic – surgery. </p>
<p>These trends are perhaps understandable given that those deemed to be “attractive” benefit from a “beauty premium” whereby they are more likely to get a job, more likely to get better pay and more likely to be promoted. Being deemed unattractive or lacking the right dress sense can be reasons to be denied a job, but they are not illegal. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/146954050200200302#:%7E:text=DEFINING%20THE%20AESTHETIC%20ECONOMY%20An,omic%20calculations%20of%20that%20setting.">Some researchers</a> have described an emerging aesthetic economy. Clearly this raises concerns about unfair discrimination, but without the legal protection afforded to, say, disabled people.</p>
<p>Not only has this trend continued during the pandemic, it might even have been compounded. With the first genuine signs of rising unemployment <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/october2020">reported this month</a>, research already suggests a <a href="https://www.recruitment-international.co.uk/blog/2020/08/job-applications-spike-by-more-than-1300-percent-for-some-roles">14-fold increase</a> in the number of applicants for some job roles. For example, one restaurant in Manchester had over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/28/eight-people-claiming-employment-support-for-every-vacancy-says-thinktank">1,000 applicants</a> for a receptionist position, while the upmarket pub chain All Bar One reported over 500 applicants for a single bar staff role in Liverpool. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman pulling mask over her face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363949/original/file-20201016-21-g8dcdq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beauty is your duty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-mask-human-face-eyes-136290545">aastock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Employers are now clearly spoilt for choice when it comes to filling available positions, and those perceived to be better looking will likely have a better chance. We know <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0314/full/html?skipTracking=true">from research</a> by the University of Strathclyde’s Tom Baum and his colleagues that the hospitality industry was precarious and exploitative enough even before COVID. </p>
<p>It all suggests that lookism is not going away. If we are to avoid the archaic practices of the old normal permeating the new normal, it is time to rethink what we expect from the workplace of the future. One obvious change that could happen is making discrimination on the basis of looks illegal. That would ensure that everyone, regardless of their appearance, has equal opportunity in the world of work to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not just employers, it’s society in general.Christopher Warhurst, Professor of Work and Employment, University of WarwickDennis Nickson, Professor of Work, Employment and Organisation, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1323752020-03-05T14:20:42Z2020-03-05T14:20:42ZThere’s a complex history of skin lighteners in Africa and beyond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317538/original/file-20200227-24680-l3fa2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Detail of book cover</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University Press</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Somali-American activists recently scored a victory against Amazon and against <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/09/colourism-is-finally-being-taken-seriously-thanks-to-celebrities-like-lupita-nyongo">colourism</a>, which is prejudice based on preference for people with lighter skin tones. Members of the non-profit <a href="http://thebeautywell.org/">The Beautywell Project</a> teamed up with the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/">Sierra Club</a> to convince the online retail giant to stop selling skin lightening products that contain <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/mercury-element-facts-608433">mercury</a>.</p>
<p>After more than a year of protests, this coalition of antiracist, health, and environmental activists <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/11/22/amazon-pulls-skinlightening-creams-from-site-after-demands-from-minnesota-activists">persuaded Amazon</a> to remove some 15 products containing <a href="https://www.zeromercury.org/">toxic levels of mercury</a>. This puts a small but noteworthy dent in the global trade in skin lighteners, estimated to reach US$31.2 billion by 2024.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318031/original/file-20200302-18283-k3bdh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amira Adawe, an activist with The Beautywell Project pickets outside Amazon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amira Adawe</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What are the roots of this sizeable trade? And how might its most toxic elements be curtailed?</p>
<p>The online sale of skin lighteners is relatively new, but the in-person traffic is very old. My new <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/beneath-the-surface">book</a> explores this layered history from the vantage point of South Africa.</p>
<p>As in other parts of the world colonised by European powers, the politics of skin colour in South Africa have been importantly shaped by the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">history</a> of white supremacy and institutions of racial slavery, colonialism, and segregation. My book examines that history.</p>
<p>Yet, racism alone cannot explain skin lightening practices. My book also attends to intersecting dynamics of class and gender, changing beauty ideals and the expansion of consumer capitalism.</p>
<h2>A deep history of skin whitening and lightening</h2>
<p>For centuries and even millennia, elites used paints and powders to create smoother, paler appearances, unblemished by illness and the sun’s darkening and roughening effects.</p>
<p>Cosmetic users in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome created dramatic appearances by pairing skin whiteners containing lead or chalk with black eye makeup and red lip colourants. In China and Japan too, elite women and some men used white lead preparations and rice powder to achieve complexions resembling white jade or fresh lychee.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1356&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318048/original/file-20200302-18308-t3ibht.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1356&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this 1623 portrait by Anthony van Dyck, Elena Grimaldi’s regal whiteness is underscored by a dark-toned servant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Skin lighteners generate a less painted look than skin whiteners by removing rather than concealing blemished or melanin-rich skin. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/melanin">Melanin</a> is the biochemical compound that makes skin colourful.</p>
<p>Active ingredients in skin lighteners have ranged from acidic compounds like lemon juice and milk to harsher chemicals like sulfur, arsenic, and mercury. In parts of precolonial Southern Africa, some people used mineral and botanical preparations to brighten – rather than whiten or lighten – their skin and hair.</p>
<p>During the era of the <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/slave-route/transatlantic-slave-trade/">trans-Atlantic slave trade</a>, skin colour and associated physical difference were used to distinguish enslaved people from free, and to justify the former’s oppression. Colonisers cast melanin-rich hues as the embodiment of ugliness and inferiority. Within this racist political order, some sought to whiten and lighten their complexions.</p>
<p>By the twentieth century, mass-produced skin lightening creams ranked among the world’s most popular cosmetics. Consumers included white, black, and brown women.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317436/original/file-20200226-24690-8e4tu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This ad appeared in an issue of the Central and East African edition of Drum magazine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Duke University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 1920s and 1930s, many white consumers swapped skin lighteners for tanning lotions as time spent sunbathing and playing outdoors became a sign of a healthy and leisured lifestyle. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/19/history-of-tanning">Seasonal tanning</a> embodied new forms of white privilege.</p>
<p>Skin lighteners became primarily associated with people of colour. For black and brown consumers, living in places like the United States and South Africa where racism and colourism have flourished, even slight differences in skin colour could carry political and social consequences.</p>
<h2>The mercury effect</h2>
<p>Skin lighteners can be physically harmful. Mercury, one of their most common active ingredients, lightens skin in two ways. It inhibits the formation of melanin by rendering the enzyme <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8496620">tyrosinase</a> inactive; and it exfoliates the tanned, outer layers of the skin through the production of <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Hydrochloric-acid">hydrochloric acid</a>.</p>
<p>By the early twentieth century, pharmaceutical and medical textbooks recommended mercury – usually in the form of ammoniated mercury – for treating skin infections and dark spots while often warning of its harmful effects. Cosmetic manufacturers marketed creams containing ammoniated mercury as “freckle removers” or “skin bleaches”.</p>
<p>When the US Congress passed the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/histories-product-regulation/1938-food-drug-and-cosmetic-act">Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act in 1938</a>, such creams were among the first to be regulated.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317446/original/file-20200226-24659-1ii165p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part of Twins’s success lay in their recruitment of hawkers to sell their products in townships. Bona, May 1959.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Duke University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After World War II, the negative environmental and health impact of mercury became more apparent. The devastating case of <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200213135755.htm">mercury poisoning</a> caused by industrial wastewater in Minamata, Japan, prompted the Food and Drug Administration to take a closer look at mercury’s toxicity, including in cosmetics. Here was a visceral instance of what environmentalist <a href="https://www.rachelcarson.org/">Rachel Carson</a> meant about small, domestic choices making the world uninhabitable.</p>
<p>In 1973, the administration banned all but trace amounts of mercury from cosmetics. Other countries followed suit. South Africa banned mercurial cosmetics in 1975, the European Economic Union in 1976, and Nigeria in 1982. The trade in skin lighteners, nonetheless, continued as other active ingredients – most notably <a href="https://www.rxlist.com/consumer_hydroquinone_melquin_3/drugs-condition.htm">hydroquinone</a> – replaced ammoniated mercury.</p>
<h2>Meanwhile in South Africa</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317447/original/file-20200226-24664-1uevavc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A full-color.
In the early 1960s, colour photography and printing saw skin lightener ads feature a range of light brown and reddish skintones. Drum, September 1961.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Duke University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In apartheid South Africa, the trade was especially robust. Skin lighteners ranked among the most commonly used personal products in black urban households. During the 1980s, activists inspired by <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/defining-black-consciousness">Black Consciousness</a> and the sentiment “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/26/kwame-brathwaite-photographer-black-is-beautiful">Black is Beautiful</a>” teamed up with concerned medical professionals to make opposition to skin lighteners part of the <a href="https://www.aluka.org/struggles/collection/AAM">anti-apartheid movement</a>.</p>
<p>In the early 1990s, activists convinced the government <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-time-all-african-countries-took-a-stand-on-skin-lightening-creams-49780">to ban</a> all cosmetic skin lighteners containing known depigmenting agents – and to prohibit cosmetic advertisements from making any claims to “bleach”, “lighten” or “whiten” skin. This prohibition was the first of its kind and the regulations immediately shuttered the in-country manufacture of skin lighteners.</p>
<p>South Africa’s regulations testify to the broader antiracist political movement from which they emerged. Thirty years on, however, South Africa again possesses a <a href="https://www.lawforall.co.za/2019/10/skin-lightening-south-africa-law/">robust</a> – if now illicit – trade in skin lighteners. An especially disturbing element is the resurgence of mercurial products.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317449/original/file-20200226-24664-9ddcjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University Press</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>South African researchers have found that over 40% of skin lighteners sold in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2012.05566.x">Durban</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ced.12720">Cape Town</a> contain mercury.</p>
<p>The activists’ recent victory against Amazon suggests one way forward. They took out a full-page ad in a local newspaper denouncing Amazon’s sale of mercurial skin lighteners as “dangerous, racist, and illegal.” A petition with 23,000 signatures was hand-delivered to the company’s Minnesota office.</p>
<p>By combining antiracist, health, and environmentalist arguments, activists held one of the world’s most powerful companies accountable. They also brought the toxic presence of mercurial skin lighteners to public awareness and made them more difficult to purchase.</p>
<p><em>Lynn M. Thomas’s latest book Beneath the Surface: A Transnational History of Skin Lighteners is available from <a href="https://witspress.co.za/catalogue/beneath-the-surface/">Wits University Press</a> and from <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/beneath-the-surface">Duke University Press</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132375/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynn M. Thomas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The long history of racist beauty standards alone cannot explain the ongoing global use of harmful skin lighteners.Lynn M. Thomas, History Professor, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1270062020-01-27T18:55:39Z2020-01-27T18:55:39ZMore than skin deep, beauty salons are places of sharing and caring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311513/original/file-20200123-162185-mw1cww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=89%2C116%2C5784%2C3781&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Salon workers – who are usually women – report clients sharing details of domestic violence, health issues and heartbreak. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karen Perez/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What happens when people visit beauty and hair salons? Are trips to the salon simply about shaping how one looks on the outside, or can these spaces involve something deeper? </p>
<p>Research shows that beyond “beauty”, salons can be spaces for clients to have intimate conversations with salon workers. </p>
<p>This means beyond technical hair and beauty skills, working in the industry involves listening to and managing the emotions of clients. </p>
<p>In my <a href="https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/gender-and-sexuality-studies-research-network/2019/09/19/hannah-mccann-on-crisis-treatment-and-the-role-of-the-beauty-salon/">research</a> and interviews with salon workers between 2017 and 2019, most described themselves as makeshift counsellors. One sign in a Melbourne shopfront even read</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Therapy is expensive, get a haircut instead, we’re great listeners. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Beyond the technical</h2>
<p>Research conducted in the United States shows salon workers can act as “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28388338">lay health educators</a>”. Workers have close physical contact with clients and potentially access to different and diverse communities, depending on the salon. </p>
<p>Some US salon workers have even been engaged to assist public health campaigns, educating the general public about health issues such as melanoma, diabetes, and unintended pregnancy. </p>
<p>Salon workers can develop a “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002224299906300405">commercial friendship</a>” with clients as they maintain close physical proximity with the client over a long period. But they are neutral figures in relation to emotional disclosures. </p>
<p>This relationship means clients may disclose more details about the troubles in their lives than they would to friends or family. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038501035004007">UK research</a> also shows salons are spaces where workers often provide clients with emotional support. </p>
<p>It’s appropriate then that initiatives have emerged across the globe to train hairdressers and other salon workers to respond to client disclosures. </p>
<p>In Victoria the <a href="https://www.edvos.org.au/">Eastern Domestic Violence Service</a> has been running a program called <a href="https://www.edvos.org.au/hair-3rs/">Hair-3R’s</a> (recognise, respond and refer), to train salon workers to safely manage client disclosures of family violence. </p>
<p>In some US states, “cosmetologists” (hairstylists, manicurists and other salon workers) are <a href="http://chicagosaysnomore.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ChicagoSaysNoMore-2016-12-NewLawSalonProfessionals.pdf">legally required</a> to do formal training in domestic violence and sexual assault awareness every two years to renew their salon licenses. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311517/original/file-20200123-162232-13fwcpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Though they are likely to hear distressing client disclosures, salon workers are not often trained how to cope or respond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What workers signed up for?</h2>
<p>Expecting salon workers to respond to issues such as family violence is asking a lot. Low wages and sometimes <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-risks-beneath-the-painted-beauty-in-americas-nail-salons-41660">dangerous working conditions</a> persist in the beauty industry. </p>
<p>When I interviewed <a href="https://www.edvos.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EDVOS-HAIR-3Rs-RESEARCH-REPORT-2019.pdf">salon workers trained in the Hair-3R’s program</a>, I found they were relieved to be able to have frank discussions about the nature of their work, and grateful to receive support and guidance in negotiating these issues. </p>
<p>Research has shown salon workers are likely to have clients <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26813297">disclose intimate partner violence</a> to them at some point. But workers I spoke with also mentioned a huge array of different issues clients bring up. </p>
<p>Marriage breakdown, mental health, suicidal ideation, gender transition and job loss were among the client issues reported by workers. </p>
<p>While the majority of conversations a worker has in a day or even over the course of a week may not be so “heavy”, they will likely encounter diverse and sometimes distressing stories, given the huge segment of the community they come into contact with over months and years. Many workers suggested the Hair-3Rs training was the first time they’d spoken about the emotional aspects of their work or had it recognised as something they negotiate daily. </p>
<h2>Beyond the surface</h2>
<p>Feminists <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-beauty-myth-9780099595748">writing about beauty</a> have long focused on the gender expectations maintained in these spaces. From this perspective, salons have been seen as reinforcing stereotypes of how women should look and how they should maintain their bodies. </p>
<p>A reframing of this perspective notes the beauty industry is highly feminised, dominated by workers who are working class and often migrant women. Salon workers are represented as low-skilled “bimbos” in popular culture and the media. It is therefore no surprise the emotional nature of this line of work has remained largely hidden and both economically and culturally undervalued. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311508/original/file-20200123-162199-1bqnqtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Legally Blonde (2001) the salon relationship extends beyond grooming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250494/mediaviewer/rm3362044416">IMDB</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the beauty industry continues to boom – a day spa, nail salon or laser hair removal clinic on almost every Australian street corner and dotted throughout our shopping centres – we might speculate people are accessing these services for reasons beyond maintaining appearances. </p>
<p>While some may <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-05/economics-of-beauty-industry/10182320">lay the blame</a> on an increasingly image-soaked world due to the popularity of social media such as Instagram, we might also look to what kind of emotional refuge the salon is providing for a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/from-9-11-to-christchurch-earthquakes-how-unis-have-supported-students-after-a-crisis">world in crisis</a>. </p>
<p>Further research is needed to identify what can be done to support workers in this industry, who may accidentally find themselves acting as untrained social workers or therapists with little community support or recognition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Hannah McCann received funding from the Eastern Domestic Violence Service (EDVOS) in 2018 to review their Hair-3R's training. Dr McCann is also the recipient of a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council, commencing 2020, for a project titled "Beyond Skin-Deep: Social and Emotional Work in the Beauty Industry" that will examine the issues outlined in this article in further detail. </span></em></p>While popular portrayals of hairdressers and beauticians present them as “bimbos”, salons can also provide a refuge for clients to share painful realities.Hannah McCann, Lecturer in Cultural Studies, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1287172019-12-19T14:00:03Z2019-12-19T14:00:03ZSlim and skinny: how access to TV is changing beauty ideals in rural Nicaragua<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307665/original/file-20191218-11900-182hqnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C45%2C5015%2C3301&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The more television people watch the more they prefer a thinner female body type.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jean-Luc Jucker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Think about the last time you watched a film or picked up a magazine. Chances are the majority of models and actresses were young, beautiful and slim – or even underweight. </p>
<p>Research shows that in films and TV programmes heavier characters are more likely to be lower status, the target of jokes and are less likely to be <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/276547">lead or romantic characters</a>. This sends a very clear message: that thinness is normal and desirable.</p>
<p>For many young people, this emphasis on extreme thinness in women seems normal. But it’s actually relatively new and seems to have arisen in parallel with the growing cultural dominance of mass media – films, television and magazines. Models, for instance, became <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1980.47.2.483">thinner across the latter half of the 20th century</a>, and are now <a href="https://onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/evolution-miss-universe/">considerably slimmer</a> than depictions of female beauty in preceding eras. Just as in the past when the development of shape-altering garments <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0123284">changed ideas about body shape</a>, the mass media now seems to have changed ideas about body size. </p>
<p>Current body ideals in Western Europe and North America are also significantly slimmer than in other cultural groups, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513899000070">Tanzanian hunter-gatherers</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513806000584">black South Africans</a> or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144507000769">rural Malaysians</a>. And it’s been argued this large gap between the ideal female figure and most women’s own bodies is a key factor in the endemic levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in countries such as <a href="https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.2009.28.1.9">the UK</a>.</p>
<p>Body dissatisfaction and <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/yco/2016/00000029/00000006/art00006">rates of disordered eating are increasing globally</a>, and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-004-1067-5">spread of mass media may be one reason why</a>. But it’s a challenge to link increasing media access with changing body ideals – because as populations gain more access to media, they also change in other ways. They may become more urbanised, wealthier and have better access to nutrition – all of which can lead to <a href="http://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/normanli/Swamietal2010.pdf">differences in body ideals</a>.</p>
<h2>The Nicaragua project</h2>
<p>This is why we have spent three years running a <a href="http://www.dur.ac.uk/l.g.boothroyd/NEBP/">research project</a> in an area of rural Nicaragua – where access to mass media is often unrelated to urbanisation or nutrition. </p>
<p>The government in Nicaragua has been increasing electrification of the rural Caribbean coast. This has led to a region where very similar neighbouring villages differ in whether or not the residents have access to mains electricity – and whether they can run televisions. There are no magazines in this region. And at the time of our research, very few residents had access to smart phones, making television viewing a good measure of total media access.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307670/original/file-20191218-11896-foh37u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The study shows television is having a significant impact on what people think is the ideal woman’s body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jean-Luc Jucker.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We recruited 300 participants from seven villages around the region. Some villages had regular electricity supplies, others did not. Because the region is very ethnically diverse, we also balanced our sample across four main ethnic groups. Generally among our participants, those of Mestizo ethnicity – who have the highest levels of European heritage – tend to prefer slimmer figures than those of more indigenous or Afro-Caribbean heritage, such as the Miskitu, Garifuna and Creoles. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000224">Our research found</a> that above and beyond ethnicity, those who watched more television preferred slimmer bodies. Specifically, our analysis suggested that people who watched approximately three hours of TV a week preferred a body one full point slimmer on the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/">Body Mass Index</a> than someone who didn’t watch TV. On a woman of average height, that’s about a difference of three kilos. We also found the more people watched TV, the slimmer their preferred female body size became. This was true for both men and women.</p>
<h2>Changing ideals</h2>
<p>Over the three years, we also collected data from a small village without electricity. For a short period of time, one house in this village had a small TV powered by a solar panel. Residents were also able to watch TV for short periods of time if they travelled to other communities. We found that over the three years, villagers tended to favour thinner figures when they had been able to watch more TV, suggesting that real-time change may be happening in these communities.</p>
<p>When we showed residents of two villages without TV images of typical or plus size media models, their preferences shifted in the immediate aftermath of viewing these images towards thinner figures. Again this was true for both men and women.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307671/original/file-20191218-11951-wq495t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Utility cables crisscross the streets in the city of Bluefields, Nicaragua.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jean-Luc Jucker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By studying one population in depth, and by also having previously ruled out evidence for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08653-z">impacts of nutrition in this population</a>, we have been able to give the strongest evidence to date that visual media really does change people’s perception of the ideal female body.</p>
<p>Our findings also support the argument that increasing global rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders are driven at least in part <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-004-1067-5">by the expansion of globalised mass media</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, television is in many respects a valuable and important source of information. Our participants considered that besides entertainment, television gave them a vital link to the rest of Nicaragua, to political news, and lifesaving services such as storm warnings. But while it’s important that such benefits be maximised, threats to women’s body image must be minimised. </p>
<p>Body positive education can help here, and this is something <a href="http://community.dur.ac.uk/l.g.boothroyd/NEBP/wellcome_body.html">we are working on with local groups</a>. But ultimately, media producers and commissioners must do a better job of diversifying their content to reflect a range of sizes and body types.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynda Boothroyd receives funding for her research on this topic from the Leverhulme Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.</span></em></p>The more people watch TV the more likely it is that they prefer a slimmer female body size.Lynda Boothroyd, Professor in Psychology, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181522019-11-21T13:58:23Z2019-11-21T13:58:23ZNail salon workers suffer chemical exposures that can be like working at a garage or a refinery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294623/original/file-20190927-185403-1nhy7sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The chemicals in nail products put nail salon workers at risk for cancer and other illnesses. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angie Chung/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Anyone who has walked past a nail salon is familiar with the noxious odors that emanate from acrylic nails, polishes and removers. Customers getting manicures and pedicures endure the smell temporarily, but manicurists who inhale these evaporating chemicals for hours expose themselves to health risks. </p>
<p>The smells come from volatile organic compounds, or VOCs – compounds that <a href="https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/volatile-organic-compounds-vocs">easily become vapors or gases</a>. These substances have been <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality#Health_Effects">linked to health problems</a> ranging from headaches and respiratory irritation to reproductive complications and cancer. In a normal room-temperature environment, VOCs evaporate and humans breathe them in. </p>
<p>Our research team, along with colleagues at Colorado State University, recently investigated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.086">chemical exposures in six Colorado nail salons</a> and found that employees spent their days exposed to high levels of VOCs. Participating technicians, who had worked in salons for up to 19 years, reported suffering headaches and skin and eye irritation. </p>
<p>We measured levels of benzene and formaldehyde in the salons, and determined that exposure to these known human carcinogens was increasing the workers’ lifetime cancer risks above one in one million – the level that <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/iwachap10.pdf">many U.S. agencies consider acceptable</a> in regulating exposure to harmful substances.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R20A0iQYc4o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Nail salon workers in New York City rally for safer working conditions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Identifying health hazards</h2>
<p>A 2015 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html">New York Times exposé</a> highlighted underpayment and poor working conditions in New York nail salons. However, it failed to address chemical exposures that salon workers experience daily.</p>
<p>Several research groups have sought to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300099">characterize</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2012.755152">quantify</a> VOC exposures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1353-0">in the nail salon environment</a>, using standard measurement techniques and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-007-9084-4">self-reported health surveys</a>. Their research shows that nail salon workers are exposed to higher levels of VOCs than they would typically be expected to encounter in most homes, occupations or urban environments. As a result, these workers frequently experience work-related health symptoms.</p>
<p>Our study measured 10 VOCs, including the carcinogens <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.086">benzene and formaldehyde</a>. We found that VOC levels in the six salons where we monitored regularly exceeded common threshold levels for <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/atoz.cfm?list_type=alpha">odor and inhalation risk</a>. In some cases this posed a significant risk of cancer over a 20-year exposure period.</p>
<p>Twenty workers answered questionnaires about their personal health. Among them, 70% reported some form of short-term health symptom related to their employment, while 40% reported multiple related symptoms.</p>
<p>We worked closely with salon owners to enlist volunteer nail technicians to participate. Having owners’ support was instrumental, since it allowed salon workers to accurately report on their health and working conditions without fear of reprisal. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"311522432605372416"}"></div></p>
<h2>Like working at an oil refinery</h2>
<p>Many people view cosmetology as a relatively safe profession, but it isn’t. We found that exposures to aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes – collectively referred to as BTEX – resembled those previously reported in studies of <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ambient-Air-Quality-Monitoring-in-Terms-of-Volatile-Singh-Ramteke/7089e7068ccb85bca9d05f36598e2b5fb92ae910">oil refinery workers</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10807031003670071">auto garage technicians</a>. </p>
<p>Our results aren’t unique. A 2018 Iranian study found similar concentrations of benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-018-0213-x">Tehran beauty salons</a>. Another study conducted that year in Michigan found concentrations of toluene at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1353-0">over 100 parts per billion</a>, which is roughly 30 times higher than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/toluene.pdf">reported urban outdoor levels</a>.</p>
<p>Regulation of this kind of workplace exposure has not kept pace with science. Many U.S. occupational safety and health exposure limits have not been updated <a href="https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2014/12/01/Can-OSHA-Update-the-PELs.aspx">for nearly 50 years</a>. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, readily acknowledges that many of its permissible exposure limits are “<a href="https://www.osha.gov/dsg/annotated-pels/">outdated and inadequate</a> for ensuring protection of worker health.” </p>
<p>OSHA offers only guidance and recommendations for businesses, effectively shifting the burden of worker protection onto private industry. This is especially problematic in the nail salon industry, where over 90% of salons are small businesses that <a href="https://www.labor.ucla.edu/publication/nail-files/">employ fewer than 5 people</a> and do not have safety personnel on staff. </p>
<p>Inadequate cosmetic product regulations and labeling requirements make it hard to know which products are actually safe. A 2012 study by the California Environmental Protection Agency found that 10 out of 12 nail products labeled “toluene free” still contained <a href="https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2018/04/DTSC-Summary-of-Data-Findings-from-Testing-a-Limited-Number-of-Nail-Products-April-2012.pdf">up to 17% toluene</a>. Products labeled free of the so-called “toxic three” ingredients – dibutyl phthalate or DBP, toluene and formaldehyde – actually contained <a href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/nailsalons/chemicalhazards.html#resources">greater concentrations of DBP</a>, an endocrine-disrupting compound, than products that made no claims at all.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301604/original/file-20191113-77326-6pwnbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Options for managing toxic exposures in the workplace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hazardoustoxicsubstances/control.html">OSHA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Solving the problem</h2>
<p>Owners often work in nail salons, so they generally support efforts to improve air quality inside their businesses. Those who we interviewed typically had some understanding of the problem and wanted to fix it, but didn’t always know how. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-05/documents/nailsalonguide.pdf">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a>, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-112/pdfs/99-112.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB99112">National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health</a> and <a href="https://www.osha.gov/Publications/3542nail-salon-workers-guide.pdf">OSHA</a> all publish healthy nail salon guides. Yet owners in our study had never heard of them – perhaps because the guides are only published in English, while many nail salon workers are Asian and Latino immigrants with limited English language skills.</p>
<p>Several grassroots community organizations have published guides to improving salons’ air quality in both <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5783e9b9be6594e480435ffe/t/58f447f903596ebd7ca8f6f3/1492404219566/Nail-Salon-Booklet-FINAL-Vietnamese-March-26-2014-adjusted-for-color-copier-and-single-pages.pdf">Vietnamese</a> and <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5783e9b9be6594e480435ffe/t/58f447e386e6c023e6aff51c/1492404197241/Chinese-FINAL-Version-2-2012.pdf">Chinese</a>. These references discuss ventilation and use of personal protective equipment, which are paramount for mitigating chemical exposures in the workplace. </p>
<p>Small changes, such as running ventilation continuously, wearing <a href="http://safety-zone.com/products/nitrile-gloves/">nitrile gloves</a> and utilizing proper <a href="https://www.firstaidglobal.com/product-page/carbon-filter-masks-n95-with-exhalation-valve">charcoal face masks</a>, can significantly reduce worker exposure. Results from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106499">our most recent study</a> also suggest that placing large activated carbon sinks in salons could effectively remove VOCs from the air. We are currently experimenting with embedding these chemical-absorbing materials into <a href="https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Environmental-engineer-Lupita-Montoya-scrutinizes/97/i32">pieces of art</a> that can hang on salon walls.</p>
<p>Another priority is conveying information to larger audiences and advocating for more safety training in cosmetology certification programs. Education and training are particularly important for ethnic minority groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299354/original/file-20191029-183151-1ouw8w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lan-Anh Truong, right, who owns a nail salon in Alameda County, California was honored in 2016 for her efforts in a grassroots campaign to improve conditions for workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eric Risberg/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many workplace standards enforced by OSHA, such as those regulating exposure to toxic and hazardous substances, <a href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/nailsalons/standards.html">apply to nail salons</a>. However, cosmetic manufacturers are <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/fda-authority-over-cosmetics-how-cosmetics-are-not-fda-approved-are-fda-regulated#Who_is_responsible">not required</a> to obtain federal approval for products or ingredients before they go on the market, or to file product information with the agency. </p>
<p>In contrast, California passed a bill in 2018 that will require manufacturers to <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2775">provide ingredient labels</a> on any professional cosmetic products manufactured after July 1, 2020 and sold in the state. The campaign for this common-sense reform was largely led by advocacy groups like the <a href="https://cahealthynailsalons.org/">California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative</a>. Practical steps like this can improve conditions for workers who receive little attention but are exposed to serious health risks on the job every day.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lupita Montoya received funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and from the University of Colorado.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Lamplugh receives funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health</span></em></p>The technician who gave you that shiny manicure may be inhaling dangerous levels of toxic chemicals on the job.Lupita D. Montoya, Research Associate, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department, University of Colorado BoulderAaron Lamplugh, Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1238722019-11-14T19:07:37Z2019-11-14T19:07:37ZFriday essay: shaved, shaped and slit - eyebrows through the ages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301462/original/file-20191113-77326-pyg9vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C517%2C4483%2C2622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In ancient China, India and the Middle East, the art of eyebrow threading was popular. It is now enjoying a resurgence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-female-face-during-eyebrow-correction-295769573">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Eyebrows can turn a smile into a leer, a grumpy pout into a come hither beckoning, and sad, downturned lips into a comedic grimace. </p>
<p>So, it’s little wonder these communicative markers of facial punctuation have been such a feature of beauty and fashion since the earliest days of recorded civilisation. </p>
<p>From completely shaved mounds to thick, furry lines, eyebrows are a part of the face we <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/what-you-get-for-40-120-or-1000-worth-of-eyebrow-care-20191113-p53acj.html">continue</a> to experiment with. We seek to hide, exacerbate and embellish them. And today, every shopping strip and mall has professionals ready to assist us with wax, thread and ink. </p>
<h2>Minimising distraction</h2>
<p>In the court of Elizabeth I, to draw attention to the perceived focal point of a woman’s body – her breasts – the monarch would pluck her eyebrows into thin lines or remove them completely, as well as shaving off hair at the top of her forehead. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1039&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1039&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1039&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1305&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301415/original/file-20191113-37464-uifye2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1305&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many of her subjects followed Queen Elizabeth’s shaved eyebrow example.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-6079-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99">New York Public Library</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was an attempt to make her face plain and blank, thereby directing the viewer’s gaze lower to her substantial <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=mNLZkzxmiEIC&pg=PA107&dq=eyebrows+breasts+elizabethan&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrq9p1t_lAhUTXisKHffJCSYQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=eyebrows%20breasts%20elizabethan&f=false">décolletage</a>. </p>
<p>Although the intentions were different, nonexistent or needle-thin brows had also been common in ancient China and other Asian cultures, where women plucked their eyebrows to resemble specific shapes with designated names such as “distant mountain” (likely referring to a central and distinctive point in the brow), “drooping pearl” and “willow branch”. </p>
<p>In ancient China, as well as in India and the Middle East, the technique of threading - the removal of hairs by twisting strands of cotton <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1365-4362.1997.00189.x">thread</a> - was popular for its accuracy. The technique, referred to as “khite” in Arabic and “fatlah” in Egyptian, is enjoying renewed <a href="https://journals.lww.com/dermatologicsurgery/Abstract/2011/06280/Eyebrow_Epilation_by_Threading__An_Increasingly.26.aspx">popularity</a> today. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301484/original/file-20191113-77342-1n7ymcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Detail from Tayu with Phoenix Robe, a Japanese painting by an anonymous artist.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Tay%C3%BB_with_Phoenix_Robe%27,_anonymous_19th_century_Japanese_painting,_Honolulu_Academy_of_Arts.jpg">Honolulu Academy of Arts/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Japan between 794 and 1185, both men and women plucked their eyebrows out almost entirely and replaced them with new pencilled lines higher up on the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=9Z6vCGbf66YC&pg=PA120&dq=eyebrows+robyn+cosio&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJ1uCXx-TkAhU0IbcAHSc3D_IQ6AEIPjAD#v=onepage&q&f=false">forehead</a>.</p>
<p>Eyebrows of Ancient Greece and Rome, on the other hand, are frozen in contemplation. </p>
<p>They are often represented in sculptures through expressive mounds devoid of individual or even vaguely suggested hairs: in men they are strong and masterful furrows above a purposeful gaze; in women, soft and emotive. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295560/original/file-20191004-118222-4xfro6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bronze portrait of a man from early first century with masterful furrows.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This lack of detail demonstrates a fondness, in some corners of ancient Greek and Roman society, for joined or “continuous” brows. </p>
<p>Poet of tenderness, Theocritus, openly admired eyebrows “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=37MDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=The+British+Poets,+including+Translations+in+One+Hundred+Volumes:+Theocritus&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjw-fiWjoLlAhXBXisKHfPBC50Q6AEIMjAB#v=onepage&q=The%20British%20Poets%2C%20including%20Translations%20in%20One%20Hundred%20Volumes%3A%20Theocritus&f=false">joined over the nose</a>” like his own, as did Byzantine Isaac Porphyrogenitus. </p>
<h2>Brows as barometers</h2>
<p>For much of the 19th century, cosmetics for women were viewed with suspicion, principally as the province of actresses and prostitutes. This meant facial enhancement was subtle and eyebrows, though gently shaped, were kept relatively natural. </p>
<p>Despite this restraint, a certain amount of effort still went into cultivation. A newspaper <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189261094?searchTerm=%22If%20a%20child%27s%20eyebrows%20threaten%22&searchLimits=">article</a> from 1871 suggested intervention during childhood to thicken them:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a child’s eyebrows threaten to be thin, brush them softly every night with a little coconut oil, and they will gradually become strong and full; and, in order to give them a curve, press them gently between the thumb and forefinger after every ablution of the face or hands. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As fashions became freer after the first world war, attention was once again focused more overtly on the eyes and eyebrows. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301505/original/file-20191113-77305-1jafapf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Louise Brooks’ high brow bob showed off her neck and her eyebrows.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/252f8180-ff5d-012f-38ab-58d385a7bc34">New York Public Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This was partly to do with the development of beauty salons during the 1920s, many of which offered classes in makeup application so women could create new, bold looks at home. </p>
<p>The fashion for very thin eyebrows was popularised by silent film stars such as Buster Keaton and Louise Brooks, for whom thick kohl was a professional necessity and allowed a clearer vision of the eyebrows – so crucial, after all, for nonverbal expression on screen. </p>
<p>The amount of attention paid to eyebrows continued to change according to specific global events. </p>
<p>In the 1940s, women began to favour thicker, natural brows after several decades of rigorous plucking to achieve pencil-thin lines. Considering the outbreak of the second world war had forced many out of a wholly domestic existence and into the workforce, it stands to reason they had less time to spend in front of the mirror, wielding a pair of tweezers and eyebrow pencil. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295563/original/file-20191004-118222-1tliwfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The natural look, circa 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The post-war 1950s saw wide, yet more firmly defined brows and from the 1960s onwards various shapes, sizes and thicknesses were experimented with, accompanied by a firm emphasis on individuality and personal preference. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=739&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301670/original/file-20191113-77310-11rfw4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A brow beautician in a South Yarra salon in 1960.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/222938930?q=eyebrows&c=picture&versionId=244447695">Laurie Richards Studio/National Library of Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More than mono</h2>
<p>When Dwight Edwards Marvin’s <a href="https://www.bartleby.com/346/14.html">collection</a> of adages and maxims, Curiosities in Proverbs, was published in 1916 it included the old English advice: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>If your eyebrows meet across your nose, you’ll never live to wear your wedding clothes. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The “mono-” or “uni-brow” had become suggestive of a lack of self care, particularly in women. </p>
<p>Research undertaken in 2004 reported American women felt judged and evaluated as “dirty”, “gross” or even “repulsive” if they did not shave their underarm or leg hair, or pluck and shape their <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=y5Enl3JamIgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Embodied+Resistance:+Challenging+the+Norms,+Breaking+the+Rules,&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi54bWkjoLlAhVs7nMBHSOJCe8Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Embodied%20Resistance%3A%20Challenging%20the%20Norms%2C%20Breaking%20the%20Rules%2C&f=false">eyebrows</a>. As the most visible of these areas, untamed eyebrows perhaps point to the bravest exhibition of natural hair. </p>
<p>Today, model Sophia Hadjipanteli sports a pair of impressively large, dark joined eyebrows, and has assertively fought back against the legion of online trolls who have abused her for this point of difference. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301470/original/file-20191113-77338-2u31d2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Model Sophia Hadjipanteli and her distinctive brow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/sophiahadjipanteli/">Instagram</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A reference back to the distinctive brows of Frida Kahlo, Hadjipanteli’s look is linked to an ongoing debate surrounding women’s body hair. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301469/original/file-20191113-77326-q7f2uo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist Frida Kahlo and her famous monobrow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frida_Kahlo,_by_Guillermo_Kahlo.jpg">Guillermo Kahlo/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Giving a pluck</h2>
<p>For many, excessive plucking and shaping has become emblematic of the myriad requirements women are expected to comply with to satisfy restrictive societal beauty norms. </p>
<p>Still, plenty of people with eyebrows are dedicating time and money to their upkeep. In Australia, the personal waxing and nail salon industry has grown steadily over five years to be worth an estimated <a href="https://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry-trends/specialised-market-research-reports/consumer-goods-services/personal-waxing-nail-salons.html">A$1.3 billion</a> and employ more than 20,000 people. </p>
<p>Over this time, social media has offered a diverse and changing menu of brow choices and displays. </p>
<p>One choice: the “eyebrow slit” – thin vertical cuts in eyebrow hair – has re-emerged online and in suburban high schools. It’s important to emphasise <em>re-emerged</em> because, with beauty as with clothing, what goes around comes around. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301683/original/file-20191114-77363-1x8k3a4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vanilla Ice, working the eyebrow slit since 1991.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/smashhitsmag/status/1019841015874715648">Smash Hits/Twitter</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The eyebrow slit was especially popular amongst hip hop artists in the 1990s, and draws appeal due to its flexibility: there are no firm rules as to the number or width of the slits, which originally were meant to suggest scarring from a recent fight or gangsta adventure. More recent converts have been accused of <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/eyebrow-cuts-cultural-appropriation">cultural appropriation</a>. </p>
<p>Some have experimented by replacing plain slits with other shapes, such as hearts or stars, though plucking or shaving brows into unusual shapes is – as we have seen – by no means new either. </p>
<h2>Facing the day</h2>
<p>If the popularity of recent trends is anything to go by, eyebrow fashion will remain on the lush side for some time.</p>
<p>The “<a href="http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8997240/Scouse-Brow-a-beginners-guide.html">Scouse</a>” brow (very thick, wide and angular eyebrows emphasised with highly defined dark pencil shapes: named after natives of Liverpool in the United Kingdom) is still trending. </p>
<p>The “Instagram eyebrow” (thick brows plucked and painted to create a gradient, going from light to very dark as the brow ends) is inescapable on the platform and beyond. Makeup for brows is therefore also likely to continue, providing a clear linear connection through nearly all the eyebrow ideals since ancient times. </p>
<p>The latest offering to those seeking a groomed look is “<a href="https://www.elle.com.au/beauty/eyebrow-lamination-22517">eyebrow lamination</a>”, a chemical treatment that uses keratin to straighten individual hairs - a kind of anti-perm for your brow. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B4R-fgynQmr","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Those still searching for their eyebrow aesthetic may benefit from some wisdom shared by crime and society reporter Viola Rodgers in an 1898 edition of the San Francisco Call newspaper. </p>
<p>In a piece which ran alongside an interview with the man who had inspired Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer character, she advised that the appearance of one’s brow conveyed more than just their grooming <a href="https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC18981023.2.141.22&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1">habits</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>An arched eyebrow … is expressive of great sensibility … Heavy, thick eyebrows indicate a strong constitution and great physical endurance … Long, drooping eyebrows indicate an amiable disposition and faintly defined eyebrows placed high above the nose are signs of indolence and weakness. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Eyebrow slits? We can only imagine what Viola would think.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia Edwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Moulding eyebrows to make a statement is nothing new. A journey through history, across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, shows some of the highs and lows of brow fashion.Lydia Edwards, Fashion historian, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.