Skin Whiting Research Paper

Throughout history, skin tone has been recognized as a physical marker of distinction. The female beauty ideal of pale skin has been recognized throughout many world cultures. Greek women were expected to have “surpassing pallor” and uniform complexion.1 Romans utilized ceruse, white lead, on their faces to achieve this beauty ideal, even though they understood the pigment to be toxic: it literally gave them a deathly pallor. The ideal of pale skin continues today, especially among women with dark complexions. Some African-American women partake in “skin lightening” practices, conflicting with the ideals that the “Black is Beautiful” cultural movement tried to reframe in the minds of young African-American women. Likewise, there is culture of skin whiting among modern East Asian women; particularly Taiwanese women who consider themselves part of “Cultural China”, a term coined by Katherine Toland Firth to describe individuals in the Chinese diaspora, a “geographically diverse group” sharing a common set of cultural values.” This paper serves to place into context the longstanding practices of skin-whitening. In particular, it will explore the

Bryan Turner and Zheng Yanwen, the editors of The Body in Asia, posit that “the process of globalization changes cultural values – possibly bringing about a certain standardization of cultures – then the different forms of embodiment are weakened and national distinctiveness is eroded.” Though the models found in Culturally Chinese skin-whitening advertisements are a hybrid mix of both Caucasian and Asian females, these Asian models have specific features that have been adopted from Caucasian beauty culture and superimposed onto Asian bodies as the beauty ideal such as large eyes with eyelid folds, straight white teeth and matte