Beauty Searches Across the Globe | NVISION Eye Centers

56 percent of the population identifies as black, “beautiful woman” search results featured a range of light skin tones, as reflected in the country's composite ... Ournotionsofbeautyaresociallyconstructed:Variousperiods,countries,andsubcultureshaveproduceddifferentunderstandingsoftheidealhumanform.Yet,inaworldincreasinglyconnectedbytheinternet,beautystandardshavebeenglobalizedtoanunprecedentedextent–withpotentiallytroublingresults.Fromtheboomingbusinessofskin-lighteningproductsworldwidetotheenduringunderrepresentationofpeopleofcolorinthefashionindustry,globalbeautystandardscanseemoppressivelyhomogeneous.Istheinternethelpingtobroadenoursenseofbeauty,orreinforcingEurocentricstandardsonalargerscale? Wesetouttoexploretheseissuesthroughaspecificyettellingquestion:Whendifferentcountriessearch“beautifulwoman”or“handsomeman”onGoogle,whatimagesdotheysee?Becausethesearchengineprovidesdifferentresultsbasedonusers’locations,theimagespresentedreflecteachnation’snotionsofbeauty. [ImageresultsforUSA“beautifulwoman”searches] Usingavirtualprivatenetwork(VPN),wemimickedGooglesearchesfromninenationstogettheircountry-specificimageresults.Wethen“averaged”theimageresultsforeachnation,creatingrepresentativecomposites.Wealsoanalyzedandmanuallycategorizedtheimages,exploringrecurringthemesatanationalandgloballevel.Whichskintones,haircolors,andeyecolorscharacterizeattractivenessaroundtheworld?Howdosearchresultsfor“beautiful”womendifferbetweencountries?Forasingularlookathoweachnation’sbeautystandardsarereflectedandreinforcedonline,keepreading. AttractivenessAveraged   Ouraveragefacesof“beautiful”womenineachcountrypresentinterestingcontrastsandsometellingconsistencies.Notably,lighterskintonesseemedtodominate–evenincountrieswherepeopleofcolorrepresentthemajorityofthepopulation.InBrazil,where56percentofthepopulationidentifiesasblack,“beautifulwoman”searchresultsfeaturedarangeoflightskintones,asreflectedinthecountry’scompositeimage.InIndia,wherediscriminationagainstindividualswithdarkerskinhasadeepculturalhistory,theeffectsof“colorism”werequiteevidentinourcompositeimageaswell. Theaveragefaceofa“beautifulwoman”alsoseemedstrikinglypaleinJapan,acountrywherepigmentationisasourceofpoliticalcontroversy.Nissin,aJapanesenoodlecompany,wasrecentlyforcedtoapologizeafter“whitewashing”imagesoftennisstarNaomiOsakainanadvertisement.Relativetoothercountries’images,theaveragefacesintheU.S.andGermanyalsohadadistinctfeature:lighterhair.AmongAmericanmen,theapparentconnectionbetweenblondhairandbeautymayextendevenfurther.Onerecentstudyfoundmenaremorelikelytoperceivewomenashealthierandyoungerwhentheirhairisdigitallyalteredtobeblond. GlobalGoodLooks   Eachcountry’simageresultsfor“handsomeman”revealedmanyofthesamedynamicsvisiblein“beautifulwoman”searches.Indeed,paleskinwasthepredominantfeatureofthese“handsomeman”images,evenoutsideoftheU.S.andEurope.Thisfindingresonateswithcosmeticpurchasepatternsinsomecountries.InIndia,menarebuyingskin-lighteningproductsinunprecedentednumbers,perhapsinadmirationofthefair-skinnedstarsofBollywood. Interestingly,Japanwastheonlycountrywhoseaveragehandsomemanlackedsignificantfacialhair.Someresearchsuggeststhatwomentendtofind“heavystubble”tobethemostattractivefacialhairstyle,soperhapsit’snosurprisethatmostoftheseimagesshowedsomegrowth.GivenJapaneseculture’semphasisonpersonalgroomingandhygiene,however,facialhairisthesubjectofmoredebatethanelsewherearoundtheworld.AbanonbeardswasactuallythesubjectofarecentlawsuitinOsaka,whichpittedcityofficialsagainstsubwayoperatorswhowishedtogounshaven. APreferenceinPigment   Wedeterminedtoexploretheskintonesfeaturedinimagesearchresultsingreaterdetail,utilizingtheFitzpatrickskintypingsystemtocategorizetheindividualsfeaturedinthesepictures.InJapan,Spain,andBrazil,themajorityofindividualsfeaturedin“beautifulwoman”imageshadtypeIskin–thelightesttoneofall.IntheU.S.images,themostcommonskintonewastypeII.Meanwhile,typeIIIwasthemostcommontonefor“beautifulwoman”imagesinFranceandRussia. Relativeto“beautifulwoman”results,“handsomeman”picturesfeaturedslightlydarkerskintonesoverall.InFrance,India,andRussia,forinstance,themajorityofhandsomemanpicturesfeaturedmenwithtypeIIIskin.Butineverycountryandforimagesofmenandwomenalike,darkerskintoneswerequiterare.IneverycountrybutFrance,fewerthan5percentof“beautifulwoman”resultsfeaturedskintypesVorVI.Ineachnation’s“handsomeman”pictures,thetwodarkestskintypeswererepresentedin5percentofimagesorless. TheEyeoftheBeholder   Accordingtoexperts,between55and79percentoftheglobalpopulationhavebrowneyes.Butin“beautifulwoman”imagesfrommostcountries,brownseemedoverrepresented,whilelightercolorswerefeaturedlessprominently.InSpain,forexample,“beautifulwoman”imagesweremorelikelytoshowindividualswithgreeneyesthanbrown.ElsewhereinEurope,shadesofbluemadefrequentappearancesin“beautifulwoman”images.InFrance,Germany,andRussia,morethanaquarterofthesephotosfeaturedwomenwithblueeyes. In“handsomeman”photos,darkbrowneyesweremoredominant,especiallyinsomeplaces.InBrazilandIndia,forexample,morethan7in10imagesfeaturedmenwithbrowneyes.Butourdatastillsuggestaconnectionbetweenmaleattractivenessandlightereyecolorsinsomecountries.InSpainandtheU.S.,greeneyeswerequitecommonin“handsomeman”photos;inGermany,Israel,andRussia,blueeyesfrequentlyappeared. HairColorHierarchy   Brunettesoutnumberedblondesin“beautifulwoman”photosfromeachcountry,butthemargindifferedsignificantlybynation.AndwhileblondwomenwerefeaturedmostfrequentlyinimagesintheU.S.,therewerealsomoresurprisinginstancesoffairhair’spopularity.InJapan,forexample,1in5“beautifulwoman”imagesfeaturedablonde–astrikingtestamenttotherisingpopularityofblondhairthroughoutmuchofAsia.Ineverycountry,redhairaccountedfornomorethan8percentof“beautifulwoman”images. In“handsomeman”images,darkbrownhairwasfarmoredominant,accountingforthemajorityofphotosinBrazil,India,Spain,andtheU.S.InGermanyandJapan,conversely,blackhairwasthedominantshadein“handsomeman”searchresults.Interestingly,menwithgrayhairappearedinasignificantpercentageofphotosinsomecountries,despitethecolor’sassociationwithaging.AnddespiterecentclaimsthatredheadsareenjoyingamomentthankstoiconslikeEdSheeranandPrinceHarry,theyrarelyappearedin“handsomeman”photosinanycountry. TraitsofTemptation?   Exposedcleavageandexposedflesh–theseattributeswell-representwhatpopulatestheaverageperson’smindwhentheyimageasexywoman.Thedistinctionbetween“beautiful”and“sexy”canseemhighlynuanced,posingcontrastsbetweenprimappreciationandpassionatelust. However,ourfindingsdemonstratedthattraditionalideasconstitutingsexinessoftenintersectwiththoseofbeauty.Aroundone-thirdof“beautifulwoman”searchresultsforFranceandIsraelfeaturedexposedcleavage,placingthesecountriesattheapexofthisranking.Bothnationsagaintoppedthelistforthegreatestpercentageofsearchresultsyieldingbareshoulders.Takingintoaccountthat–generallyspeaking–thesecountries’societiesdonotfindbareshouldersparticularlyprovocative,thelatterobservationmaynotbeintriguing. Butwhenconsideredinthecontextoftheoverallrankings,bothrankingsrevealpatternsinculturaldifferences.Indiasatatthebottomofbothofourlists.Only8percentofIndiansearchresultsfor“beautifulwoman”featureduncoveredupperchests,and13percentofthemshoweduncoveredshoulders.OurrankingsshowedIndiaasconsistentlymoreconservativeregardingthefemaleform. Ineverycountry,lessthan1in5“beautifulwoman”imagesfeaturedtheirsubject’swholebody.Thismaydemonstratethatasmuchassocietiesincorporatesexualityintonotionsoffemalebeauty,adistinctivelineremains–awoman’sfacialfeaturesratherthanherphysiqueprimarilydefineherbeauty. BroadeningBeauty   Inthepreviousdecades,theperceptionofbeautydemonstratedpervasiveandpainfulinequalitiesinconsiderationoftheidealhumanform.Aslenderbuildwithanarrowwaistandalargebosomwasthestandardofbeautyformanyofthepastgenerations.Cheekbonesweretobesharpandhigh,preferablypairedwithanangularnose. Ifyouhadlarge,brightgreenorblueeyescomplimentinglongandthickgoldenhair,youwouldbecountedasanidealbeauty.Atthecoreoftheworld’sdefinitionofbeauty,wasayouthfullookwithalightskintone.Thus,thepeopleofcolorweredeeplyunderrepresentedintheresultsofsearchqueries“beautifulwomen”and“handsomemen.” Butwithanunderstandingthatbeautyiscultural,personalanduniversal,theglobalcommunitystrivestoeliminatetheimplicitbiasesbyadoptingmoreinclusivedefinitionsofbeauty.Slowly,societyisembracingdiversity,gracefulaging,andnaturalattractivenessasvitalaspectsofprettiness. Beautymagazinesnowfeaturewomenofdifferentskintones,fromFitzpatrickI-VI.Plus-sizedwomenwithbaldheadsandvitiligonowmakeittotheglobalstageofbeauty.Eventhosewithgrayhairandwrinklesarestillregardedasattractive. Thegatesofelegancethatonceseemedterriblynarrowarenowopeningwideandeveryoneisallowedinwiththeiruniquedisplayofbeauty. Remarkably,theevolutionofplasticsurgeryandotheranti-agingpracticesliketheuseoffillersandBotoxcontributetotheunprecedentedriseofbeautyqueens. Supposingyouenteredthephrase“beautifulwoman”intoasearchtabnow,theresultswouldbemorediverseandinclusivecomparedtoadecadeago.It’snolongerunusualtospotawomanofcolororaladywearinghijabonthecoveroftheworld’sleadingbeautymagazines. How2020ImpactedGlobalBeautySearches   It’shardlysurprisingthat2020madeforadifferentyearforeveryindustryacrosstheglobe.NopartofhumanexistencewasleftuntouchedbytheglobalpandemicofCOVID-19. Ashiftinbeautysearcheswasinevitable.AccordingtoGoogle,mostbeauty-relatedsearchesfocusedonself-careandhomebeautytherapies. Withsalonsandbarbershopsclosedforalongperiodoftime–someofthemdidn’tsurvive,either–peopleresortedtocuttingordyingtheirhairathome,givinganentirelynewperceptionofbeauty.Insteadofsophisticatedhairstyles,easy-to-maintaindesignslikebobwerethechoiceofmany. Apartfromhairstyles,ariseinthesearchesofskincareproductsandingredientswasnotable.ConsumerstriedseveralnewrecipesofDIYskinessentialsasawayofenhancingandmaintainingbeautyduringthepandemic. Methodology   Wesearchedfor“beautifulwoman”and“handsomeman,”selected“images,”anddocumentedcharacteristicsofthefirst100imagestobetterunderstandthedemographicsmakingupthesesearches.AfterexploringtheUnitedStateswedecidedtoseehowthesetrendschangearoundtheglobe.Todothisweusedavirtualprivatenetwork(VPN)toaccesstheinternetinvariouscountriesto“trick”searchenginesintothinkingwewereperformingthesesearchesfromwithineachofthecountries,collectingtheimagesrevealedperterm. Inspecificcases,comparabletermswereusedtobetterfitthelanguageofthatcountry. SearcheswereperformedJanuaryof2019.   CategorizingtheImages:   Imageswerecategorizedmanuallyforaseriesofcharacteristicsandvisualcues. SkincolorwastaggedusingtheFitzpatrickscale Eyecolorwastaggedusingthecolorsfoundhere Haircolor Portionofbodydisplayed Bareshouldersexposed Exposedcleavage   NotesandLimitations:   Groupimagesandblackandwhiteimageswereexcluded.Insomecases,eyecolorwasindistinguishableandcategorizedassuch.Forskintone,theFitzpatrickscalewasusedtohelpsimplifyclassificationbyselectingthetoneclosesttotheshadeintheFitzpatrickscale.   CountriesIncluded:   Countrieswereselectedbyfirstlookingatthetop10languagesspokenaroundtheworld.Insomecases,toplanguagescamefromsimilarregionsandwereremovedfromthelist(e.g.,Hindi,Punjabi,andBengali).Inaddition,somecountriesblockGoogleorwerenotaccessibleviaVPNandwerereplacedbycountrieswethoughtwouldbeinterestingtocompare.Whendoingso,weattemptedtoselectavarietyofcountriesfromacrosstheglobe,eachhometoadifferentnativelanguage.   FairUseStatement   Ifyoucareabouttheimpactofbeautystandardsonmenandwomenacrosstheglobe,weinviteyoutospreadthewordaboutthisproject.Andifyou’reinterestedinsharingourimagesandinformationonyourownsiteorsocialmedia,allthebetter.Wedohavetwosimplerequests,however.First,pleaseuseourprojectonlyfornoncommercialpurposes.Second,linkbacktothispagetociteyoursourcewhensharing.Thanksinadvance:Yourcooperationhelpsuscontinueourwork!