Redefining Beauty: How the Eurocentric Beauty Standard has Affected Me
Growing up watching Barbie movies and seeing the same girls with the same features win each and every beauty pageant, the Eurocentric beauty standard was reflected everywhere. I learned through my surroundings that to be beautiful is to be white, and if I did not meet that standard, then I was simply not attractive, not desirable, and not worthy.
Internalizing these standards did not help me throughout my time at school either. Light skin, light hair, and light eyes, was what I, along with many other kids of color, knew to be as beautiful. I could easily distinguish these people in my classes, and I grew to envy the way their hair flowed and the way their smiles glowed. Everything about the way they moved was effortless, as they gained admiration from the world around them with minimal effort.
This standard was honestly just the normal– the automatic default. I started realizing how Asians are incredibly invisible and misrepresented, especially in the media. Feeling othered in and out of my classrooms, I felt uncomfortable associating with any piece of Asian culture. Even joyous activities like partaking in cultural celebrations were not enough to erase my shame, and I knew the only solution to this feeling was to give in and accept it, casting my identity aside. So, I settled.
Throughout this diminishing process, however, I noticed Korean popular culture starting to spread quicker and quicker on a global level, gaining recognition even through traditional aspects of their culture, which is demonstrated through the concept of hallyu. Simple parts of Korean culture such as the music genre of K-Pop became more and more socially acceptable, and I started noticing people of different ethnic backgrounds wear backpacks with pins of the South Korean flag and proudly discuss K-dramas. I scrolled through my ‘for you’ page on TikTok where people express their admiration for Asian people and culture and asked myself, are Asians getting the hype now?
Indeed, Asians are getting the hype now through a gradual process, and to me it was an odd shift to see Asian people represented and admired in that capacity. I felt uncomfortable and confused when I noticed this change, but slowly, the growing appreciation of Korean culture, such as their pop industry and beauty and skincare industry, led to people being more accepting of Asian culture as a whole. Movies and shows with Asian leads have become more normal and popular such as Crazy Rich Asians, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Squid Game. My Asian peers even started to comfortably embrace their liking for anime and unabashedly read manga—interests of theirs they always hid before.
While this growing admiration is appreciated, it is hard to disregard the growing issues that come along with it like fetishizing our people and appropriating our cultures. I hope this growing admiration leaves room for education, where people learn to distinguish those behaviors with appreciation. It is also important to acknowledge the vast diversity in the Asian and Pacific Islander American community, because many assume that only those with an East Asian background can be considered ‘Asian’, and that any other cultural group in our community makes them less Asian, which is a common misconception.
Even though there are many nuances with this new and uncomfortable shift, I am glad people are becoming more accepting and appreciative of people who fall outside of the Eurocentric beauty standard. And while it was odd seeing my community gain admiration, the slow process of accepting and embracing my identity has also allowed me to proudly partake in cultural celebrations and appreciate different customs of my culture and backgrounds from all around the world.
I gradually began to understand why we were getting the hype and realized I shouldn’t need validation from societal standards to wholeheartedly believe that we deserve it, because after all, witnessing and experiencing this transformation alone is even better than the hype.
Maybe it was the colorful cuisines, sparkling garments, and courageous sacrifices of my ancestors that led me to finally feeling this way. Sure it's far-off and distant from what I grew up believing, but I know better now; the idea that beauty is restricted to one identity is a lie—it's actually limitless & it's everywhere! True beauty is depicted when we celebrate each other's differences.
