When I visited the website reportermag.com and read the article "Beauty in Different Cultures", I learned that every culture finds beauty in very different forms. According to our textbook, our culture correlates averageness to attractiveness. That is, we find beauty in faces that appear average to us. However I learned that in countries like the Philippines, Mexico, and India, where the natives have very dark skin, those with a lighter skin complexion are viewed as more attractive than others. The opposite is true in countries with natives having lighter skin; a darker/tanner complexion is more "beautiful". I was also stunned to find out that the women of the Kayan tribe in Thailand in Burma believe that their attractiveness is related in the length of their necks! In fact, they wear metal rings around their necks at a young age to push down their collarbones to give the appearance of a longer neck.
According to my research, while our society finds beauty in the most average looking of faces, other cultures find exotic or rare things attractive. Our society may find beauty in what seems normal and comfortable to us, but other cultures may find beauty in that which is new and unusual to them.
I like your topic. I was thinking the same thing when I read the textbook. People in my home country and many other east Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, generally prefer lighter skin. After I came back from California, my roommate was jealous that I got tan. But I was like many other Asian girls and worried that my skin would stay dark. I think that is because people tired of seeing the same skin color every day and once someone's skin is different, we think they are beautiful because they are special.
I have also heard the weird tradition of that tribe before and I was shocked! It was kind of scary.