The way people see beauty differs around the world, much like how languages do. This idea gained attention in 2014 when journalist Esther Honig became a sensation. She sent her photo to graphic designers all over the globe and requested them to enhance her appearance to make her seem "beautiful."
This movement motivated others to join in, like biracial Priscilla Yuki Wilson and Marie Southward, who put their own "plus-sized twist" on things. In 2014, a UK online doctor service called OnlineDoctor.SuperDrug.com teamed up with the content marketing agency Fractl for a similar venture.
Fractl sent a standard image of a woman in her underwear to graphic designers in 18 countries, spanning from the UK to Syria, to see how ideas about beauty vary worldwide.
The results varied significantly when it comes to beauty standards
Philippines
In the Philippines, people tend to think that being slimmer with darker hair aligns with their idea of true beauty.
USA
In the United States, folks leaned towards valuing a thigh gap, a more toned stomach, and a highly airbrushed face as their standard of beauty.
China
China produced the most altered image, estimating the model's weight to be about 100 pounds. Changes included the face, hair, underwear, and overall body transformation.
Colombia
Colombia leaned towards a curvier concept of beauty, making subtle adjustments like adding more hair and toning down the orange skin.
Egypt
They threw in a touch of orange tint, gave the model a slim waist, and switched up the hair color to black.
Italy
They crafted a version almost as slim as China's, altering the underwear and shoe colors, showcasing a notably different take on beauty.
The Netherlands
They lightened the woman's hair, slimmed down her legs, and tossed in boots and a pink bikini.
Peru
In their idea of beauty, Peru concentrated on making the model's arms and stomach slimmer, along with some tweaks to the eyes.
Romania
They went for a more orangey tint and trimmed off some inches around the body.
Serbia
Tackled both the body and face of the model.
South Africa
Revealed a slimmer and taller rendition of the model.
Spain
Kept a curvier look in comparison to other countries.
Mexico
Provided the woman with a more natural tan and brown hair.
Syria
Came up with a makeover that looked a bit off.
The UK
The UK kept it simple with a white background and gave the model a much slimmer body.
Ukraine
Tried to give the model's hair more volume and made significant alterations to her body. Changes also involved adjusting the color of her underwear and shoes.
Argentina
Gave the model a digital tummy tuck and a lift for the breasts.
Venezuela
Brightened her skin tone and gave her long, wavy dark hair.
The Fractl team observed, "Some designers in North, South, and Central American countries created a highly exaggerated hourglass figure," while others in Europe and Asia opted for a very slender depiction. These diverse beauty standards highlighted in these images underscore the subjective nature of beauty criteria around the world.
As For The Perception Of Beauty, It Seems People Just See Things Differently
When you look at all the versions side by side, it's striking to see how much the original image changed with just a few Photoshop edits to align with each region's beauty ideals. Among the edited images, those from China showed the slimmest figure, while Spain's version was the heaviest, and China's was also the lightest.
The key message from this comparison is that beauty exists in various forms, sizes, and hues. It's impossible to meet every beauty standard set by different cultures. The best approach is to accept and love yourself as you are, staying true to yourself as much as possible.
