It’s the Looks That Count!It’s the Looks That Count!Wivine Ngongo (Normal, Illinois, USA)

Jessica Yun (Tacoma, Washington, USA)

Jennifer Yang (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

PreviewPreviewBrief background

◦American beauty stereotypes vs. South Korean beauty stereotypes

Define the problem and set goalHypothesisResearch methodData collection

◦Tables, bar graphs, pi graphs, ratiosAnalysis of results

Brief BackgroundBrief BackgroundA conservatively dressed woman

in the front cover of a magazine isn’t likely to attract the majority of the male population.

Media images of women are always directed at men.

Women are encouraged to look at themselves and other women the way men do.

Brief BackgroundBrief BackgroundThe expected or stereotypical

beauty of Korean women has changed over the past couple decades under the influence of Western beauty.

Korean men are less tempted to be attracted by these demeaning women than American men are.

ProblemProblem

This experiment focuses on stereotypes we see today in beauty, specifically in Western and Eastern cultures.

The problem is that it is perceived that American beauty is judged with “lust”; Asian beauty with “love.”

Purpose StatementPurpose StatementOur goal is to challenge this

stereotype and experimentally determine whether American and Korean men and women favor images of conservatively dressed or revealing women.

HypothesisHypothesisIn general, Americans will favor the

image of the most provocatively dressed woman while the majority of South Koreans will favor the image of the most conservatively dressed female model.

Males in the United States will favor the image of the provocatively dressed woman while males in South Korea will favor images of the conservatively dressed woman.

HypothesisHypothesisOn the contrary, males in the United

States will have little physical attracted for the conservatively dressed woman while males in South Korea will have no physical attraction for the provocatively dressed woman.

Females in the United States will follow the same trend as South Korean males, and Females in South Korea will follow the same trend as American males.

Research MethodResearch MethodExperiment was conducted in the

mall on a Saturday.Held out flyers to shoppers and

asked them to point out the most attractive body image of Rihanna.

A total of 50 participants from each country were involved.

Most provocative

(Image 1) Somewhat provocativ

e(Image 2)

Somewhat conservativ

e(Image 3)

Most conservative(Image 4)

Images from AmericaImages from America

Images from AmericaImages from America

Images from South KoreaImages from South Korea

Data CollectionData Collection

United States Data

Male Female Total

Most provocative 12 7 19

Somewhat provocative

2 7 9

Somewhat conservative

2 2 4

Most Conservative 7 11 18

Total 23 27 50

Data CollectionData Collection

South Korea Data

Male Female Total

Most provocative 0 4 4

Somewhat provocative

0 2 2

Somewhat conservative

9 7 16

Most Conservative 9 19 28

Total 18 32 50

U.S. Male Votes vs. U.S. Male Votes vs. SK Male VotesSK Male Votes

U.S. Female Votes vs. U.S. Female Votes vs. SK Female VotesSK Female Votes

American Male vs. Female American Male vs. Female votesvotes

South Korean Male vs. South Korean Male vs. Female VotesFemale Votes

RatiosRatiosU.S. Male to SK Male votes

U.S. Female to SK Female votes

U.S. Male to U.S. Female votes

SK Male to SK Female votes

Total Americans to Total South Koreans

Most provocative (1)

12:0 7:4 12:7 0:4 19:4

Somewhat provocative (2)

2:0 7:2 2:7 0:2 9:2

Somewhat conservative (3)

2:9 2:7 2:2 9:7 4:16

Most conservative (4)

7:9 11:19 7:11 9:19 18:28

Total Ratio 23:18 27:32 23:27 18:32 50:50

STOP!STOP!

Flaws:◦American male votes ≠ South Korean

male votes◦American female votes ≠ South

Korean female votes◦American male votes ≠ American

female votes◦South Korean male votes ≠ South

Korean female votesAlternative:

◦Compare percent values

American American MalesMales

South South Korean Korean MalesMales

American American FemalesFemales

South South Korean Korean

FemalesFemales

Analysis of ResultsAnalysis of ResultsHypothesis: In general, Americans

will favor the most provocative image of the woman and the majority of South Koreans will favor the image of the most conservatively dressed female model.

End Result: The majority of Americans favored image 1 and the majority of South Koreans favored image 4.

Hypothesis supported

Analysis of ResultsAnalysis of ResultsHypothesis: Males in the United

States will favor the image of the provocatively dressed woman while males in South Korea will favor images of the conservatively dressed woman.

End Result: American males favored images 1 and 2 and South Korean males favored images 3 and 4.

Hypothesis supported

Analysis of ResultsAnalysis of ResultsHypothesis: Females in the United

States will follow the same trend as South Korean males, and Females in South Korea will follow the same trend as American males.

End Result: Both American and South Korean females favored image 4.

Hypothesis refuted

Analysis of ResultsAnalysis of ResultsHypothesis: Males in the United

States will have little physical attracted for the conservatively dressed woman while males in South Korea will have no physical attraction for the provocatively dressed woman.

End Result: Asian males had no physical attraction for images 1 and 2 and American males showed little attraction for the conservative female model in images 3 and 4.

Hypothesis supported

In ConclusionIn ConclusionAre those beauty stereotypes we

hear about Western and Eastern cultures true?

According to our results, yes.

Any questions?