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HOW DO EUROCENTRIC BEAUTY STANDARDS AFFECT WOMEN OF COLOR AT CAL STATE FULLERTON? ELYSE RICKARD MAY 7 TH , 2016

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HOW DO EUROCENTRIC BEAUTY STANDARDS AFFECT

WOMEN OF COLOR AT CAL STATE FULLERTON?

ELYSE RICKARD

MAY 7TH, 2016

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INTRODUCTION • Explore how do social institutions perpetuate Eurocentric beauty standards as the epitome of beauty• Does media have a role in influencing their beauty

standards?• Does their culture or peers have an influence in enforcing

or debunking these beauty standards?• How do these students’ views of beauty shift during their

years at Cal State Fullerton?• Eurocentric beauty standards: The physical characteristics

that are associated with primarily Western and Northern European individuals including thinness, fair skin, small noses and lips, and straight hair (Craig 2006; Sengupta 2006).

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PURPOSE OF PROJECT• Lack of studies about the impact of beauty standards and women of color’s self esteem and body satisfaction• Most studies focus on White/ European girls

and women or does not factor in race and ethnic background

• Validate my own experiences and other female students of color at Cal State Fullerton • Use my research as a tool for empowerment

for women

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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

•Patricia Hill Collins•matrices of oppression

•Gloria Anzaldúa•Borderland theory

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LITERATURE REVIEW• The higher amount of media that girls and young women

consume, there is a negative correlation to levels of body satisfaction or self esteem.

• White American & European women dominate the media images in American and global media.

• When women of color are shown in the media, there are very limited roles and lenses• Colorism: Light skinned women of color or those with

Eurocentric features (i.e. slim features, straight hair, etc.)• Hypersexualized for their “exoticness”• Placed into stereotyped roles throughout different types of

media

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LITERATURE REVIEW• African American/Black women living in the United States tend to have a

slightly higher body satisfaction rate than White and Latina peers.• Latinas have higher or similar levels of body dissatisfaction that their White

peers depending on generational status• Asian women have the highest levels of body dissatisfaction across all

groups in studies• Pacific Islander women tend to have lower levels of body dissatisfaction

compared to White and Asian peers• Women of color tend to have lower levels of body dissatisfaction when they

take on cultural beauty standards• Afro and natural hair styles for African American/Black women• Ms. Navajo Pageant

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METHODS• Nine in-depth interviews • Criteria: student at CSUF, 18-30 years old, and identifies as a

woman of color• (4) Latinas, (3) Asian American, and (2) multi-ethnic

(African American/Latina & Pacific Islander/Hispanic) • Age range: 19-24 years old• Undergraduate students• All participants were born and raised in Southern

California• Described their hometowns’ populations as predominately

diverse communities

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FINDINGS• Lack of roles in media, especially media geared towards

children and adolescents • Disney• Nickelodeon• Other media outlets

• The role of mothers and other family members in beauty• Definition• Performance • Perpetuating/ breaking Eurocentric lens

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FINDINGS• The most common feature that my subjects felt self

conscious about was their weight• Enforced through media and socialization

• Many felt that they did not feel like they belong because of their ethnic background• Marginalized from white peers & their own ethnic group

• Transition to Cal State Fullerton effected their views on beauty• Formal classes• Social Experiences

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SUMMARY • Examine how do media and socialization groups teach women of color about

Eurocentric beauty standards• Literature review outlines the whiteness of media, its effects on different

racial groups of women, and examples of how women can resist body dissatisfaction from these beauty standards.

• Main findings included: • Participants did not see many role models that reflected their ethnic

background in American media• Weight became a factor for my participant’s body dissatisfaction during

their childhood and adolescent years• Saw a significant shift in their view of beauty standards once they arrived

at Cal State Fullerton.

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