Culture clash: appearance concerns in black and minority ethnic groups

Nicola Stock

doi:10.12968/joan.2014.3.7.346

Abstract

Around the world, men and women of all cultures and ethnicities are being exposed to Western appearance ideals. Paired with a lack of representation of black and minority ethnic (BME) men and women in the mainstream media, the public's appreciation of ethnic diversity is being threatened. Nicola Stock examines the growing trend of appearance-altering practice among those from BME communities

Highlights

Around the world, men and women of all cultures and ethnicities are being exposed to Western appearance ideals
Research has shown that men and women from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds are frequently underrepresented in mainstream television, magazines, advertisements and online (Cottle, 2000)
‘black’ doll and asked a series of questions, children of all ethnic backgrounds report a preference for lighter skin tones, attributing positive characteristics to the light-skinned doll compared with the dark-skinned doll

Summary

Social inequalities

While the vast majority of Western men and women fall short of modern beauty ideals, those of black and minority ethnic (BME) origin are excluded even more so. Using the ‘doll test’ (Clark and Clark, 1947), research has repeatedly demonstrated that when children are presented with a ‘white’ doll and a ‘black’ doll and asked a series of questions, children of all ethnic backgrounds report a preference for lighter skin tones, attributing positive characteristics to the light-skinned doll (e.g. smart, nice, good, pretty) compared with the dark-skinned doll (e.g. dumb, mean, bad, ugly). Does this impact on individuals' satisfaction with their appearance, and their evaluations of self-worth

Demand for lighter skin

Removing ethnic features

Embracing cultural diversity

Key points