Abstract
This study investigated the underlying reasons women desire to be beautiful in South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cultures by proposing a new concept called human beauty value (HBV). This exploratory qualitative study includes a literature review in related disciplines and the results from ten focus group interviews. Based on the interviews, this study proposes four dimensions of HBV (i.e., superiority, self-development, individuality, and authenticity) and a hierarchical process among the antecedents (i.e., social comparison, social competition, and social norms), the pursuit of HBV, and the consequences (i.e., emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral aspects). Participants from each culture revealed a unique hierarchical process of HBV that reflects both cultural universality and specificity. The results of this study lead to new knowledge about East Asian women’s identities and perceptions of beauty. In addition, the proposed concept, HBV, can broaden the academic lens for beauty-related disciplines.
Highlights
This study proposes a new concept, human beauty value (HBV), based on an exploratory qualitative study of women’s pursuit of beauty in three East Asian cultures: South Korea, China, and Japan
This study proposes the new concept, HBV to identify the ultimate value East Asian women put on beauty
This study confirmed that seeking HBVs is a social phenomenon in the three East Asian cultures
Summary
This study proposes a new concept, human beauty value (HBV), based on an exploratory qualitative study of women’s pursuit of beauty in three East Asian cultures: South Korea, China, and Japan. This study identifies the fundamental reasons women want to be beautiful by focusing on the socio-cultural phenomena that are relevant to women’s perceptions of beauty. To comprehend beauty-related socio-cultural phenomena, many studies have examined the pursuit of beauty related to body image, body perception, a body-related self-concept, and body satisfaction [3,4,5]. These studies have clarified factors that impact and result in the pursuit of beauty. Numerous previous studies on these aspects of beauty have been conducted, there is still a considerable controversy about why women, in particular, are focused on with a beautiful appearance
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