Who is beautiful, has it easier in life. Studies show that attractive people benefit from their appearance: They are more likely to be forgiven, pretty babies are smiled at longer and beautiful people earn more money. But what is beautiful? And who decides? Even if many people – above all Immanuel Kant – would answer that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, every society has had its own ideal of beauty at all times. Inga Margraf, a psychologist at Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), says: “Beauty ideals are also subject to trends; they change over time and from culture to culture. Due to increasing globalization, however, ideal images are becoming more and more similar. This is even leading to Asian women having their eyelids corrected to get a more Western look, and women in this country are increasingly going to the solarium to get a Southern complexion.”
Beauty ideals in other countries
And even if some beauty ideals often seem strange to Europeans, such as the plate lips or the female necks of some primitive peoples stretched by brass rings, there are also beauty ideals that are equally recognized in all cultures. “The beauty ideal for men hardly changes. Broad shoulders, a tall stature and an athletic figure are still considered the ideal. Symmetrical facial contours, flawless skin and long legs are considered particularly attractive in almost all societies and by both sexes,” explains the TK psychologist. The situation is different, however, when it comes to skin complexion. For centuries, tanned skin was not considered desirable because only farmers who worked in the fields had a dark complexion. A pale complexion, on the other hand, signaled a genteel, idle lifestyle. Meanwhile, a light complexion is considered healthy and desirable. Ideal concepts have also changed when it comes to the question of whether a woman’s body should be slender and well-toned or have feminine curves.
