Let's Talk : Beauty Standard

Hi guise,

Today I'm gonna rant talk about beauty standard and I won't be posting any of my artwork in this entry. Readers beware.

Macam mana aku nak mulakan topik ni ye sebab banyak sangat benda yang buat aku bengang kalau cakap pasal standard of beauty around the world. I'm pissed off because it seems like many people out there are still oblivious about beauty standard and how it affects perception over body image.

Ingat lagi tak ayat yang selalu orang dulu guna untuk describe kecantikan perempuan melayu?

Pipi bak pauh dilayang

Wajah bujur sirih

Hidung mancung bak seludang

Kulit hitam manis

Rambut bak mayang mengurai

Ini satu contoh beauty standard dalam masyarakat melayu dan beauty standard ni berubah mengikut zaman dan pendedahan terhadap budaya luar. Aku nak tekankan kat dua statement terakhir; kulit hitam manis dan rambut mayang mengurai.

Orang melayu dulu-dulu memandang kulit sawo matang itu cantik. Tapi sekarang orang kita nampak yang putih gebu tu menawan. Mungkin kesan white washing dari media. Rambut bak mayang mengurai pun lagi satu point. Ataupun rambut ikal mayang. Pernah tengok mayang tu macam mana tak? Macam ni haa..

So rambut ikal mayang ataupun bak mayang mengurai tu lebih kurang macam ni:

Macam ni lebih kurang?

Pernah beberapa tahun lepas rambut lurus yang jadi kegilaan sampai semua pun nak buat rebonding untuk dapatkan rambut straight macam artis Taiwan. Lepas tu muncul style ala-ala orang latin amerika pulak.

Bagi aku dalam masyarakat melayu ni, standard of beauty ni takdelah diagugkan gila-gila sampai orang nak bunuh diri kalau hidung terkembang sikit. Tapi ada dalam sesetengah budaya yang lebih mengagungkan standard of beauty. Contoh terbesar, South Korea.

Now, I know I said a lot about Korean in my blog. You can judge me as being a fanatic but I'd like to see myself as enlightened. So here we go. Standard of beauty is very important in South Korea. So much so that they go through plastic surgeries at the early age of 18. It is very common to hear about parents funding the children's plastic surgery. Now you might think, eeeuuww, desperate much?

Before you go around belittling them for being so obsessed about beauty let me remind you that make up is a form of modification. To Korean, plastic surgeries are like make up. It's very common and socially acceptable. And mind you not all South Korean are that keen about going under the knife. Some of them don't find it necessary. Some might say it is influenced by the kpop movement where beauty is so highly looked upon. (RIP English)

Kenapa aku tiba-tiba nak back up Korean yang suka bedah-bedah ni? Mesti sebab kau minat kpop kan Day? Sebab tu semua benda diorang buat, tak kiralah merubah kejadian tuhan pun ko sokong je kan? Ni bukan masalah sokong. Ini isu culture. Culture sana dengan culture sini berbeza. Does it mean that I promote cosmetic surgery to young Malaysian? No.. What I'm trying to say is, stop bashing them for something you can't comprehend. And stop generalizing them. South Korean does not equal to plastic face. Open your mind, peasants!

Same goes to tattoo, henna, beard and piercing. Stop being so judgemental. Even if you disapprove their choice of beauty doesn't mean that you should publicly denounce their identity. Beauty is a concept. It's a choice. It is subjective. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean that other people don't see it.

We are all beautiful. Open your mind. Do not be tied down by these standards that you can't appreciate the individual around you. Travel around. Meet the people. Understand why they think in such way. Kalau tak mampu physically travel around, google it up. Keep an opened mind. Embrace the difference.

Dan kalau ko jenis yang travel tapi still bising pasal budaya orang, sia-sia.. Sia-sia keluar duit pergi negara orang tapi tak nampak sisi budaya masyarakat tu.

This is Grace Neutral. She had her eyeballs tattooed, face carved and her belly button removed. Do you find her hideous? This is how she perceives beauty. If you disagree with her perception of beauty, that's fine. Just don't be a dick about it.

Everybody's a dick these days, religious or not.

Adieu

Terima kasih kerana sudi singgah dan membaca entry ini. Silakanlah merapu di ruang komentari bersama saya. Yeaha~

p/s: I still smack my own head when I think about the things I've said to other people about their looks. I am a judgemental piece of shit and I'm dealing with that fact.