The white beauty ideal in the media falls short

By Mrinalini Keskar ‘22

What makes the most beautiful person you know beautiful? (Be honest here: I won’t judge you if you don’t say your mom). Is it their small, perfect nose? Is it their long, straight hair? Large eyes? Fair skin? 

Or maybe it’s the fact that they perfectly adhere to Western beauty standards?  

These standards include fair skin, large, round eyes, being slim and tall, and small noses. 

There’s something different about the new Netflix original series, “Never Have I Ever.” It’s the first American series to star an Indian-American family as the lead. The main character Devi, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is a portrayal of the classic assimilated Indian-American girl. However, unlike most people of color cast in Hollywood, Devi has classically Indian features. She does not even conform to India’s colonially impacted beauty standards of being fair and slim.

Producer Mindy Kaling said this choice was purposeful. “I think about colorism a lot, and I liked that she wasn’t like this red-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned Indian girl,” she said. Kaling recalls “28-year-old, gorgeous Bollywood stars” auditioning to play the role of Devi, but wanting an actor that “looked a little bit more like someone that would be in my family.”

Devi. Image via Netflix.

This representation is important, especially when most Indian characters on TV are the likes of Ravi on “Jessie,” a caricature of an Indian immigrant with a heavy accent and penchant for STEM. 

Media dominates our lives. In the age of social media, most adolescents start their day by scrolling through Instagram. They may end their day by watching TV. In short, research suggests  that young people are exposed to about 5,000 advertisements per day, in research published by Psychology Today. 

The faces they see on their screens affects their perception of beauty. 

The earliest example of this lies in the Doll Test, which was used in arguments against racially segregating schools in Brown v. Board of Education. Here, African-American children were asked to choose which doll they wanted to play with more: a white doll or a doll painted brown. A large majority of the children chose the white doll. 

The introduction of television and film has since exacerbated the white beauty ideal. Often, actors of color play comedic roles or are used to diversify the cast, all while adhering to white beauty standards. 

Image via Le Book.

Catlin Gabel School (CGS) junior Kelly Park can attest to that. 

“Growing up, the characters I watched did not look like me. It’s frustrating because when Asian actors do appear, they are typically cast as stereotypical sidekicks white directors can use for comic relief and extra diversity points,” Park said. “It wasn’t until this year when “Parasite” came out, that I actually felt represented.” 

“Parasite” shattered boundaries, being the first film with an all-Asian cast to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.  

There are of course, scientific aspects to beauty. Humans are genetically engineered to pick out and judge, and there are certain things that the human eye simply finds attractive. 

Universally, beauty is “partially determined by a function of physical features, such as facial averageness, symmetry and skin homogeneity,” says Neelam Vashi, MD. Vashi is an associate professor of dermatology and the founder of the Center for Ethnic skin.

However, over time, the American media has skewed these indications of beauty, making it more conventional and more white. It is only in recent years that characters are being                            cast more diversely. In addition to more people of color being cast, they are also receiving less stereotypical roles. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what the beholder sees on screen may affect their perception of beauty. Beauty is ever-changing as humans evolve. We can see that it’s possible to change these standards. 

Movies like “Parasite” and TV shows such as “Never Have I Ever” provide examples for today’s youth that beauty has so much more than one face.

While in quarantine, here are some shows and movies to watch which have succeeded in having a diverse cast and interesting storylines.

“Never Have I Ever”

“Hollywood”

“Euphoria”

“Jackie Brown”

“Waves”

“Moonlight”