Allure Marks Shifting Beauty Standards; Declares The “All-American Beauty” Ideal Dead

by Latoya Peterson

In the March 2011 issue of Allure, the beauty bible chose to celebrate their 20th anniversary by looking at the changing ways in which we define beauty.

Two decades ago, Allure conducted a study with 1,000 men and women called “What Beauty Means to You.”  A clear picture of what was considered beautiful emerged – and her name is Christie Brinkley:

But the last 20 years have brought major changes to our nation – and no where is this more evident than our ideas of who is considered most beautiful.  The new celebrity “ideal” according to Allure is now Angelina Jolie:

But here’s what’s really interesting.  Allure also showed photos of non-celebrity models and asked respondents to rank the person who was most attractive.  The top winners? A Latina female and a South Asian male (identified as a person of Indian descent).

Major takeaways from the study:

• 69 percent of all respondents believe there is no longer any such thing as the “all-American” look
• 85 percent believe that increased diversity in this country has changed what people consider beautiful.
• 64 percent of all our respondents think women of mixed race represent the epitome of beauty, and around 70 percent believe they might well be attracted to those who aren’t of their own race or ethnicity.
• 74 percent of all respondents said they wanted [their lips] to be fuller.
• 69% of respondents believe there is no longer any such thing as the “all-American” look.
• 79% agree that being perceived as beautiful or handsome increases self-confidence.
• “The regal, elegantly varnished blonde has been effectively dethroned. Not demolished, mind you–she still has access to a pedestal; it’s just not hers exclusively, and it’s come down a few inches.”
• 46 percent of all women (especially white women) find fair hair beautiful
• Of those respondents who said they wished to change their skin color, 70 percent reported that they wanted it to be darker. Among women, the desire to deepen their skin tone is especially pronounced.
• 86 percent of everyone surveyed think that middle-aged women today are perceived as more attractive than they were two decades ago.
• Members of both sexes say that, most of all, they want their stomachs to be flatter.
• African-Americans of both genders are more likely than anyone else to say beauty isn’t simply a matter of good looks, that wealth and power enhance appeal.
• Middle-aged women, 40 percent of them in fact, worry about aging.
• Hispanic men–55 percent of them–tend to believe that a female stranger would consider them attractive, and they are also the most likely among all respondents to say they use that appeal to attain stature and ascendancy in the workplace.
• Caucasian men aren’t so sure about their general appeal (a mere 29 percent think a stranger’s verdict would prove positive).
• “Black and Hispanic men are nearly twice as likely as Caucasian men to view the derriere with the kind of special fondness and rapt absorption once devoted exclusively to D-cup breasts.”
• 45 percent of black and Hispanic men think a prominent butt is among a woman’s most attractive features (28 percent of white males agree with that)
• 74% believe that a curvier body type is more appealing now than it has been over the past ten years.
• “[T]he highest rates of aesthetic self-confidence and pleasure in one’s own body exist among African-American women, and they are the most likely among all respondents to embrace and aspire to curvy hips, as well as a larger, rounder butt. They are also the least likely to be on a diet or worry about weight (Caucasian women are the most likely to focus on weight).
• [H]ere’s what a third of all black women predict they’ll do to decrease signs of aging: nothing at all. (Just so you know: This kind of attitude isn’t exactly catching on across the spectrum. About 85 percent of all Caucasian and Hispanic women report that they are definitely going to do something to fight signs of aging.)

Page 1 of 2 | Next page