Gottuso, Saskia. The Ideal Female Body in America vs. Fiji. BIS 348; Cultural Psychology, Summer, 2021.

Nearly all of my studies at UWB have been social. One of my majors is in society, ethics and human behavior. However, I’m also getting a minor in gender, women and sexuality studies. Over this time, I’ve accumulated more knowledge about what it means to be a woman on earth, depending upon the country. After embarking on a journey of reading research papers, I found the contradictions between beauty standards in the US compared to Fiji. In completing this assignment, I met the awareness of social dissimilarity; and impartiality goals of the IAS department.

Motivation behind this paper came from a desire to inform fellow young women. Meaning, what is thought of as attractive in the US is not what is considered attractive globally. Additionally, I wanted to illuminate a piece of life for Fijian women, as women of colors’ features often get overshadowed by those of lighter skin tones. Understanding the wide range of expectations in physical appearance for women in Fiji is important for ladies living in the US. Our country is made up of Black people, Latino/as, white people, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and so on. Therefore, it’s important that fuller bodies, darker skin tones curly, dair hair and an overall broader range of ethnicities become represented more in the US media. There are a lot of young ladies who are influenced by magazines, TV, social media, clothing campaigns, etc.

I’m not referring to the surge of Black and brown faces we saw in advertisements after June 2020. I’m talking about the kind of activism that doesn’t need to be sparked by violence. Of course, a step like this may seem simple and therefore potentially ineffective. Although, this is one instance where the potential for a snowball effect is extremely positive.