[On Trend] The Evolution of Standards of Beauty关于时尚：审美标准的变化

Last night a couple friends gathered in our common room after Harvard’s annual “Welcome Back” BBQ in Harvard Yard.  We were two Chinese Americans, two Vietnamese Americans, two Korean Americans, and one African American.  Our African American friend had just traveled to Asia over summer break, and came back fascinated by the differences in beauty standards between the West, the East, and the South (African culture).  For example, we discussed how in Asia, whiteness is a standard of beauty, whereas in the U.S., whiteness of skin is considered a sign of undernourishment by the sun.  We also pointed out how in Asian countries, melon-shaped (“gua zi”) faces are considered the most attractive, especially for girls.  Our African American friend, however, mentioned that in African culture, round faces are considered the most beautiful.  Likewise, while in Asia, the skinnier you are the better (us girls lamented the fact that we always have to buy the largest sizes while traveling in Asia despite being rather petite in the U.S.), our friend told us that in African culture, skinny girls are considered weak and unattractive.
Thinking about the various standards of beauty around the world, the central theme seemed to be: special is beautiful.  White skin and melon-shaped faces are rarer in Asia for example.  Strongly built girls are perhaps rarer in Africa, where undernourishment can be widespread.  As a result of the uniqueness of these attributes, over time, cultures have deemed them to become standards of beauty.  Interestingly, however, these standards do seem to ebb and flow over time.  For instance, during the Tang Dynasty, plump women were considered to be the most attractive (perhaps similar reasoning to plump = pretty in African culture nowadays?).  In fact, our African American friend pointed out that in Japan, an interesting new trend is starting: tanning.  So perhaps the central lesson is if you are ever dissatisfied with how you look, know that somewhere across space and time, you are beautiful — and the most important space and time to be beautiful in is now in your own heart.

前天晚上，哈佛大学的＂欢迎回归＂烧烤派对后，我的几个朋友都在我的客厅聚会。我们的团体之内有：两个美国华族，两个美国韩人，两个美国越南人和一个美国黑人。暑假时，这位美国黑人朋友去了亚洲旅行，这使他越来越对东方、南方（非洲）与西方不同的审美观念着迷。举个例子：在亚洲内，皮肤白皙算漂亮，但是在美国，代表缺乏太阳的营养。不只这样：在亚洲，瓜子脸形很有魅力。特别是女孩子！可是我们的美国非洲朋友告诉我们，在非洲社会里，脸形圆最漂亮。在亚洲越瘦越好。我们几个女孩子在美国概念里算挺小型的，可是在亚洲旅行时买衣服时总是得买最大的，好悲哀！但是听我们的朋友说，在非洲，瘦等于弱，没有吸引力。

这世界上对美丽的定义不一样，最重要的是：不同、特别、别致代表美丽。皮肤白皙和瓜子性脸在亚洲很稀罕，和在非洲比较壮的女孩子很难找，因为在非洲有很多地方饭不够吃。因此，这些不同的女孩子很别致，而经过时间的过程后，世界的社会开始把他们的特别算为漂亮，称为美丽。最有趣的是，这些美丽的水平在不同的时代里会变化。唐代时，比较胖的女生最漂亮，可能像现在的非洲概念吧？我们的黑朋友说明现在在日本有个新的时尚：晒太阳！所以，可能最重要的是得记得，如果你不大喜欢你的样子的话，在世界历史中某个地方和时间你其实很正点。和这几个时代和地方之内，最重要的是这里，现在，在自己的心里。