from left to right: Sarah, Meha, Kimberly
Meha:
Hi there! My name is Meha Munshi and I am a 4th year Environmental Studies major at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I, like many other girls my age, grew up with a certain idea of what “beauty” is, although everyone’s definitions may be different. Growing up in a household that focused on Indian morals, values, and customs, there was a certain pressure for me to look and dress a certain way, while living a Westernized lifestyle.
Growing up here, I always thought of myself as being overweight, even though by normal standards, I am not. That is what I have been most self-conscious about throughout my life. All of my friends who have grown up in America are much skinnier than me, and most have no curves. In India, curves are a sign of beauty, yet I always wished that I didn’t have them. I slowly started tolerating my curves, even though I have still not completely accepted them. I have also considered getting laser hair removal, because I have constantly felt as though my dark hair was much more visible on my body than the hair of my friends.
It’s extremely sad to think that people, especially young girls, have these self-image issues, because everyone grows up in different cultures. I believe that true beauty should not be judged by how a person looks, and that there should be no “ideal look” that people try to transform into. Everyone is beautiful in their own ways, and young woman should try their best to accept who they are and own it!
Kimberly:
Hello everyone! My name is Kimberly and I am currently in my third year at UCSB with a major in Economics & Accounting and a minor in Asian American Studies. Like the girly girl that I am, I enjoy buying, consuming and reading about makeup, hair and beauty products and fashion. I collect nail polish (I own around 300 bottles) and buy make up more than I buy food. I am especially obsessed with the YouTube beauty community, especially those videos that contain makeup tutorials and fashion advice.
The pressures of maintaining an ideal image of beauty has affected me since my early teenage years. I have struggled with the idea that I am not as petite as others perceive Asian women should be. Although I am not overweight, I sometimes felt that people compare me to what they expect an Asian American woman should look like- small, petite and cute. Additionally, I have been extremely self-conscious about my eyelids. I was not blessed with even eyelids, which means I have one mono-lid and one double-lid. I have dealt and struggled with this issue for years, which has led to countless of hours staring in the mirror, hating the way my eyes look. I have also tried to alter this by sticking tape on my eyelids to create the double-eyelid effect. Sometimes the frustration gets to me where I just conclude that I should just get plastic surgery. Currently, I have dealt with these issues and have learned to accept myself. I am no longer obsessed with fixing my eyelid and I am maintaining a healthy lifestyle, while embracing who I am and how I look.
Sarah:
Hey! My name is Sarah and I am currently finishing up my fourth year at UC Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biopsychology. Because of my background in psychology as well as my own personal experiences, the issues of women’s behavior in response to popular ideals in popular culture is of great interest to me. I am very interested in the way that the media and popular culture shapes our ideals of beauty from a young age, which in turn influences our thoughts and behaviors as women throughout life.
Although I am not myself an Asian American, I have felt the pressures of conforming to an ideal of femininity that is basically impossible to obtain. Like many other women I am constantly conscious of how I look and how others will see me. Beginning in middle school I began to feel the need to start experimenting with makeup, and even today I will rarely leave the house without some form of makeup on. I myself have also considered the idea of plastic surgery in the past.
As I have matured over the years I have come to accept and love myself and the way I look, however I still cling to makeup and have days where I don’t feel the most attractive. I believe that we need to start challenging the images and role models that women are presented with via popular culture from a very young age because these can have serious repercussions on a woman for her entire life.
Beautificasian 