Some time ago, the famous fashion brand Calvin Klein erected a huge billboard on the streets of New York, advertising the impactful face of a black plus-size model, which is very different from the usual sexy and seductive handsome men and women. As soon as the advertisement came out, there was also a wave of discussion on the Internet.
Some good people put this advertisement together with the usual CK beauty advertisement, which has a sense of "the times have changed".
The comparison figure made by netizens | trey_forde/twitter
What exactly is "beauty"? What does it mean for a plus-size model that doesn't seem to be "beautiful" to appear in an advertisement? Should there be a standard for beauty?
Is our "aesthetic" an evolutionary instinct?
Some people think that "uncomfortable" is not beautiful and unscientific. People seem to have a natural dislike for ugliness; the love for handsome men and beautiful women seems to be carved in the bones, which can arouse people's instinctive "pleasure". In this way, beauty seems to be a kind of "science" that can be discussed in terms of physiology and evolution; since it is science, there should be objective standards, right?
But in fact, beauty is much more complicated than "pleasure". This is actually the same as discussing whether there should be a formula for artistic creation. It is true that there are some formula theorems that partially explain it, but the "experience" of beauty and art is fundamentally subjective. The so-called "objective criterion" is a weighted calculation of countless subjective experiences, which is difficult to explain thoroughly with existing theories even in animals.
The famous ornithologist Richard Prum explained in his book The Evolution of Beauty that the ostentatious characteristics of many birds cannot be fully explained by survival choices. There have been some previous hypotheses that the cumbersome tail feathers and gorgeous crown of the male peacock are signs of their health, favoring survival and preferring to females. But later scientists found that the ostentatious characteristics of birds are often related to their behavior, mainly serving courtship activities, such as the red-capped petite harrier courtship with space dance steps, the plum-winged petite bird singing with its wings, the bird of paradise "opening the screen" and so on. These courtship activities are not related to the evolutionary advantages of the environment.
Two similar birds, in similar circumstances, may also have very different courtship and show-off strategies. The most likely explanation is that different groups of geographically separated groups, in their interactions, randomly develop different preferences, and this preference is constantly amplified in mate selection.
The experience of beauty is a | that cannot be separated from the environment, society and culture pixabay
In other words, the females are "willing" to do so. On the one hand, this willingness is random and subjective, and on the other hand, it reflects the strength of the group and even society - birds are in a "society" that constantly learns from each other and "refines" their behavior, which is not entirely a natural endowment. If slightly more females happen to have similar preferences (such as a preference for red tail feathers), this preference will gradually evolve into a "standard" in this group, and then these preferences will slowly be "adopted" by the male and solidified in the form of sexual selection.
Birds are like this, let alone humans. The experience of beauty cannot be separated from the environment, society and culture. Our "objective standards" of time and place cannot be spoken of from the root of evolution. At present, most of the theories about beauty are "hypotheses", some have strong explanatory power, and some have weak explanatory power.
Looking at the face and looking at the figure, it is actually very random
We think that a face is "beautiful" for many reasons, but a large part of the beauty actually comes from "comfort". The "average face hypothesis" holds that people will "calculate" in their brains the average of a face they see, which is the most "habitual" and "comfortable", so it will feel beautiful.
This also explains why Eurasian hybrids are more popular in China than in the West, in part because Chinese have a great influence from the Western media, and we also implant the impression of a Western face in our cognition, and the "average" mixed-race face will make us feel good-looking. Westerners know much less about East Asian faces, and mixed-race children are less popular. For blacks, most of the first impression of East Asia is actually "strange", so it will be a little bit resistant. Those who are considered "black beauties" or "black handsome men" are actually a bit white or mixed-race.
Liu Yuling, who is considered by Westerners to be a "typical Oriental beauty", | weimeicun.com
But then again, what Westerners find "typical" oriental beauties, such as Liu Yuling, challenge the "average face" hypothesis, which is entirely the result of cultural imagination. The Western mainstream media has a special fondness for the so-called "exotic face", which is in line with the generalization of the "imaginary oriental face" and even stereotypes, such as high cheekbones and slender eyes, which distinguish her from other white women.
For the aesthetics of the body, it is even more erratic. There is a hypothesis that the waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 is "the most beautiful", but in the past few decades, the aesthetics of East Asia have been much thinner than this, and many girls who pursue white and thin are simply afraid of "big ass". In Latin America, on the contrary, the waist-to-hip ratio that is considered "beautiful" is actually much more exaggerated than 0.7, and various hip augmentation advertisements and plastic surgery services are also emerging.
Latin American esteemed figure, waist and hip ratio is much more exaggerated | DHGate.com
Some people think that plus-size models are unhealthy, "morbid", and do not meet the standards of healthy beauty, so it makes people look awkward. But in fact, for the past 30 years, the fashion industry has been full of Kate Moss's "starvation" aesthetic, and almost all catwalk models have a BMI less than the health standard of 18. A large number of people think that they are "slim" and "fairy", this single standard of too thin for beauty, so that many people flock to it, falling into anorexia, binge eating.
It can be seen that fashion aesthetics and true "comfort" have little to do with "health", and the power of cultural construction is much more powerful than you think.
Art and business, how
Responding to society with aesthetics?
From an artistic point of view, the truly beautiful works are definitely not calculated, but there are many unexpected and challenging places, such as the eerie smile of the Mona Lisa, the gloomy light and shadow of Rembrandt, and the seemingly impossible colors in Monet's paintings. And don't forget that even the classic Renaissance beauty that we now recognize is a crazy challenge to the bottom line of social aesthetics at the time— How could such a holy Mary be like an ordinary baby? ”
The aesthetic highlighted by different eras, magnified, is a response to the current social trend. The development of Impressionism and Secession was actually a reaction to classical standards, an undercurrent of European society breaking the old order in the second half of the 19th century, and a question of "truth" in the philosophical circles at that time - the eternal and objective reality? Isn't that moment of light and shadow in the afternoon sun also real?
The same is true of the aesthetic of women. In the past, people used corsets and skirts to shape women's curvy beauty, but with the pace of women's liberation, the Flapper girls of the 20 years of the last century used free cutting to get rid of the corset and realize the liberation of women's bodies, and they pursued free beauty. Chinese women in classical literature are weak and gentle beauty, but in the propaganda pictorials of the 60s and 70s, women's beauty was powerful, reflecting the value of industrialization and collective labor.
In the 1920s, flapper girls dancing in high heels and short skirts | Racked
So now, it makes sense that commercial advertising uses minority models, plus-size models, and even disabled models to respond to the trend of social pluralism. Moreover, there are important market selection factors behind this - in the increasingly saturated mass consumption end, how to tap the "long tail" and erect the "segmentation" has become the marketing focus of major brands. Rihanna's brand Fenty has launched a large number of different colors of foundation, using a large number of African, Indian and Asian models; lingerie brand Aerie claims that lingerie can be bought from 30A to 38G, and the models in the advertisement are also very different.
Now many brands in Europe and the United States are happy to show the real figure of women, but it is victoria's secret with large chest and thin waist and chopsticks legs that has been poorly managed in recent years and is on the verge of bankruptcy. This is actually a reflection of society's rejection of a single aesthetic: everyone has the right to pursue beauty. It is not only thin to be beautiful, and it is not only fat to be beautiful, but no matter what the body is, you can pursue beauty.
For the judgment of beauty, it has jumped out of the fat and thin itself, reflected in multiple facets and multiple angles. It is true that the fat body is not healthy, most people think it is "not beautiful", but fat people's hairstyles and outfits can be beautiful, their behavior and temperament can be beautiful, and their lives can be sunny, free and positive.
Jari Jones | Jari Jones/Facebook
Therefore, the appearance of plus-size models on the advertisement is not like many people, "preaching" overweight, but a kind of care - the top priority is to get rid of the discrimination of society against "fat", help fat people rebuild their self-confidence, and embark on the road to a healthy life. There is considerable evidence that obesity is the result of a combination of genetic, environmental and social factors, not simply laziness or gluttony. The stress and self-abandonment caused by discrimination and stigma are important reasons for weight loss failure.
In the future, there will inevitably be more plus-size models appearing in the mainstream media, along with thin, normal-size models, telling people the true appearance of the world and reflecting the real needs of more people.
In short, beauty is a subjective experience. Everyone has their own aesthetic standards, some of which they like and what they don't like. This is both the edification of social standards and the shaping of self-experience. You certainly have the right to think that something is beautiful or not.
But we want a world that is more inclusive of different aesthetics and different ways of expression.