As most have seen north America's Ideas on beauty plastic surgery, liposuction, and so on what about other cultures?
A few quick facts I've gathered over the years but I can't necessarily back them up at the moment- I've heard that in Polynesia it's considered more attractive if you're overweight; a friend told me that in Thailand very pale skin is thought to be more beautiful rather than people who are tanned; and on a TV programme I saw last night about the Romans, they apparently thought that smaller penises were more highly thought of as large ones were a characteristic of the barbarous northerners.
Well I don't know about other cultures, so much, but my personal ideas of beauty sometimes differ. I find androgyny beautiful, I prefer smaller boobs, and I prefer natural (untanned) skin colors on pretty much everybody.
That part about Thailand is true! I used to laugh about it with my German friends when i found out that they have something called "tanning cream" while we in Thailand have something called "whittening cream" =P.
Australia is like America in a lot of respects, including beauty standards. You know, typical skinny hot blondes with big boobs. I'd reckon plastic surgery is popular, especially in Sydney.. it reminds me of LA. Personally, I think what media tries to advertise is incredibly unattractive, not to mention unhealthy. I wish cute, chubby/curvy girls with porcelain skin (or any skin colour, really- but society likes to portray 'pale' tones as unattractive while apparently orange is??), would realize how attractive they are. I hate how skewed standards are, and how much importance is put on image. Anyway, the only opinion that matters the most is your own.
I've also read a researcher (I think it might have been Jared Diamond) in New Guinea discussing how he was chatting to some locals about what they found attractive and they said they couldn't understand why westerners preferred young, pert breasts, they preferred older women who had already reared children, as they had already proven that they're able to keep children well fed.
In various countries, weight is a sign that you have a great deal of money. Thus the culture is one where more weight makes you more attractive. Just goes to show how much an environment affects what sort of things you are attracted to. This is true for various eastern countries. I believe in some locations that using an umbrella outside to block the sun is a thing. Was it the Romans too? I thought it was just the Greeks. Although, I suppose it was taken from the Greek culture along with everything else, at least until the Catholic fig leaves came along.
