A scientific study published recently by Harley Street physician Dr. de Silva was, unfortunately, reminiscent of the topic of Erin Griffey and Victoria Munn’s research seminar “Beauty Cultures”. In this study, which left an unsurprisingly sour aftertaste, de Silva used the ancient Greek golden ratio of beauty to rate female celebrities on their facial features. Like Griffey and Munn, de Silva studied how beauty was represented in history and how it has been quantified.
These two parties are representative of contrasting research methods. Griffey and Munn are critical of the beauty ideals subjected upon women and understand how these ideals have shifted. On the other hand, de Silva uses a historical beauty ‘recipe’ to add even more value to the Eurocentric ideals of beauty ever-present in society. The equation scored unwilling-participants on the size of their lips, nose and forehead. Beyonce- the only women of African roots in the top 10, lost points for the size of her nose.[1] No Asian women were in this category. It seems that de Silva has not only studied beauty standards but has outright encouraged them.
Research reveals the depth of the subjugation of women, especially women of colour, for their non-European features; the culmination of how-to beauty books, ideas on how to preserve one’s youth… topics like this undeniably require caution when researching and de Silva clearly has a lot to learn from Griffey and Munn’s ability to study, yet not glorify, their research’s findings.
[1] Vaughn, Shamontiel L. “That ‘scientific study’ that makes you hate your race”. https://medium.com/i-do-see-color/that-scientific-study-that-makes-you-hate-your-race-d49c949ecd6a
Image Credit: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a29499934/twitter-reactions-beyonce-bella-hadid-most-beautiful-woman-world/
