The shifts in Japanese women's perceptions of beauty and beautification practices
Date
2003
Authors
Iida, Chiaki
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Abstract
There have been very few studies of shifts in perceptions of women' s beauty and beautification practices. This thesis reports on a study of such shifts among Japanese women in Canada. The study used a qualitative method of Institutional Ethnography, based on ten interviews conducted between 2001 and 2002 with Japanese women who were born and raised in Japan and have resided in Canada for a minimum of two years. While these Japanese women's perceptions of what beauty is have changed little, they have lessened beautification practices since they came to Canada. The complex perceptions and practices surrounding beauty and beautification are associated with multiple interlocking and intersecting structures which organize pressures, expectations and advantages for women to pursue standards of beauty. In tum, women's perceptions and practices help to maintain and reproduce these structures. By accepting the status quo, women allow problems of gender inequality and White supremacy to remain.