With my other hat on, I'm the Co-founder of a fashion brand, so the idea of what constitutes ‘beauty’ is often on my mind. After all, the ideas of wellness, self-care, me-time, etcetera are often lumped in together and generally lauded as key to healthy modern-day living. Our sustainable sleepwear and leisurewear brand powered by tech fabrics aims to place itself firmly in this inventory of aiming to promote good health, which these days seems to imply a step up on the ladder to good looks. Yet, what does it actually mean to be beautiful or at least to try and achieve it beauty? I was fascinated by Elise Hu’s new book, Flawless – a book both tempting and terrifying and not necessarily in that order. Elise was the NPR Bureau Chief based in Seoul for 4 years. A Taiwanese-Chinese American, former model and mother of three young girls, Elise went on a head-first deep dive into Korea’s obsession with beauty. Facials for babies? Frowns for any woman who dares emerge into public without a full face of make-up? Jaw and skull shaving techniques to achieve the ‘perfect’ head? This book is far more than about beauty, it’s about a global growing desire for ‘perfection’, a trend towards a global ideal of ‘beauty’ also known as 'Instagram Face' as well as the 'problematisation' of how we look - i.e.made up standards to create demand. Elise ponders the idea that this has begun creating divisions between those who can afford the time and money to ‘work’ hard at it and has placed enormous pressure on women and men to achieve and maintain their ‘beauty’ or risk access to jobs, relationships and suffer ostracism from society. This pressure seems to be particularly heavy in Korea where duty towards parents, elders and society is still paramount. Somehow, allowing yourself to not look your 'best', whether through not wearing makeup or tipping the scales over the 'ideal' of 50kg, is seen as a rejection of social mores. Punishments, both subtle and overt can ensue. Yet when Hu returns to the US, to California, she finds a society which outwardly appears to take a more laissez-fair attitude towards looks, but under the surface still codifies a devotion to 'thinness, firmness, smoothness, and youth'. It seems that ultimately the whole human race needs to rethink its relationship between societal success and perceived beauty. It has certainly given me pause for thought. What do you think?
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