Our opinions of attractiveness, researchers surmise, are guided by our individual life experiences. Therefore, what people in one culture find attractive may not be attractive to people in another.
One vital element in attractiveness is color. The way color is used and appreciated, whether in buildings and walls or clothing and fashion, varies from culture to culture. Drive around the streets of our town in Salatiga, Central Java, and you will see houses painted in colors we would never dream of using in the United States:
One vital element in attractiveness is color. The way color is used and appreciated, whether in buildings and walls or clothing and fashion, varies from culture to culture. Drive around the streets of our town in Salatiga, Central Java, and you will see houses painted in colors we would never dream of using in the United States:
The colors used on indoor walls here might challenge ideas of appropriateness in another culture as well. What about fire engine red for a kitchen or bright orange for a bathroom? When we began remodeling our university library building, I was surprised when a Javanese colleague suggested painting the lobby lavender and purple. Lavender and purple? Those were the last colors I would have thought of for a library lobby. But why not, I chuckled, recalling that short Gelett Burgess poem we used to recite as children:
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one,
but I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!
I never hope to see one,
but I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!
The good thing is that my colleague’s suggestion helped me to become more sensitive to colors and the way they are used in Central Java.
As we grow up in our own culture, we unconsciously learn about color coordination - which colors go together and which colors don’t. At our wedding in Salatiga, I was surprised when Daniel’s little niece from Jakarta wore a big red rose with her pink dress. Do red and pink go together? They don’t in Iowa, but they most certainly do in Java. More recently, when we were asked to participate in a Javanese wedding, it surprised me to hear that our outfits would be chartreuse, pink and brown. “Okkaaaaay,” I murmured in amazement, trying to imagine how we would look in that combination of colors. We needn’t go any farther than traditional weavings, though, to discover that Indonesians combine colors that many Westerners would never dream of mixing. Somehow it all works, though!
As we grow up in our own culture, we unconsciously learn about color coordination - which colors go together and which colors don’t. At our wedding in Salatiga, I was surprised when Daniel’s little niece from Jakarta wore a big red rose with her pink dress. Do red and pink go together? They don’t in Iowa, but they most certainly do in Java. More recently, when we were asked to participate in a Javanese wedding, it surprised me to hear that our outfits would be chartreuse, pink and brown. “Okkaaaaay,” I murmured in amazement, trying to imagine how we would look in that combination of colors. We needn’t go any farther than traditional weavings, though, to discover that Indonesians combine colors that many Westerners would never dream of mixing. Somehow it all works, though!
Teaching at a girls’ school in South India many years ago, I was not surprised by color combinations as much as by the sheer brilliance of colors worn. For special occasions, our teachers wore gorgeous, brightly colored silk saris which made my own Western garb pale in comparison.
What perplexed me in India about color, though, was not the colors of houses, clothing, or color combination but references to complexion. My Indian colleagues would say, “Ask Laksmi - you know, that fourth class teacher who always wears such bright colors even though she has dark skin.” I had admired Laksmi’s saris before but had never noticed that her complexion was darker than anybody else’s, let alone that her bright saris over-emphasized the darkness of her skin. Skin tone was not on my radar in the same way it was for my Indian colleagues.
To this day women in India, like many other Asians, view fair skin as a sign of beauty. While walking outdoors, they use umbrellas, not to prevent skin cancer but to avoid getting any darker than they already are. I, on the other hand long to have skin like theirs. In my culture at the time I was growing up, a decent tan was a sign of good health, fashion, and luxury.
In Indonesia, Western tourists in search of “healthy tans” sunbathe on the beaches of Bali to get the kind of skin Indonesians are born with. Indonesian women, on the other hand, avoid the sun and even visit skin lightening clinics to achieve a fairer complexion. Supermarket and drugstore shelves are lined with skin whitening, lightening, and bleaching creams and gels. In more remote areas where these products are not readily available, it’s talcum powder to the rescue:
To this day women in India, like many other Asians, view fair skin as a sign of beauty. While walking outdoors, they use umbrellas, not to prevent skin cancer but to avoid getting any darker than they already are. I, on the other hand long to have skin like theirs. In my culture at the time I was growing up, a decent tan was a sign of good health, fashion, and luxury.
In Indonesia, Western tourists in search of “healthy tans” sunbathe on the beaches of Bali to get the kind of skin Indonesians are born with. Indonesian women, on the other hand, avoid the sun and even visit skin lightening clinics to achieve a fairer complexion. Supermarket and drugstore shelves are lined with skin whitening, lightening, and bleaching creams and gels. In more remote areas where these products are not readily available, it’s talcum powder to the rescue:
Since our individual life experiences guide our opinions of attractiveness, beauty is in the eye of the beholder – or as Confucius put it, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”