Depending on the country in which a person lives, their ideals of what constitutes true beauty may differ markedly from others. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. But the upside of this is that many of us consider our physical defects might turn out to be charming to someone out there.
CrfatSides has put together a selection of the most interesting things that people find attractive and sexy in different countries of the world.
Standard of Beauty Around The World
1. Teeth Crooked, Japan
In western countries, a straight line of even teeth is considered the definition of the perfect smile, and many cannot imagine people thinking otherwise.
But in Japan, things are the opposite: the peak of attractiveness is the so-called “yaeba”, or crooked teeth. People are believed to look more beautiful if they have that quality. That is why dentists in Japan are in high demand, for young men and women!
2. Scarification West Africa, New Guinea
The people of New Guinea and various other countries in Africa still decorate their bodies with patterns and countless artistic scars.
Scars are generally given to men during an initiation ceremony, while “tattoos” are considered an indication of great beauty in women.
Of course, in the developed world, there is no small number of people who also find this practice attractive, which is generally called body modification.
3. A Heart-shaped Face, South Korea
In South Korea, plastic surgery is not only widespread, but it’s also considered completely normal. In big cities, you see ads everywhere asking people to go under the knife to improve their appearance.
Here, having a heart-shaped face is seen as one of the main ways to look beautiful. To obtain it, many Koreans are prepared to undergo complex operations.
This usually involves breaking the jawbones into three parts, removing the central part, and fusing the other two together to create a sharper chin.
Then the angles of the new chin are softened. For a long time after having this type of operation, the individual cannot eat solid food.
4. Excess Weight, Mauritania
Mauritanians have absolutely no chance of attracting a man’s attention if they don’t have folds of fat on their stomach.
To make sure girls reach their desired dimensions, their parents send them to special “farms” where they can eat up to 16,000 calories a day (1,500 is the norm). Unfortunately, due to this tradition, many girls develop stomach illnesses.
5. Surgical Bandages On The Face, Iran
Iran is the capital of rhinoplasty. Despite the high price of the procedure, men and women here are willing to pay anything for the straight nose, which is seen here not only as a symbol of beauty but also of a certain status in society.
But this is far from the strangest thing you can see here. Even if someone hasn’t had a nose job, they may decide to walk in public with a surgical dressing on their faces so people think they have it.
6. Pale Skin China, Thailand
In many parts of Asia, pale skin is considered the gold standard of beauty. If you go into a store looking for a face cream, it is unlikely that you will find one that does not have a bleaching ingredient.
This includes ones for men for use after shaving. Many Chinese people refuse to visit the beach without a mask because they want to protect their skin from the effects of the sun.
Also, Chinese and Thai women think Westerners are crazy about wanting to go to a tanning salon.
7. A high Forehead, The Fula People
The most important attribute a woman must possess among the Fula tribe of Africa is the high forehead. That is why some of the women of the tribe remove parts of the hair from their heads to create the illusion that they have one.
A similar custom was observed in medieval Europe when women were known to remove up to half of the hair on the top of the head.
8. A Long Neck, Burma
One of the eastern regions of Burma is called “the country of giraffe women.”. This name refers to the Kayan people who live there, whose women wear brass rings around their necks. It’s believed that the longer a person’s neck, the more beautiful they look.
According to legend, these rings protect Kayan women from tigers, although, in reality, they are simply a way to express their tribal identity.
9. Stretched Lips And Red Skin, The Mursi People
Himba and Suri people
In the Mursi tribe of Ethiopia, girls learn to stretch the skin of their lower lips with special discs. The higher the disk, the greater the social status of the girl and the greater the dowry to be paid before the wedding.
Something similar can be found with the Suri tribe. They are a small African tribe that inhabits an area in southwestern Ethiopia, along the border with Sudan, they are one of several tribes in the fertile Omo Valley and represent approximately 20,000 people.
The Himba are nomadic pastoralists who live in the Kaokoland area of northwestern Namibia. They use red and fat ocher to protect themselves from the sun. This gives their body a red color.
10. Monobrows, Tajikistan
In some regions of Tajikistan, a monobrow is considered a sign of female beauty. If nature has not given a girl this desirable feature, she might decide to apply black makeup on a line between her eyebrows.
Local people are convinced that the joined-together eyebrows are an indication that a person will have a happy life.
These beauty traditions may seem fun to some of us, and others may seem primitive. But how often do we look at our own beauty standards and traditions?
Punching holes in our ears and placing earrings in them, walk around in uncomfortable heels to stretch your legs, maybe they look so strange to others?
Preview photo credit Wikimedia Commons, JOHANES TINGA
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