The below post is an interview transcript between a Mexican American woman, whose name will be shortened to D, and me, who will be called M. Any potential grammatical errors are not changed for the sake of the precision of the transcript, but there may be ellipses for brevity.
M: What culture(s) do you identify with the most, other than America?
D: I Identify with the Mexican and Mexican American culture.
M: What, in your opinion, are the most fundamental beauty standards for women in America?
D: I think that beauty standards change over time in America and based on what’s trendy. Sometimes it’s being thin and blonde and blue-eyed, sometimes it being ‘slim thick’ or having an hourglass figure, sometimes it’s tan skin and sometimes it’s slanted eyes. Beauty standards change frequently and women are expected to change themselves to fit the image. But sometimes these beauty standards are at the expense of minority cultures–like they pick and choose what they want, take away from their culture. Most of the beauty standards are Eurocentric and based on European beauty ideals.
M: What, in your opinion, are the most fundamental beauty standards for women in your particular culture?
D: These fundamental beauty standards in my culture are having an hourglass, being light-skinned with long dark hair, Indigenous culture and features like being short, stalky and dark skinned are looked down upon sadly in Mexican culture and there’s even whitening or skin lightening creams sold in pharmacies. But then there’s also Mexican American culture that takes pride in being dark-skinned and having Mexican pride in the US which is different from Mexican culture.
M: How do you think these two cultures differ? Has that affected your way of thinking, appearance, self-esteem, etc?
D: They’re mostly similar because Mexico was colonized by the Spanish so most of the Mexican beauty standards are Eurocentric. There’s a region in Mexico called Jalisco where the people fit the beauty standard, they’re tall and pale or light skinned vs. the more Indigenous-rooted states like Oaxaca where people are more dark-skinned and short and are often mocked for being dark-skinned. Mexican American culture however is the fusion of Mexican pride and being born in the US, and there’s a lot of pride because Mexican American struggle facing adversities in the US, but also their community for not being Mexican enough. It’s also known as Chicano culture that embodies the culture hybrid.
M: Do you feel like you fit, or try fitting, into one or the other culture’s standards? Why or why not?
D: I love both cultures and I don’t feel like I’m trying to fit in in any of these cultures because I already identify as it and I don’t see me trying to fit the standard and I haven’t really struggled with race or ethnicity, but I have struggled with weight and feeling the need to be thin or skinny to fit the standard but I’m learning to love myself along the way.
M: How do you think beauty standards affect women? Who do you think is the culprit of the pressure put on them?
D: Beauty standards put them down and makes them compare themselves with others and lowers self-esteem and always changing themselves because beauty standards are also changing, puts women against each other to compete on who’s more prettier and strengthens the patriarchy.
M: When you say that beauty standards pit women against each other and strengthen patriarchy, are you saying that you think patriarchy is the culprit and that beauty standards are systemic? Can you expand on your opinion of this? Do you think BECAUSE women are competing, those who do fit a culture’s standard and pressure this on other women can be seen as a sub-oppressor (feeding into the toxic cycle?)
D: I think that patriarchy strengthens beauty standards and are a main cause because they create beauty standards on how women should look like and therefore are attractive and therefore more men would want them; it also doesn’t just tell women what to look like but also gives gender roles and tells men how to look like and act. And yes, they can be seen as a sub-oppressor but then again they are also a victim of the toxic cycle.
M: Because you mention specifically the lens of cultural appropriation here, I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on how this affects or involves bicultural people such as yourself. do you think, eurocentric beauty standards that take Mexican culture as their own and make it into a trend negatively affect Mexican American women? Do you think, at some point, they would start falling into these trends and consume “americanized” Mexican-inspired clothing?
D: I feel that it creates confusion because I know that most Mexican Americans have faced at least one moment of discrimination because of the color of their skin or some encounter with Eurocentric beauty standards whether it be being called too dark or too short, etc. Since I feel like Mexican culture sort of mirrors American culture because of the eurocentric nature and also because the US is seen as such a glorified place. And so when suddenly the same features you were made fun of as a kid and caused you to be insecure are now a trend, it’s kind of like, “wow, for the first time, I’m being validated but at what cost?”. Also because many women are changing themselves to look like you or even if it’s to look “Mexican American”, it’s not really what most Mexican Americans look like; it’s certain features that white women or society chooses and deems beautiful like dark full eyebrows or big over lined lips. Probably because for the first time their culture is mainstream and the beauty standard but also will make us feel upset because we’ve had this culture for a long time. But adding on from my previous answer, some of us might feel the pressure to purchase Americanized Mexican clothing but others might not and stick to traditional clothing. Kind of like the spa water trend and many Mexican American women were proud of their culture and educating white women on TikTok that their culture isn’t a trend and should stop “discovering” or reclaiming certain foods.
M: Do you know what fast fashion is? What do you think is the general trend of consumerism in America?
D: The general trend of consumerism is social media especially TikTok and what celebrities wear and sometimes take from minorities’ cultures. The general trend is buying cheap clothes from fast fashion brands that people see influencers buy from like when influencers buy a thousand dollar worth of clothes from Shein.
M: Do you follow trends at all? Do you find it hard to keep up with them as they are constantly switching in and out? How do you feel about the potential effects this may have on people’s confidence in their appearance?
D: I kind of follow trends but not really since most of the time I don’t have the money to buy clothes all the time and throw them out or donate them frequently as trends come and go. I usually dress based on my mood and I don’t have one single aesthetic I dressed as but I picked up my main aesthetic and way of dressing from TikTok and it’s kind of trendy, it’s called “acubi”. But I mostly look for basics and timeless pieces that I can reuse again and that I can wear with many different outfits and mostly get neutrals that I can mix and match. I feel like trends can put people down, especially if the trend is kind of mocking or picking and taking from one’s culture and making it trendy, not just clothes but also features like facial features. Culture and one’s facial features aren’t a trend. I feel like minorities aren’t validated until their culture or their demographic becomes trendy and then people, especially white people, try to mimic what they think is beautiful in other races or ethnicities and cultures just for it to change again. Like the fox eye trend, or Hailey Bieber trying to claim that she invented the brown glazed lips when it’s actually part of Latina and Black culture. I feel like white people have more say in what’s trendy and they decide what’s the beauty standards for all women and usually get inspiration from women of color which is frustrating. It’s especially frustrating since there has been a struggle for women of color to be represented in the media, fashion and beauty industry, like darker foundation shades or makeup creators that are POC. Usually POC get hate for doing certain makeup, but when a white person does it, it’s trendy. And when these influencers post these makeup products they go viral and trendy on TikTok and become sold out in stores.
M: Do you mind sending a photo of an outfit that best encapsulates yourself and how you enjoy presenting yourself to others? What cultures do you think your clothes conform to? Do you think your outfit contributes to fast fashion?
D: I think it conforms to the Eurocentric ideal of being tall and thin in order to rock the look and most of the models or people with these outfits on Pinterest are tall pale and skinny. I think it kind of contributes to fast fashion because most of these clothes are on Shein and other sites like Yesstyle but they’re also basics that you can invest in and buy good quality and some of the pieces are timeless and neutrals that you can mix and match. I know some people choose to alter the clothing they already have which is a sustainable and a way of reusing and upcycling something you already have.
Next exhibit: My final thoughts