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Latina beauty has come a
long way since the days when the Maya Indians would
bind a newborn infant’s head between two boards for
several days to permanently reshape the skull,
attaining the much-admired sleek and straight
profile that defined perfect beauty then. Today,
frustrated with America’s “perfect beauty” standards
shaped by media images, many Latinas are redefining
beauty on their own terms.
 The
Dove Report: Challenging Beauty, one of the most in-depth
global studies on attitudes about beauty, reveals
that Latinas like what they see in the mirror and
that they derive their self-esteem from non-physical
traits. According to the report, released in 2004,
over half (60 percent) of Latinas interviewed are
happy with the way they look. By contrast, only 2
percent of thousands of women from ten countries
said they considered themselves beautiful.
“The Dove Report indicates that women’s perceptions
of beauty have evolved from traditional ideals that
were often simply unattainable,” says Ana Nogales, a
Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist and author
of Latina Power. “These findings are especially
encouraging as they demonstrate a shift in
consciousness among Latinas who are discovering
their own value and beauty.”
Latinas are defining beauty beyond physical traits.
Seventy-five percent of women, according to the Dove
Report, believe that beauty comes from the spirit
and a love of life, not from someone’s looks. In
fact, 53 percent said that they feel the most
beautiful when spending time with their children, 50
percent when someone thanks them for their help, 39
percent enjoying a hobby and 35 percent simply
dancing.
Although Latinas recognize the importance of
interior beauty, their voice at the cash register
signals a depiction of beauty that is
multidimensional. Studies indicate that in the
purchase of beauty products and shopping for clothes,
Latinas skew higher than others.
“External beauty illuminates the inner beauty and
the inner beauty illuminates the external beauty. We
have to be beautiful inside and outside,” explains
Nydia Payan, Hispanic senior independent national
sales director at Mary Kay. “When a woman feels good
about herself, she takes care of herself.”
In her 23 years with Mary Kay, Payan has observed
the connection between beauty and self-esteem,
especially among immigrant women emerging from jobs
as housekeepers and factory workers or from
addictive situations where they often felt inferior
or fearful.
 “We
begin by helping her see her beauty through a facial
class,” shares Payan. “Step by step, we build her
self-esteem by changing her attitude and helping her
understand that she has worth.” By encouraging and
inspiring her to dream and providing the support to
accomplish her goals, Payan says she has seen
Latinas transformed into radiant, confident and
successful women.
Payan’s experiences affirm the Dove Report’s
findings that indicate that 46 percent of Latinas
feel beautiful when they achieve success and that 81
percent feel most beautiful when they feel loved.
But can Latina beauty prevail in combat fatigues,
too? Sgt. First Class Gloria T. Rascon, 32, who has
served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, guarded the
skies with patriot missiles in Saudi Arabia during
Operation Desert Falcon. Saluting in her combat
fatigues at a petite 5-foot-2 and size 5, Rascon’s
fearless tenacity is balanced with her holistic
approach to beauty. “Many people have a
misconception that women in the military aren’t
interested in makeup, but I like makeup, especially
lipstick.”
“Being in the Army, I stay fit exercising each
morning with the other soldiers, and that helps even
more than makeup,” says Rascon.
“Beauty is what you radiate from the inside and how
you touch other people. It’s what you give to others
and to yourself,” says Rascon. By being in the Army,
she believes she is doing something good for herself
and her country. “I can do anything I want,” she
says with confidence.
While Rascon may defy beauty stereotypes, most
people are exposed to and influenced by traditional
images of beauty. Today the average person is
exposed to 3,000 ads in magazines, on billboards and
on television each day. Studies show that girls who
regularly read magazines tend to diet and base their
body image on photos and messages they find in the
ads of these magazines.
Not surprisingly, the Dove Report shows Latinas’
frustration with the media. Seventy-one percent of
women said they wish the media and advertising could
portray the various physical types of women as
beautiful. Fifty-nine percent of Latinas say media
and advertising set unrealistic standards of beauty
that most women can’t ever achieve.
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From Left to
Right, they are: Ana Nogales, Gloria T.
Rascon and Nydia Payan |
In response to these findings, Dove’s Campaign for
Real Beauty is employing various communication
vehicles—advertising, a website for ongoing dialogue
on beauty (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com),
interactive billboards, panel discussions and a Self-Esteem
Fund. The campaign invites women to join in the
discussion about beauty and share their views of it
with women around the world.
Tabatha Roman, 35, international account coordinator
for Ogilvy & Mather, Dove’s advertising agency, is
featured in Dove’s global ad campaign that questions
whether “model” attributes such as youth, slimness
and symmetrical features are required for beauty.
“The images put out by the media are unhealthy...most
models out there are very unnatural and unhealthy
looking. The Dove campaign definitely changes the
point of view...and shows the media, women and men
of the world that it’s OK to look the way you look,
no matter what it is: big, tall, heavy, skinny. It’s
OK as long as it’s healthy.”
Her 15-year-old daughter reminds her that moms need
to practice what they preach. Roman says “Daughters
see, hear and emulate them [moms] in their diets and
desires for a perfect body and face. How can moms
who are on crash diets and having plastic surgery
say they love their daughters as they are?”
“In the Latino culture, we appreciate more than just
the physical body,” says Roman. “Our grandmas have
the ultimate respect, but it’s not based on how they
look. Many of our grandmothers were larger and
fleshier. And cuddling up to them felt warm and safe.”
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