Comparative study in Japan and China concerning aspiration of Asian women towards quality of skin fairness

Miho Saito; Junko Matsumoto; Akira Date; Junfang Li

doi:10.1117/12.464607

6 June 2002 Comparative study in Japan and China concerning aspiration of Asian women towards quality of skin fairness

Miho Saito, Junko Matsumoto, Akira Date, Junfang Li

Proceedings Volume 4421, 9th Congress of the International Colour Association; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.464607
Event: 9th Congress of the International Color Association, 2001, Rochester, NY, United States

Abstract

Beauty is a world common aspiration, but perceptions of what make a woman beautiful vary across culture and countries. A series of Saito's studies indicated that unlike much of the Western world, in Asia, one common desire is fairer skin tone that epitomizes feminine beauty. Using 105 Japanese women and 105 Chinese women as subjects, a comparative study concerning aspiration of Asian Women toward skin fairness was conducted. In this study, four real skin photo images that have skin tone variations (fair/dark) and skin texture variations (rough/smooth) were used. The fifty-two words describe personality were shown to the subject. The subjects were required to match a suitable skin photo image to the descriptive words. The overall result between China and Japan were very consistent. Both in China and Japan, fairer skin tone with smoother skin texture was accepted very positively. Fairer skin tone with rougher texture tends to provide passive and conservative impression while smoother skin texture with darker skin tone tends to provide friendly and delight impression. The results suggested that in addition to skin tone, the skin texture plays an important role for the personal impressions and it works as a trigger to enhance 'ideal skin fairness' for Asian women.

Citation Download Citation

Miho Saito, Junko Matsumoto, Akira Date, and Junfang Li "Comparative study in Japan and China concerning aspiration of Asian women towards quality of skin fairness", Proc. SPIE 4421, 9th Congress of the International Colour Association, (6 June 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.464607

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