Achieving beauty and attractiveness across cultures What is beauty? Beauty is defined as “the quality of being physically attractive or qualities in a person or thing that give pleasure to the senses or mind” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2014, para. 1). Heine (2012) found that beauty and attractiveness can vary from one culture to another. However, there are specific characteristics of a person that seem to be considered beautiful and attractive across all cultural spectrums. These characteristics are: complexion, bilateral symmetry, average-sized facial features, and biracial faces. However, the weight in terms of attractiveness and beauty varies drastically between cultures. Through this finding, there may be a correlation between the perception of beauty and attractiveness in each culture and its effects on body dissatisfaction and rates of eating disorders. Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? We will examine how what is considered attractive and beautiful can have similarities and differences between cultures. Additionally, we will look at eating disorders and how they are influenced by beauty standards set in specific cultures. Who defines beauty? First, we need to reflect on a couple of questions: who defines beauty in today's culture and society? Does the mass media industry define beauty? Wherever we find advertisements, commercials, television programs, films, magazines, etc., someone tells us what “beauty” is. The allure of celebrities and the beauty they exude certainly influences the beauty that those in Western culture strive to be and are attracted to. Television, movies, magazines, and advertising from Western culture have influenced cultures around the world. Because of the high i...... half of the document ......icology (2nd ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Merriam-Webster. (2014). Definition of beauty. Merriam Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beautyNasser, M. (2006). Eating disorders across cultures. Psychiatry, 5(11), 392-395. National Institute of Mental Health. (2014). What are eating disorders?. NIMH. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/what-are-eating-disorders.shtmlSoh, N.L., Touyz, S.W., & Surgenor, L.J. (2006). Eating and body image disorders across cultures: A review. European Review of Eating Disorders, 14(1), 54-65. doi:10.1002/erv.678Soh, N., Surgenor, L. J., Touyz, S., & Walter, G. (2007). Eating disorders between two cultures: does the expression of psychological control vary?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41(4), 351-358. doi:10.1080/00048670701213278