Asian Females in an Advertising Context: Exploring Skin Tone Tension

Abstract

While the explosive literature on the portrayal of women in advertising has established a multitude of salient issues (e.g. sexual objectification), the skin tone of Asian models in ads and associated cultural underpinnings has not yet been examined. However, given the obsession in various Asian countries with skin whitening for women, it has the potential to be salient in Asian cultures in the United States. The current exploratory study examines the possibility of "skin tone tension" occurring in a diverse Asian sample in the United States and compares Caucasian to Asian reactions to a model's skin tone in a print ad. The results reflect cultural frameworks and provide a preliminary evidentiary starting point for further examination of this issue in various Asian cultures within the United States. Toward that end, extant theory is discussed and a new research agenda to extend such is proposed.Very few issues are as explosive as the portrayal of women in advertising (Ford and LaTour 1993;Kilbourne 2000). Underlying this is the manifestation of feminist consciousness (Ford and LaTour 1996). The growth of such thinking provides a lens for viewing advertising phenomena as a means for the dehumanization of women, reduction of a human female to a sum of body parts, setting of unrealistic beauty standards, promotion of anorexia and bulimia, and supporting of violence toward women (Ford, LaTour, and Middleton 1999).Our exploratory study of Asian skin tone in ads builds on the robust literatures focusing on female role portrayals in advertising (cf. Ford, LaTour, and Middleton 1999;Reichert et al. 2007), extensions of this to cross-cultural contexts (Ford, LaTour, and Honeycutt 1997;Ford, LaTour, and Clarke 2004), and cultural-focused works on skin tone of women, primarily in Asian cultures (cf. Ashikari 2005;Baumann 2008;Li et al. 2008). In Asian cultures, despite the diversity therein, the lightness of skin tone of women is bordering on obsession (Li et al. 2008). Given centuries of highly male-dominated (patriarchal), deep-rooted cultural values formation (Ford, LaTour, and

Emerging masculinities in Chinese luxury social media marketing

“…Advertising studies confirm the favorable consumer response to fair-skinned models and skin-whitening products. In general, Asian males evaluated an advertisement more positively when it featured a lighter-skinned than a darker-skinned female Asian (Krishen et al, 2014). Roughly 30 percent of Hong Kong television commercials advertise skin-whitening products (Leong, 2006).…”

“…In contrast, they believe darker-skinned Asian women are coarse, unsophisticated and less beautiful menial laborers. First-and second-generation Asian immigrants to Western countries maintain this entrenched fair-skin beauty ideal; for example, US-resident Asians, especially women, desire lighter skin (Krishen et al, 2014). However, this ideal does not pertain to Western culture, as US-residing Caucasians desire darker skin (Krishen et al, 2014) and British men and women do not believe whiteness reflects social status or femininity (Leong, 2006).…”

“…The Asian preference for lighter skin affects consumers' responses to advertisements featuring lighter-vs darker-skinned models (Cuny and Opaswongkarn, 2016;Krishen et al, 2014). Therefore, model skin tone may moderate behavior responses to masculinity portrayals:…”

The Unfair Selection: A Study on Skin-Color Bias in Arranged Indian Marriages

“…Although studies examining colorism have restricted their research to African American individuals, there is growing evidence for an overwhelming preference for fair skin over dark-skin in Asian countries. "Whiteness" or having white skin is considered an important element in constructing female beauty in Asian cultures (Baumann, 2008;Krishen, LaTour, & Alishah, 2014;Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, & Bahl, 2008). According to Glenn (2008), skin-lightening products are common across many Asian cultures.…”

Carotenoid skin colouration enhances face and body attractiveness: A cross-cultural study

“…It is possible that the social norms in Chinese culture favouring a fairer skin tone may have somewhat attenuated the preference for high carotenoid colouration, specifically in faces in the Chinese population. Studies have suggested that males and females from Asian regions, including Hong Kong, prefer light skin tones in both the same and the opposite sex (Krishen, LaTour, & Alishah, 2014; Leong, 2006; Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, & Bahl, 2008). And advertisements for face skin-whitening products or medical beauty services are ubiquitous in Hong Kong and other Asian countries.…”