by Saki Hirama

Today, the world is more globalized, and more and more people, culture, religion, things, and money are spreading over the countries. We can find cell phones, TV, computers, and also McDonald’s in almost every country. So, what is globalization? For me, globalization seems like the westernization of the world because it spreads things that are made by western countries in most cases. Moreover, westernization reaches people, like many people including Japanese want to be like western people. Especially, recent Japanese women are westernized by globalization.

In Japan, many women dye their hair and wear makeup and they envy long legs or arms. I think these features come from image of the Western. Unconsciously, we came to have the idea that western outlook is good and beautiful, bright skin, blond hair, big eyes, blue eyes and nice shape of body. In fact, models in magazines for young women often look like westerners, and it might be one reason for westernizing Japanese women. However, we have to remind ourselves that this phenomenon sometimes brings health damage. For instance, some Japanese women put colored contact lens in their eyes to make them blue or big, but it sometimes hurts their eyes. And there is the way to make eyes bigger that put eye liner as close to mucous membrane as possible, but it also hurt their eyes.

While Japanese women mimic western women, it is a famous story that western men like Japanese women. It is said that they are fascinated by black hair and sharp eyes, but also they are surprised at too much makeup Japanese women do. So there is the gap about pretty Japanese women between themselves and others. However, many of Japanese women have complex with their outlook especially small eyes and flat faces so they cannot stop using makeup, and I think these complexes are come from the adoration of the West.

I cannot say “stop westernizing your face” because I am one of the women who want to make eyes bigger. I think western women who have big eyes, sculptured face and long legs and arms are beautiful. Globalization might change concept of beauty in Japan. It means that women who have small eyes and round face like otafuku were considered as beautiful women in Japan in the past. On the other hand, the image of beautiful women in today’s Japan is like western women, and the concept flowed into Japan with progress in globalization. Although I think the Western is cool, it is sad that if we totally lose Japanese beauty. So I think we should find reconsider about Japanese beauty and figure out Westernized Japanese beauty as a new concept.