Intercultural competence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Intercultural competence - Essay Example â€Å"Every period of history held its own standards on what was and was not considered beautiful† (Sullivan 2002). It is unarguably true that ideals of beauty have always changed with time and Men and women have different notions of beauty. Although Geography, race, and culture has played a dominant role in evolving concepts of beauty; Literature, anthropology, history and contemporary views illustrate their diversity in different parts of the world. Never the less culture still remains a deep rooted factor of governance. However globalization, technology and media have become a strong influence over pre existing ideals of beauty. Men’s perceptions of ideals of beauty vis a vis in Africa and Russia differ widely; the comparison brings forth vivid concepts ranging from race, symmetry, skin color, body size and even hair as determinants of beauty evident from literary works of social scientists, psychologists and the surveys of electronic media. Although the concepts of beauty the world over vary in ideals, they can be generalized to quite an extent with reference to those in Russia and also in Africa on the basis of tradition and culture in those countries. Men have always vied beauty differently than their counterpart genders. Occidental vividness in their perception is evident in the study reports of anthropologists. While men in Russia incline towards features of Caucasian race, those in Africa signify African primitiveness in their ideals of beauty. The Russian men may prefer, sharp noses, dark eyes, long flowing strands of hair and dainty build in their women, the In Beauty and Culture the concept of beauty as seen by African men elucidates â€Å"Throughout history, people in every culture have sought to change the natural appearance of their bodies†. â€Å"They reshape, sculpt their bodies and adorn them with paint, cosmetics, clothing