User blog:OneEmoticon/Ugly Beauty - Breakdown edition

"Ugly Beauty " is a track by C-Pop queen, Jolin Tsai. Released in 2018 in the eponymous album, the routine features three beautiful women in Greco-Roman fashion and setting place in an Ancient Greek temple situated within the ocean, an allusion to Atlantis (maybe) and the Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite.

I get it, many of us hate the routine because it is either mediocre at best, doesn't use the official choreo (yes, there is one and it is surprisingly harder than many K-Pop ones)... and it goes against the message and theme. Now, I am one of those people who were upset that Ubi decided to release the stereotypical beautiful ladies to dance, with the added beauty with Aphrodite's influence to the mix. However, I became curious with the beauty standards within the Ancient Greek society so I decided to do a little research about it.

Contrary to many popular belief, these lovely ladies... are ugly within the Ancient Greek society. Here are the reasons:

1. Skin and Face
Ignoring the lack of facial features that were present among the coaches, these ladies were considered beautiful since they have white skin. Ancient Greek women were considered very beautiful if they have pale of white skin because "was a sign of prestige and beauty. It meant women (and men) didn’t have to work for long hours in the fields to support themselves. They were wealthy – the proof was on their skin (literally)."

However, the coaches themselves lack makeup. In the present world, there is a wild craze about "natural beauty" although it was done with "unnatural" methods. Ancient Greek women, however, loved makeup. The problem is, Just Dance coaches don't have any makeup. Now these ladies are considered to be ugly! Tragic as they have a pale skin but they lack any good makeup! Oh well, besides it is worth it because said makeup is usually made with stuff such as red iron oxide, red orche clay, olive oil, beewax, powdered chalk and white lead.

As a bonus: they are also beautiful if they have a unibrow! Yes, a unibrow! In fact, Ed will be considered handsome because of his big ol' unibrow if he is transfered to Ancient Greece!

2. Hair
We had no idea if these ladies are single, slaves or somewhere between the lines.

"In Ancient Greece, only female slaves wore their hair short. Free women had long hair, but could only wear it loose until they remained single. The moment they tied the knot, they’d tie it up, usually in a bun. If it was straight, they’d curl it. Diadem, jeweled combs, hair pins, scarfs, and other accessories completed the look.

''Just like dark skin, dark hair wasn’t appreciated And most women had dark hair. So, they would lighten that too. How? By applying vinegar throughout their locks, and then sitting for hours in the sun. To prevent a tan, they’d wear broad-brimmed hats with a hole in the middle."''

So? It means that these ladies are in the 50/50 area. Sure they may have some hair accessories, but was their hair within the lighter colors? Ignoring the bizarre hair colors, P1 and P3 may fit the bill, but poor P2 isn't going to be in it. Her purple fishtail is just too dark to be part of the beautiful criteria!

3. Body Shape
During this time period, the ideal woman was plump (A-plus) and full-bodied. As in, plump women. These coaches look nothing like that and would be called ugly because of their skinny bodies!

4. Others
This is probably a more controversial fact:

"Hesiod - an 8th/7th Century BC author whose works were as close as the Greeks got to a bible - described the first created woman simply as kalon kakon - "the beautiful-evil thing". She was evil because she was beautiful, and beautiful because she was evil. Being a good-looking man was fundamentally good news. Being a handsome woman, by definition, spelt trouble."

Poor women were nothing more but evil creatures just because they are beautiful. Want another reference where in beautiful women were protrayed as villians (Greek goddesses are in a different category)? Circe, a character in Odyssey, who is an antagonist to the main character. In fact,  Ancient Greece worshiped the male form, going so far as to proclaim that women’s bodies were ‘disfigured’ versions of men’s, which results with men's beauty having a higher standard than women.

Conclusion
Within our modern society, these women are beautiful and their presence within the routine defeats Ugly Beauty's message. But within actual Ancient Greece, these women look hideous and should be called ugly unless they conform to their standards. While this may be my own interpretation, these coaches ironically fit in the theme and message with the song because they ARE ugly in Ancient Greek standards yet they are more proud of it and have a dance within an Ancient Greek temple!

Of course, everyone has a different look and viewpoint to the routine, but this is so far the best explanation that I can give to fit in the logic of the coaches; applying some part of actual ancient culture and use it to justify the coaches' involvement. The routine is in another category, but for now, I am focusing on these coaches and the standards of beauty, topics which were covered in Ugly Beauty.

Reference
[https://www.beautifulwithbrains.com/beauty-history-cosmetics-in-ancient-greece/ 1. BEAUTY HISTORY: COSMETICS IN ANCIENT GREECE]

[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30746985 2. Would you be beautiful in the ancient world?]

[https://www.scienceofpeople.com/ideal-body-types-throughout-history/ 3. Body Types Through History]

[http://worldexpogreece.weebly.com/beauty-in-ancient-greece.html 4. Beauty in Ancient Greece]