Changes in the African American female profile as depicted in fashion magazines during the 20th century

Yehezkel S., Turley P.K. AJODO 2004:Volume 125,Number 4

 Reviewed by: Rafi Romano D.M.D., M.Sc Israel

www.lingualnews.com Vol 2 No. 1, May 2004

This study evaluated changes in the profiles of African American women presented in fashion magazines during the 20th century.
In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on facial esthetics as an important outcome of orthodontic treatment. Although facial esthetics has always been a part of orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, the criteria for facial evaluation have been arbitrary and based on parameters from the field of art or from evaluating faces chosen by orthodontists or other professionals.
Most recently, there is evidence that the public view of facial beauty was not constant but continuously changing throughout the 20th century.

The preference for fuller lips is in contrast to previously held concepts that a flatter profile is considered most attractive. Especially for African Americans, facial beauty seemed to depend on the features that were similar to those of whites.
Nguyen and Turley evaluated the facial profiles of white and African American models and their respective "normal" and their results confirmed that white models had much fuller lips than normal white people.
Most surprising was the finding that African American models and normal African Americans had almost identical profiles; this suggests that previously held concepts of beauty in the African American face had changed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether, similar to the white esthetic profile, the African American profile displayed in fashion magazines has changed with time.

Material and methods
Photographs from leading African American fashion magazines of the 20th century, obtained from the University of California-Los Angeles Research Library, were reviewed. A total of 6360 magazine issues, published between 1902 and 1999, were reviewed. Twenty-six variables were measured on a total of 119 profile photographs collected from various fashion magazines published in the 1940s through the 1990s. The photographs were divided into 6 groups corresponding to the decade in which they were published

Once the photographs were oriented and sized, the following points were identified and marked on each (Fig. 2):

1. Soft-tissue glabella (SGLB): the most prominent or anterior point in the midsagittal plane of the forehead at the level of the superior orbital ridges.
2. Soft tissue nasion (SFN): the most concave point of the tissue overlying the area of the frontonasal suture.
3. Pronasale (PRN): the most prominent or anterior point on the midsagittal profile of the nose.
4. Subnasale (SN): a point located at the junction between the lower border of the nose and the beginning of the upper lip at the midsagittal plane.
5. Soft-tissue A-point (A´): the deepest point on the upper lip determined by a line joining SN with the labrale superius.
6. Labrale superius (LS): the most anterior point on the margin of the membranous lip.
7. Stomion (St): the median point of the oral embrasure when the lips are closed.
8. Laberale inferius (LI): the most anterior point on the margin of the lower membranous lip.
9. Soft-tissue B-point (B´): the point at the deepest concavity between the LI and the soft-tissue pogonion.
10. Soft-tissue pogonion (PG´): The most prominent or anterior point of the soft-tissue chin in the midsagittal plane.
11. Soft-tissue menton (ME´): The most inferior point on the soft-tissue chin.
12. Lip commissure point (Lc).

The following esthetic lines were used to asses the profile: S-Steiner line and E-Esthetic plane. (Fig 4)

A 1-way analysis of variance was performed, and between-group differences were examined with a Tukey multiple comparison procedure.

Significant between-group differences (P < .01) were found for anteroposterior lip position, nasolabial angle, and interlabial angle, with increased fullness and more anteriorly positioned lips in the more recent decades.

No significant differences were found for the frontonasal angle, the nasal tip angle, and the relationship of the chin to the upper face (total facial angle).

Conclusion: The purpose of this study was to examine changes in representations of the ideal African American female soft tissue profile during the 20th century. Similar to the esthetic white profile, no significant changes were observed in the upper part of the African American esthetic profile. However, the middle and lower parts of the face showed statistically significant changes with time. These differences were more clearly defined when the first 3 decades studied (1940s-1960s) were compared with the next 3 decades (1970s-1990s). In the most recent groups, the lips were fuller and more anteriorly positioned, and the nasolabial angle was more acute, yet little difference was noted in overall profile convexity (TFA). It seems that the public now prefers greater profile convexity and lip prominence in the African American profile than in previous studies.

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Adult and Lingual Orthodontics
EDITORS:
Dr. Silvia Geron D.M.D., M.Sc
Dr. Rafi Romano D.M.D., M.Sc
Dr. Pablo Echarri D.M.D., M.Sc