Ancient Beauty: Finding Representation in the Past
When it comes to modern beauty standards, Cambodia is no different from their Southeast Asian neighbors. The preference for light skin, slender faces and slender bodies is real, damaging, and far off from the beauty ideals of its ancient days. I realized, as I looked at photos after photos of ancient Khmer statues and bas reliefs, that Khmer folks could find more representation in our past rather than in our present.
I remember visiting the National Museum of Cambodia a second time (when I was a junior in high school) and stopping in front of a statue of a female figure (maybe a Hindu deity and if so, I forget which one). I remember reading the information plaque that described the statue and how it had mentioned that the lines on the figure’s neck (and maybe also stomach and the space beneath the breasts) was considered a beauty standard at the time. I thought it was an intriguing fact and it stuck with me. In a time where being free of stretch marks, cellulite, and even visible veins is considered a benchmark for flawless beauty, it made me admire that little known fact even more — to know that simple lines on one’s body (and in more than one area) was once the norm in my culture and not something to be ashamed of.
Seeing pictures of ancient statues and their human-like figures is a stark contrast to the current figures that can be seen all over Cambodia’s ads and beauty commercials. There’s a kind of solace to be found within them and their wide-ranging features. Thick lips. Wide lips. Wide noses. Cleft chins. Thick legs. Small eyes. Big eyes. Round faces. Square faces. And even what appears to be unibrows.
In the post-Angkor period, we see a slight shift towards more slender figures with longer faces and noses, almost whimsical-like and more delicate, but still in line with Khmer elements. Contemporary Khmer art has also been experiencing shifts; I see more artists drawing their own versions of the past, celebrating and recognizing the beauty standards of that time. One of my favorite contemporary Khmer artists in the scene is Khun whose women figures strays far away from the slim figure ideals that we’re bombarded with daily.
Cambodia has yet to ignite a beauty revolution — where dark skin, naturally curly hair, blemishes, and wide noses are socially accepted features rather than something that needs to be altered in order to fit in. Perhaps the Khmer diaspora can help lead this change, where our different body types and features are are often more readily accepted and celebrated and how we don’t have the same strong desire for light skin compared to our fellow Khmers in Cambodia. And also for the time being, we can find solace in our past, when beauty standards were different and where our features are represented across numerous statues and bas reliefs — you’re bound to find a face and/or body type that looks similarly to yours.
