The study of facial features, particularly within the context of race, is a multifaceted topic that touches on aesthetics, social perceptions, and even historical biases. This article delves into the characteristics of African American facial features, examining how they are perceived in terms of attractiveness and how societal stereotypes can influence these judgments.
Subjective Facial Analysis and Attractiveness
One study evaluated facial attractiveness in 30 black individuals using Subjective Facial Analysis criteria. Frontal and profile view photographs were classified as esthetically unpleasant, acceptable, or pleasant by 50 evaluators, including the individuals themselves, orthodontists, and laypersons.
Most photographs were classified as esthetically acceptable: 53.5% in the frontal view and 54.9% in the profile view. The structures most often identified as esthetically unpleasant were the mouth, lips, and face in the frontal view, and the nose and chin in the profile view. Conversely, harmony, face, and mouth were considered esthetically pleasant in the frontal view, while harmony and nose were deemed pleasant in the profile view.
Interestingly, the ratings by the sample group and laymen showed a statistically significant correlation in both views.
Facial Characteristics in Orthodontics
In orthodontics, diagnosis involves analyzing facial features through clinical examination, cephalometric analysis, and cast models. Research has indicated that black individuals often exhibit a bimaxillary protrusion.
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One study that evaluated 100 photographs reported that black individuals, particularly men, tend to have a more protrusive soft tissue profile than Caucasians. Another study that evaluated 120 pictures of black and Caucasian women, both models and non-models, from fashion magazines concluded that the facial profiles of black models and non-models were similar, but those of the Caucasian women were significantly different, with models presenting more prominent lips.
Evaluations of silhouettes have also shown a preference for a more convex profile and greater lip protrusion for black individuals.
The Role of Subjective Perception
Facial attractiveness is often judged by the harmony of facial characteristics, regardless of skeletal proportions. Understanding the preferred esthetic standards for black individuals, from their own perspective, as well as that of orthodontists and lay people, is crucial.
The main objective of the research was to understand the preferred esthetic standards for black individuals, from the perspective of their own opinion (black people from the sample), orthodontists and lay people. Another objective was to identify the most important facial features responsible for the attractiveness. Accurate diagnosis requires a clear understanding of what is considered normal, and it is essential to establish a consensus regarding the goals between doctors and patients, to achieve the most esthetic treatment results.
The study comprised 30 Brazilian black individuals (15 males and 15 females), with a mean age of 31.19 years. Participants had lip competence, no skeletal discrepancies or asymmetries, and no previous facial or orthognathic surgery.
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Photographs of all individuals were obtained and assessed by 50 evaluators: the 30 individuals from the sample, 10 orthodontists, and 10 laymen. Evaluators assigned scores to each picture, classifying them as esthetically unpleasant, acceptable, or pleasant.
Findings on Facial Attractiveness
The sample group classified 18.3% of the frontal view photographs as unpleasant, 56.8% as acceptable, and 24.9% as pleasant. For the profile view, the classifications were 19.1% unpleasant, 60% acceptable, and 20.9% pleasant. The laymen's classifications were similar, while orthodontists tended to be more critical, particularly of profile views.
In frontal view photographs, mouth, nose, ear, and eye were most frequently cited as esthetically unpleasant by the sample group; mouth, nose, eye, and ear by laymen; and face and lips by orthodontists. In profile view photographs, nose, mouth, and chin were most frequently cited as esthetically unpleasant by the sample group; chin and nose by laymen; and profile, mandible, lower face and bimaxillary protrusion, by orthodontists.
In frontal view photographs, face, harmony, mouth, eye, lips, chin, and nose were most frequently cited as esthetically pleasant by the sample group; face, mouth, harmony, and eye by laymen; and harmony, face, and eye by orthodontists. In profile view photographs, profile, face, nose, mouth, and chin were most frequently cited as esthetically pleasant by the sample group; harmony, nose, and face by laymen; and harmony and profile by orthodontists.
Stereotypes and Bias in Face Perception
Faces judged as stereotypically Black are often perceived negatively. Research has explored how facial features like nose width, lip fullness, and skin reflectance influence judgments of dominance, threat, and stereotypicality.
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One study found that stereotypicality was related to a wide nose, darker reflectance, and, to a lesser extent, full lips. Threat was associated with a wide nose, thin lips, and low reflectance, while dominance was mainly linked to nose width.
Black men with stereotypically Black features are often judged more negatively and more criminal in real-world and laboratory settings than are their counterparts who possess more atypical features. For example, Black men who were misidentified as the perpetrator in a crime, incarcerated, and later exonerated based on DNA evidence (i.e., factually innocent), were judged by an independent sample of people as being more stereotypically Black than were Black exonerates who were falsely incarcerated for reasons other than eyewitness identification error.
These findings suggest a bias to associate certain face-types with negative actions. Discussions around what drives this bias suggest that stereotypically Black features may activate negative racial stereotypes that can result in associations with fear.
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The Absence of Racial Correlation in Aesthetic Faces
Interestingly, a study involving a database of aesthetic female faces found that while there were commonalities in facial dimensions, these did not correlate with racial demographics. This suggests that aesthetic faces share certain features that transcend racial categories, differing from the general population.
PCA clustering illustrated some grouping by latent space parameters for facial dimensions but there was no correlation with racial demographics within this clustering. Conversely, 3D space models using cluster centroids illustrated a clear commonality of facial features within the aesthetic face cohort, which differed from facial features of the general population.
This study sought and gained ethical approval from the University College London department of experimental psychology. An extensive review of the literature on the database PubMed (National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD) was carried out during May 2022.
The 2870 aesthetic female face database had a proportional representation of racial demographics as the baseline general population database of 10,000 faces.
Historical Context and Social Constructs
It’s crucial to recognize that the concept of "race" is a social construct. The diversity within groups identified as a single race can be vast. For example, African Americans exhibit a wide range of physical traits. Historical practices like the "one-drop rule" highlight the arbitrary nature of racial classifications.
The first minstrel shows were performed in 1830s New York by white performers with blackened faces (most used burnt cork or shoe polish) and tattered clothing who imitated and mimicked enslaved Africans on Southern plantations. These performances characterized blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual, and prone to thievery and cowardice. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, known as the “Father of Minstrelsy,” developed the first popularly known blackface character, “Jim Crow” in 1830.
Blackface performances grew particularly popular between the end of the Civil War and the turn-of-the century in Northern and Midwestern cities, where regular interaction with African Americans was limited. White racial animus grew following Emancipation when antebellum stereotypes collided with actual African Americans and their demands for full citizenship including the right to vote. The influence of minstrelsy and racial stereotyping on American society cannot be overstated.
New media ushered minstrel performances from the stage, across radio and television airwaves, and into theaters. Blackface and the codifying of blackness- language, movement, deportment, and character-as caricature persists through mass media and in public performances today.
Conclusion
The study of African American facial features reveals a complex interplay between objective measurements, subjective perceptions, and societal biases. While certain features may be statistically more prevalent, judgments of attractiveness are highly individual and influenced by cultural context. Recognizing the social construct of race and challenging stereotypes are essential for promoting a more equitable and inclusive understanding of beauty.
| Evaluator Group | View | Unpleasant (%) | Acceptable (%) | Pleasant (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample Group | Frontal | 18.3 | 56.8 | 24.9 |
| Profile | 19.1 | 60.0 | 20.9 | |
| Laymen | Frontal | 23.3 | 53.0 | 23.7 |
| Profile | 23.0 | 53.3 | 23.7 | |
| Orthodontists | Frontal | 26.7 | 44.3 | 29.0 |
| Profile | 38.7 | 41.3 | 20.0 |
