One section deals with how “racialised whiteness” has defined beauty standards around the world.
It argues that “categorisations of racialised beauty have been a tool of colonial violence”, adding that: “The idea that light skin is more beautiful than dark skin is the consequence of colonisation and racist Western beauty norms in many contexts.”
Other displays in the show include an examination of the improbable proportion of Barbie dolls, and how selfies have been used to show off physical appearance in recent years.
The Wellcome Collection previously caused controversy in 2022 when it shut down a gallery titled Medicine Man, calling the collection gathered by its own founder “racist, sexist and ableist”.
A spokesman for the Wellcome Collection said: “Wellcome Collection is a free museum committed to sharing different perspectives on health, medicine and human experience. The Cult of Beauty exhibition includes artworks and objects that explore a wide range of ideas and experiences of beauty throughout history, and how these relate to health and the human body.
“There are content advisory notes throughout the exhibition, including at the beginning of the ‘Bodily Autonomy’ section, which includes the material that you are referring to. This section considers lived experience of body transformation and self-image, and how these relate to ideas of beauty. For example, it also includes medical and stylised images of cosmetic surgery. As this section contains images of surgery, and human tissue, the advisory notes are in place for people who would prefer to avoid them.
“The items on display from transgender artists and contributors in The Cult of Beauty illustrate how they personally perceive beauty and are just some of the different perspectives presented in the exhibition. We want our trans visitors, partners and employees to be able to live as themselves, feel welcomed in our spaces and be reflected in the stories we share.”
