Asians no longer go under the knife to look 'white'
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Shanghai Daily, November 22, 2011
Mixed children
But these days those mixed children's features are coveted by many wealthy people in Saigon and Hanoi. They want their noses, eyes, lips, and would save a fortune to go under the knife to look like them.
Or take Japanese animation.
While Japanese cartoons and comic books are taking the world over by storm - and are a source of pride for Japan - on closer inspection, one wonders if such pride is justified.
Characters in popular anime, such as like Inu Yahsa or Yugi Oh or Naruto, to name a few, all have round, large eyes that are often blue or green, and their hair is blond, brown or red.
Japan, even as it struggles to make itself a global political player, by the look of its manga and anime, seems strangely beholden to the visage of their World War II conquerors.
In Korea, one in 10 adults have had some sort of cosmetic surgery procedure. China, since a ban on cosmetic surgery was lifted in 2001, is now experiencing a boom in the cosmetic surgery industry.
There are more than 10,000 medical institutions for cosmetic surgery and the industry is thriving. There is even, since 2004, a Miss Plastic Surgery beauty contest.
However, there is a new "look East" movement underway - a growing Asian social consciousness in the United States and Asia. Plastic surgeons have begun to develop techniques to preserve ethnic characteristics and retain their identity.
The changes are now more subtle: the nose is no longer as pointy, and doctors are not removing as much fat near the lower eyelid to avoid the Caucasian look.
"Ethnic correctness" is the new catch phrase in cosmetic surgery, reports Anna M. Park in Audrey Magazine, a fashion magazine for Asian-American readers. "With a growing appreciation for diversity and a higher social awareness come advances in technique and deeper understanding of the anatomy of the Asian eye, resulting in more ethnically sensitive procedures."
A Chinese American friend, who has had excess fat removed from her eyelids, told me she never thought she wanted to "look white." "In fact, I wanted to look natural but better. So if no one noticed I had it done, then that's great." It was the older generation, she said, that was obsessed with "looking like Audrey Hepburn and Kim Novak."
It also helps that many young Asian entertainers have resisted cosmetic surgery. Korean pop stars have been the rage in Asia as well as among Asian immigrants in America, and on top of that food chain is the 27-year-old superstar Rain, whose classic Korean features haven't deterred fans in the least. He's the biggest thing in Asia since Michael Jackson, sans the plastic surgery knife.
And Zhang Ziyi ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), Sandra Oh ("Sideways" and "Grey's Anatomy") and Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels"), to name a few, are famous actresses with very distinctive Asian features.
These days I take comfort in knowing that there are more people who look like me in the world than not. Having traveled throughout Asia over the years, my sense of beauty has become pluralized, and is no longer limited to a singular ideal.
And despite having felt slightly "dissed" by Rosie O'Donnell's "Ching Chong" comment, I must say I've been inspired by her in the past.
She refuses the pressure of Hollywood's standards of beauty, its liposuctions and chin tucks, even as she lives in the glaring limelight. She has grown into her own skin.
And so have I.
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