SparklingWaves
Well-known member
Erasing Ethnicity - Has the craze for a more Westernized look sparked a global identity crisis?
Around the world, the desire for pert features, pin-straight hair, and a willowy physique--those dubious emblems of American beauty and success--is driving a multibillion-dollar industry. From eyelid surgery to leg lengthening and calf-narrowing, it seems there is little some women won’t do to achieve that iconic look. In this supposed age of multiculturalism, why are we trying so hard to obscure our origins.
Why it’s done: About 50% of Pacific Asians do not have an upper-eyelid crease. For those who do, the crease falls about 7mm above the lash line, whereas Caucasians, the crease falls about 11 mm above. How it works, Procedure Length, Recovery time, Cost, Origin, & How Common --data is included in original article).
Suchin Pak, MTV News Correspondent. My mother is one of the few Korean women with natural eyelid crease--that skin fold a centimeter wide just above the lash line. Growing up, I was taught to believe that eyes with creases are prettier because they are bigger, more open. I have early memories of being passed around the table, with everyone giving input on how thick or thin my fold should be It was a never a question of if I should have eyelid surgery, but whether it would be done in Korea or the U.S.
Like so many Asian families, mine believes that the more Western you look, the more successful you’ll be. No wonder I spent most of my teens using theatrical glue and Scotch tape on my eyelids to fake that fold-- a trick I learn from the girl at church.
None of my non-Asian friends understood why I wanted eyelid surgery. But in Korea, it’s just another life step: You get a degree, you get a job, you get your eyes done. It’s about trying to succeed in a global culture where people look and sound very different than they do in your native country.
Getting cast as a TV report at 18 made , me consider the surgery even more seriously. It seemed like a little thing I could do to help my career. I just couldn’t come to terms with whom I was getting it for, so I kept putting it off.
Now, after working in this industry for over 10 years, I’ve learned to appreciate how different I look, although sometime I can’t help but wonder whether I should have gone through with the surgery. But I’d hate to look back and think I had found myself insufficient just because I didn’t have eyelids with folds.
In the past five years, the number of plastic surgeries performed on minorities jumped 65%--compared with an increase of 38% for the overall population. Why the spike in minority candidates? Higher incomes and access to a wider range of ethnic-specific techniques. (Chart data included in original article).
In an attempt to preserve traditional Eastern looks, plastic surgery was banned in China until 2001. Now, it’s a $2.4-billion a year business. Add Japan, which spends $18.4 million on plastic surgery annually, and India, where cosmetic surgery has experienced a 15% growth in the past three years and Asia is now the world‘s second-largest plastic-surgery hub. The U.S. is still in the lead, with its whopping $8.4 billion industry.
In June 2007, the first ever tanning salon opened in Beijing. Called DB Salon, it serves legions of women under 30 with strangely specific goal to have the caramel coloring of American pop princess Christina Aguilera.
India, Bollywood stars are going for the burnt sienna hue one sees in Malibu, achievable only via a bottle. And in Japan, bronzing goods account for $140 million in sales. Has the West’s fixation with tanning finally challenged the East’s centuries - old belief that pale skin is synonymous with high social standing?
Why its done: In general, Asian women have shorter legs and thicker calves than Caucasian women. These features are though to be unsightly in their culture some refer to them as “radish legs“
(How it works, Potential Shrinkage, cost, Most Popular In, Risks --data included in original article).
Why it’s done: The Chinese are so height-conscious, job and even schools, often post height requirements. To apply for the foreign ministry, women must be 5’3” (the national average), whereas flight attendants must be at least 5’5”. As a result, being tall--or short-- can have a direct impact one’s livelihood. (How It Works, Range of Growth--data included in original article).
When Ines Ligroin (5’9”) was hired by Donald Trump 10 yrs ago to pull Japan out of its Miss Universe slump (the country hadn‘t spawned a winner in 48 yrs), she jumped at the chance. A former IMG modeling agency promoter, French-born Ligron trained the Japanese contestants to adopt typically Western practices like sitting up straight, making eye contact, and tanning. Part of her program is even spent emulating the body language and pronunciation of characters from shows like Sex and the City. “Japanese culture places an emphasis on blending in and thinking like a group,” says Ligron. “I teach them to stand out, be different, and show their personality.” This year, the well-trained 20-year-old Riyo Mori snagged the title. But instead of praise, the media focused on her failure to represent, Japanese culture, which adovacates being cute, pale, and submissive. Ligron, however, doesn’t care: “My market is young, cool, hip, fashionable people. You cannot please everyone.” She adds, “I have a lot of women supporters--my enemies are men. They are afraid of powerful women”.
Top countries for breast augmentation: Spain, Italy, U.K., Sweden, Finland, India, Norway, Slovenia. In the U.S., the procedure ranks #1 for Hispanics and #2 for Asian-Americans among minorities.
Blonde Ambition - While only about 2% of the world population is born blonde, the rest are still going for the gold: 34% of the hair dye sold in the U.S. last year was blonde & 80% of Koreans in their 20s lighten their hair.
Debbye Turner CBS, Robin Roberts ABC, Pam Oliver FOX, Tamron Hall MSNBC, Lola Ogunnaike CNN
Jami Floyd, anchor, court TV’s Jami Floyd: Best Defense. I have “bad hair.” Which doesn’t mean I’m having a bad-hair day. In the black community, it means kinky, tight curls that require braiding, combing, and skilled management, “Good,’ on the other hand, means it’s closer in texture to white hair. Whether or not black women should try to achieve this Anglo-Saxon ideal is a fraught issue--one that’s amplified if you work on tv.
When I first got into this business in the mid-’90s, I felt I had to relax my hair. Network new is traditional. I love my job, but it’s a competitive field, and you have to make hard choices. When you’re an on-air personality, managing your image is part of the job. I’ve seen reporters on major networks who have gone on the air with curly hair--likely when they’re reporting a story in the field and it’s raining, or they don’t have time to get their hair straightened, or simply because they chose not to. Afterward, there’s always a lot of chatter about it back at the news room.
I certainly feel pressure to conform. But I’m very conflicted about straightened, The minute I leave this business, I’m going to cut it all off and go back to naturally curly.
Long hair--historically equated with tradition & piety (traced back to Sikh religion and lavishly tressed Hindu gods)--is falling out of favor, particularly among South Asian actresses seeking stardom in Hollywood. While Indian A-list star Bipash Basu’s recently cropped bob sparked skeptical commentary in the Indian press, it didn’t hurt her career. Next, she’ll play, Johnny Depp’s love interest in Mira Nair’s upcoming film Shantaram. And now, the non-famous in India are following suit.
(SPECIAL BEAUTY REPORT) OCT/2007 Marie Claire
Around the world, the desire for pert features, pin-straight hair, and a willowy physique--those dubious emblems of American beauty and success--is driving a multibillion-dollar industry. From eyelid surgery to leg lengthening and calf-narrowing, it seems there is little some women won’t do to achieve that iconic look. In this supposed age of multiculturalism, why are we trying so hard to obscure our origins.
Double-eyelid surgery (aka Asian blepharoplasty)
For many Asian women, getting eyelid surgery is as natural --and expected as going to college
Why it’s done: About 50% of Pacific Asians do not have an upper-eyelid crease. For those who do, the crease falls about 7mm above the lash line, whereas Caucasians, the crease falls about 11 mm above. How it works, Procedure Length, Recovery time, Cost, Origin, & How Common --data is included in original article).
Suchin Pak, MTV News Correspondent. My mother is one of the few Korean women with natural eyelid crease--that skin fold a centimeter wide just above the lash line. Growing up, I was taught to believe that eyes with creases are prettier because they are bigger, more open. I have early memories of being passed around the table, with everyone giving input on how thick or thin my fold should be It was a never a question of if I should have eyelid surgery, but whether it would be done in Korea or the U.S.
Like so many Asian families, mine believes that the more Western you look, the more successful you’ll be. No wonder I spent most of my teens using theatrical glue and Scotch tape on my eyelids to fake that fold-- a trick I learn from the girl at church.
None of my non-Asian friends understood why I wanted eyelid surgery. But in Korea, it’s just another life step: You get a degree, you get a job, you get your eyes done. It’s about trying to succeed in a global culture where people look and sound very different than they do in your native country.
Getting cast as a TV report at 18 made , me consider the surgery even more seriously. It seemed like a little thing I could do to help my career. I just couldn’t come to terms with whom I was getting it for, so I kept putting it off.
Now, after working in this industry for over 10 years, I’ve learned to appreciate how different I look, although sometime I can’t help but wonder whether I should have gone through with the surgery. But I’d hate to look back and think I had found myself insufficient just because I didn’t have eyelids with folds.
Most popular cosmetic surgeries by ethnicity
In the past five years, the number of plastic surgeries performed on minorities jumped 65%--compared with an increase of 38% for the overall population. Why the spike in minority candidates? Higher incomes and access to a wider range of ethnic-specific techniques. (Chart data included in original article).
A global love affair with the knife:
In an attempt to preserve traditional Eastern looks, plastic surgery was banned in China until 2001. Now, it’s a $2.4-billion a year business. Add Japan, which spends $18.4 million on plastic surgery annually, and India, where cosmetic surgery has experienced a 15% growth in the past three years and Asia is now the world‘s second-largest plastic-surgery hub. The U.S. is still in the lead, with its whopping $8.4 billion industry.
SKIN: The new status symbol
In June 2007, the first ever tanning salon opened in Beijing. Called DB Salon, it serves legions of women under 30 with strangely specific goal to have the caramel coloring of American pop princess Christina Aguilera.
India, Bollywood stars are going for the burnt sienna hue one sees in Malibu, achievable only via a bottle. And in Japan, bronzing goods account for $140 million in sales. Has the West’s fixation with tanning finally challenged the East’s centuries - old belief that pale skin is synonymous with high social standing?
Don’t it turn their brown eyes blue?
Would Aishwara Rai, the stunning former Miss World and Bollywood darling be popular if her eyes weren’t a glowing green-blue? Would she have snagged a L’Oreal cosmetic contract or crossed over to Hollywood? Since color contacts by FreshLook became available in 1984, women of color--including Naomi Campbell, Lil’ Kim, and Ziyi Zhang--have been eager to experiment. “Our largest market is with dark- eyed and dark-complected,” says Jeff Cohen, vice president of global marketing for CIBA Vision (makers of FreshLook), citing African-American, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern women as the top customers in the U.S. Color contacts are huge with Middle Eastern women because their clothing often covers everything except their eyes. It’s the only way they have to express their originality.” With this uniquely exotic notion of lighter eyes coming into vogue, colored-lens users climbed to 2.7 million in the U.S. alone last year.
Calf reduction
Why its done: In general, Asian women have shorter legs and thicker calves than Caucasian women. These features are though to be unsightly in their culture some refer to them as “radish legs“
(How it works, Potential Shrinkage, cost, Most Popular In, Risks --data included in original article).
Leg Lengthening
Why it’s done: The Chinese are so height-conscious, job and even schools, often post height requirements. To apply for the foreign ministry, women must be 5’3” (the national average), whereas flight attendants must be at least 5’5”. As a result, being tall--or short-- can have a direct impact one’s livelihood. (How It Works, Range of Growth--data included in original article).
The Japanese Secret for winning Miss Universe (Hint: Look less Japanese)
When Ines Ligroin (5’9”) was hired by Donald Trump 10 yrs ago to pull Japan out of its Miss Universe slump (the country hadn‘t spawned a winner in 48 yrs), she jumped at the chance. A former IMG modeling agency promoter, French-born Ligron trained the Japanese contestants to adopt typically Western practices like sitting up straight, making eye contact, and tanning. Part of her program is even spent emulating the body language and pronunciation of characters from shows like Sex and the City. “Japanese culture places an emphasis on blending in and thinking like a group,” says Ligron. “I teach them to stand out, be different, and show their personality.” This year, the well-trained 20-year-old Riyo Mori snagged the title. But instead of praise, the media focused on her failure to represent, Japanese culture, which adovacates being cute, pale, and submissive. Ligron, however, doesn’t care: “My market is young, cool, hip, fashionable people. You cannot please everyone.” She adds, “I have a lot of women supporters--my enemies are men. They are afraid of powerful women”.
The International Language of Pam Anderson
Top countries for breast augmentation: Spain, Italy, U.K., Sweden, Finland, India, Norway, Slovenia. In the U.S., the procedure ranks #1 for Hispanics and #2 for Asian-Americans among minorities.
Blonde Ambition - While only about 2% of the world population is born blonde, the rest are still going for the gold: 34% of the hair dye sold in the U.S. last year was blonde & 80% of Koreans in their 20s lighten their hair.
Relaxed Hair: A requisite for Black newswomen?
Debbye Turner CBS, Robin Roberts ABC, Pam Oliver FOX, Tamron Hall MSNBC, Lola Ogunnaike CNN
My Chemical Romance: The labor, cost and stress of relaxing black hair
How it’s done: A petroleum base is applied to the scalp, then a relaxer with sodium hydroxide (basically, lye) is put on the hair. It stays on for 25 to 30 mins. & and is then washed 2-3 times with a neutralizing shampoo. Finally, a deep conditioner is applied and rinsed, and hair is styled. (Time, Cost, Maintenance, and Risks --data included in original article).Hair apparent: The roots of my politically charged ’Do
Jami Floyd, anchor, court TV’s Jami Floyd: Best Defense. I have “bad hair.” Which doesn’t mean I’m having a bad-hair day. In the black community, it means kinky, tight curls that require braiding, combing, and skilled management, “Good,’ on the other hand, means it’s closer in texture to white hair. Whether or not black women should try to achieve this Anglo-Saxon ideal is a fraught issue--one that’s amplified if you work on tv.
When I first got into this business in the mid-’90s, I felt I had to relax my hair. Network new is traditional. I love my job, but it’s a competitive field, and you have to make hard choices. When you’re an on-air personality, managing your image is part of the job. I’ve seen reporters on major networks who have gone on the air with curly hair--likely when they’re reporting a story in the field and it’s raining, or they don’t have time to get their hair straightened, or simply because they chose not to. Afterward, there’s always a lot of chatter about it back at the news room.
I certainly feel pressure to conform. But I’m very conflicted about straightened, The minute I leave this business, I’m going to cut it all off and go back to naturally curly.
Meanwhile, in India…
Long hair--historically equated with tradition & piety (traced back to Sikh religion and lavishly tressed Hindu gods)--is falling out of favor, particularly among South Asian actresses seeking stardom in Hollywood. While Indian A-list star Bipash Basu’s recently cropped bob sparked skeptical commentary in the Indian press, it didn’t hurt her career. Next, she’ll play, Johnny Depp’s love interest in Mira Nair’s upcoming film Shantaram. And now, the non-famous in India are following suit.
