The Truth About Asian Beauty Standards

In the summer of 2010, my family and I traveled to the Philippines to visit the town where my parents grew up. I returned to my Lola's (grandmother's) house late one afternoon after spending the day at the beach with my little cousin Yana. My Lola began shouting as soon as we entered the room, and because she was speaking Bisaya, the local Filipino language, I could only comprehend bits of what she was saying. But one line in particular kept coming up: "Ma itom ka."

The precise meaning is "you are black," but it can also signify "you will become black." In truth, it was something I'd heard a lot as a kid. When my mother and aunts offered me an umbrella or hat to wear before going out in the sun, they would say this. Although sun protection was probably a factor, as I grew older, I realized there was more to the phrase than anxiety about sun damage. The avoidance of darker skin contributes to colorism, which is the prejudice of people of the same race based on their skin color.

Whiteness is associated with attractiveness throughout Asia, particularly in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Indian beauty standards. Nikki Khanna, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Vermont and author of Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism, believes that "a lot of this pressure comes from mothers and other family members." Women are continually encouraged that light, near-white complexion is attractive and that they require lighter skin to attract a husband and succeed in life, she explains.

Today's books and media reinforce that idea. "As an adult, I know how problematic books like this were," says Frances Cha, the Korean author of If I Had Your Face, a narrative about working women in South Korea trying to find their way through life while also dealing with gender inequity and unrealistic beauty standards. The darker-skinned "ordinary" protagonist of The Ordinary Princess is described as "homely" in comparison to her sisters, who had "white tiny noses and rippling golden hair," fought to keep their complexions white, and were a "pleasure to see."

The yearning for pale skin has long existed in Asian culture, according to history. Pale complexion, for example, represented elite status in ancient China, whereas dark skin showed that you farmed or worked long hours in the sun. This desire eventually led to the development of skin whitening, which is now a multibillion-dollar worldwide industry in Asia. Popular cosmetics companies such as L'Oreal, Nivea, and Lancôme advertise skin-whitening soaps and lotions that claim "clean" and "pure" effects.

"I know I'll readily find whitening treatments and soaps covering the shelves when I stroll into my local Indian market, but it's much more than that," Khanna, who grew up with a white mother and a South Asian father, adds. Women will go to measures to protect their skin, including undergoing whitening laser treatments, taking whitening medications, and even wearing whitening face covers, or face-kinis. "Skin lightening is a large industry that preys on people of color's vulnerabilities, particularly women," she says.

The Coveted Bigger Eyes

Cha was born and raised in South Korea, but she has had her makeup professionally applied in the United States on several occasions. "The painters didn't know what to do with them because I have the normal Asian monolids instead of the double eyelids," she explains. Monolids are a smaller eye shape with only one eyelid crease and no crease.

In another occasion, Cha claims that when she first met the mother of a friend, she was advised to have her eyes sewn. "I assume this woman was a beautiful Korean star who had been speaking with her daughter who wanted her eyes done," Cha explains. Cha hasn't contemplated undergoing double eyelid surgery since then.

Her experience reminded me of YouTube videos of ladies discussing circle lenses (or contact lenses that make your eyes look wider) and double eyelid surgery that I used to watch as a teen. These stories captivated me as a teenager. The end product was stunning, and it reminded me of Asian actresses I admired. I immediately adopted the idea that having bigger eyes made you more appealing, and at one point, I would attempt to keep my eyes open as wide as possible all day, trying to imitate the cute Asian actors I watched online.

Another important cosmetic fad that dates back to the 19th century is Asian blepharoplasty, or double eyelid surgery, which is particularly popular in East Asian countries like Taiwan and Mongolia. The procedure raises the patient's smaller or hooded eyes to produce a more noticeable eyelid crease, effectively making their eyes larger. The urge for double eyelids and larger eyes in general can be attributed to Western culture's effect on Asian media, which frequently portrays people with wider eyes as "more beautiful." According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost of cosmetic eyelid surgery is $3,282.

The Smaller the Jaw, the Better

Though the United States has the most plastic surgery procedures, South Korea is known as the "plastic surgery capital of the world," with one in every three women aged 19 to 29 having undergone surgery. Along with double eyelid surgery, a technique known as jaw shaving, or jaw reduction — which is exactly what it sounds like — is also highly popular there. According to VIP International Plastic Surgery Center, patients have surgery with the purpose of filing their natural jaw into a smaller shape in order to get a small, V-shaped chin, the most ideal face shape per cultural standards. A small incision is made inside the mouth, followed by the removal of superfluous bone. The treatment is estimated to cost $6,500.

Nose operations are also frequent in Asia. Southeast Asian noses, in particular, have a flatter and wider profile. "Augment the nose to be more prominent with a higher bridge and sharper tip that is in accordance to the face," says Asian rhinoplasty. Bruising and swelling can persist up to a month before you notice any changes, and the operation costs roughly $15,000 on average.

If I Had Your Face features a major storyline about jaw realignment, which Cha studied extensively while posing as a possible patient at many plastic surgery facilities. "I felt enormous pity for the ladies who choose to undertake it while knowing the risks, agony, and side effects, yet still choose to do so because they believe it will transform their life," she says.

American Vs. Asian Beauty Standards

Cultural beauty standards might be perplexing for Asian Americans. While their cultural foundations favor whiteness, the media and society in the United States value browned skin. Khanna describes herself as a mixed woman of white and South Asian descent. "Because I am light-skinned, I match the South Asian beauty standard," she explains. "However, I wanted to develop a tan before my wedding, and I suppose my Indian father was perplexed!"

Following the experience with my Lola in the Philippines that summer, I requested my mother to go to the local Filipino grocer and look for the whitening soaps and lotions I had seen advertised on Filipino television. This skin whitening procedure lasted two months before I recognized that, like my American friends and favorite celebrities, I should be tanning for the summer. I stopped caring if my skin was pale or tanned at some point. Looking back on this contrast, I see that it's pointless to strive to fit into either norm if you don't belong in either.

Are Asian beauty standards toxic?

All beauty standards, not only Asian beauty standards, are toxic and bad for women, according to Khanna. "Many Asian women go to tremendous efforts to lighten their complexion, even to the point of applying poisons like mercury or bleach to their skin," she explains. "In the West, many women risk cancer by exposing their skin to damaging UV rays in order to get that sun-kissed look, while others fast to meet false beauty standards that tell them they should be skinny."

Study why people make the beauty decisions they do necessitates a thorough understanding of the history, society, and societal factors that influence them. "In an intensely competitive environment, there are few prospects for socioeconomic movement for some of the protagonists in my book If I Had Your Face," Cha explains. "As a result, some women choose for plastic surgery to improve their chances of a better life."

Comparing ourselves to an idealized, often unachievable picture can be devastating to our self-esteem, regardless of whatever standards we're striving to meet. After attempting to fit into two distinct beauty standards my entire life, I'm finally content with my medium brown skin and medium-sized brown eyes.

Rather of critiquing our appearance, Khanna invites us to consider the history of these beauty standards and consider who benefits from their perpetuation: cosmetic corporations and clinics profiting from our insecurities, or the media selling us an idealized vision of beauty that doesn't exist.

Cha seeks to put context to extreme beauty choices for individuals who don't understand why someone would choose to undergo such procedures through her own writing. She urges the reader to withhold judgment instead of passing it by narrating their stories. I agree: There's a lengthy history of reasons why some women do what they do. However, I aim to remove these beauty standards and move ahead from this history, so that women may truly perceive and cherish their own unique beauty, regardless of skin tone, eye size, or jaw shape.