Are Asians Desperate to Look Like Westerners?

To prequel this post, I ask that you watch/read/skim through this CNN article Plastic surgery boom as Asians seek 'western' look in order to understand my point of view. Since I'm half Chinese and know several Chinese and Korean women as well as American women who have received plastic surgery, I feel somewhat qualified to give an opinion on this topic.

The reason that this article first interested me was because of my Corset of Democracy history class I took this past semester. It was a class where we talked about fashion trends in America and and the effect society had on fashion. Towards the end of the semester, this included talking about body modification, of which plastic surgery is one type of modification. About a month and a half ago, there was a story in the news of young girl here in the USA that received plastic surgery to "correct" her ears because she was embarrassed by how they stuck out. Although I don't remember the exact details, needless to say the girl was young enough for me to be sufficiently horrified by the fact that she was receiving cosmetic surgery. It's because of that article that I was interested in this particular article.

However, it wasn't age that was the main topic introduced with this article. Sure, they did emphasize how drastic it was for such a young girl to get surgery, but the more important emphasis of this article was that Asian women were using cosmetic surgery as a means of denying their culture and heritage by changing their faces to achieve a more "western" appearance. Well, being Asian myself, I could sort of understand on the surface level, but the more I thought about it, I did not agree with this conclusion.

We had a very similar conversation along these lines in my fashion class. My professor for that class posed to us the question: Is it okay for women to receive cosmetic surgery? Although generally the class felt that they would personally never receive cosmetic surgery, we mostly agreed that it's a woman's prerogative to do what she wants with her body. But when the teacher asked whether it was okay for an ethnic woman, such as an Asian, to receive cosmetic surgery, suddenly more felt that no, it wasn't okay. Their argument was that by having this surgery, they were denying who they are as a different culture and conforming to western ideals of beauty. Well, I have various issues with this analysis both made by my peers and by parts of the CNN article. 

1. Double eye-lids though mostly uncommon among Asian society is not completely absent and if I were ever to receive surgery, I could see the benefits of getting the double eye-lid surgery. People have occasionally commented on my "sleepy" appearance, i.e. my eyes don't open very wide therefore I look tired a lot. Personally, the only reason I would want to get that surgery is to look more alert not because I'm desperately trying to get the doe-eyed look of Dakota Fanning. The fact is, maybe some Asians want the look for the same reason and they point out western models because they're the most obvious example of that.

2. Isn't all plastic surgery in a sense denying one's cultural heritage? It's not like every western woman has all great attributes because if they did, they wouldn't need to get nose jobs or eye lifts or any other surgery either. Various people have various features depending on which western culture they descended from, but by getting cosmetic surgery, aren't they also altering their looks to get the features of another culture? So, why is it just wrong for Asians to want to resemble other cultures that they see?

3. In the end, if a woman is only receiving surgery for one thing, it's not like she suddenly totally appears like a westerner and looks nothing like an Asian. Unless drastic steps are taken, an Asian still looks Asian despite one or two changed features.

4. Lastly, it's not like westerners aren't attempting to get some of the same features as Asians. One of the most common things I get complimented on is my super straight, non-frizzy Chinese hair. For this reason, what is one of the biggest selling beauty products for women? The hair straightener. I constantly hear girls complain about wanting straight hair and being unable to live without their straighteners. Isn't that, in a more temporary sense, a form of body modification?

In general, it appears to me that women see certain features that attract them and they want those features as well. Due to the high prevalence of western models and actors, it's no wonder women around the world, including Asia are identifying with certain characteristics of western beauty, but it doesn't mean they want to look like a westerner. If they did, we'd have hair dyeing and skin bleaching and ridiculous amounts of extreme surgery, but we don't. And westerners see certain things they like in Asian culture as well and borrow them for their own beauty practices.

Personally, I don't support plastic surgery at all. I think it's denying a person's identity, which includes their culture, but more specifically their individuality. Not to mention it's still surgery and an extremely dangerous situation to be deliberately putting yourself into. However, since people seem determined to keep doing it, then I at least demand equal opportunities for all races to rip off each others features because there is no western ideal of beauty, there's only a world ideal of beauty, one where each person likes what they like despite influences by the fashion industry.

Lovin' on Netflix

My family has had a Netflix account for years and years now. I definitely had a little obsession with it when we first got it. I mean, when you consider my love for movies, it's pretty obvious what a great tool it is to be able to queue up any and all movies that interest me, then from there they get delivered straight into our mailbox. However, once I went off to college my dad refused to let me have my own account at school. Initially, I was disappointed but it really did make sense in the end (of course dad would be right). Anyways, since then, coming home every holiday has been made even more exciting with the ability to use our Netflix account once again. Even though at school I can watch the movies on the Instant Watch option, it does limit the amount of good movies I get to see, so being able to get anything once I come home is great!

Therefore, my last few weeks have contained a whole slew of varying movies, some good and some not. On the not side was Blue Valentine, truly just plain bad, and the first disc of a 1970s television miniseries Lillie that I could just not sit through. But some good ones included the documentary Paul Taylor: Dancemaker, which if you're interested in dance, like I am, is a great film about the very famous modern choreographer, Paul Taylor. I also got the espionage thriller The International starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. Along similar lines, my dad had the movie Fair Game, based on the real life events of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson, whose cover was blown by members of Vice President Cheney's office. If you like spy movies, that was a great one, not only for the plot, but just knowing that it actually happened! My dad bought me the autobiography of the same title written by Wilson, which I'm currently reading.

 

Anyways, my most recent film from Netflix was the 2000 film Memento starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Ann Moss. I put it at the top of my queue not really knowing what it was, it was a movie I put on my queue back when we first got our account. Since there aren't any particular movies I've wanted to see, I've been putting random ones at the top of my list just to see what I'd get. This was a definite winner! Definitely a psychological thriller and a "thinking" film, it is presented in a fragmented manner in order to parallel the short-term memory loss that the main character suffers from, which creates a suspenseful and captivating story. If you end up watching this, make sure to pause the movie when you go for a bathroom break or to refill your drink, otherwise you might miss something crucial.

Texas Living

So it's been a week being back in Texas and I've been trying to keep myself busy, which is not always easy given the serious lack of places and things to do compared to DC but I'm making it work. The first few days consisted mostly of helping my friend Jen out with baking a ridiculous amount of baked goods. I've also been lucky enough to see three of four of my closest friends. Each one is busy doing their own thing this summer and it just proves how much we're all growing up...scary. It's just so shocking to think that we'll all be graduated from undergrad by this time next year, for Julianna even earlier than that! And as people keep mentioning it to us, we actually have to start seriously thinking about what it is we're planning to do for a living...so bizarre...

But besides all this, I've also been busy watching movies (of course), reading books, and being a yogi.

I finally went and saw Something Borrowed with Jen after several failed attempts and even though it didn't get great reviews, I think it was pretty cute for a romantic comedy. I love the guys in the film, Colin Egglesfield as Dex and John Krasinski as Ethan, they're pretty hilar. So, I say go see it just for fun! Also, I'm a huge fan of trailer-watching (always have to get to the movies early) because it's how I find the movies I want to see next. For this one, some of the movies that look good that will be coming out this summer are Crazy Stupid Love, One Day, and Friends with Benefits look them up! And of course they also showed the trailer for the last Harry Potter movie, which was very exciting, can't wait!

Next, the new Sarah Dessen book What Happened to Goodbye came out on Tuesday and I read that. It was cute but, I think it's because I'm no longer a teenager, I didn't enjoy it as much as some of her past books. However, I do suggest reading some of her other books, some of my favorites are The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, Just Listen, Keeping the Moon, and Along for the Ride. Definitely look them up if you're bored! In general I've been looking for some new reading material, so if you have any suggestions let me know. I'm already planning to finish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy and read Octavia Butler's Fledgling, which my professor told me was gonna be read for one of my classes next semester.

Last, I've been trying to keep myself in shape for my dance activities later this summer. For those that don't know, I will be attending the American Dance Festival Six Week School for the second year in a row at Duke University. It's a dance intensive where we get to dance for six hours a day and meet tons of great teachers and get to experience all different forms of dance, specifically modern dance. Well, from my experience last year, I definitely want to be in shape for when I get there otherwise I will be sore for a good two weeks before getting acclimated to the pace at ADF. For that reason, I've been taking yoga at a local studio near me. It's not my favorite type of yoga but it gets the job done. I really want to be taking dance classes but Houston is lacking in choices and what places there are, are very far from where I live, making me drive about an hour to get to them...lame. So, yoga it is! Also, along with my love for yoga, I've also discovered another love: lululemon clothing! I love their yoga gear so much! So if you're ever wondering what to get me for a birthday...lululemon gift card?

Anyways, the summer is just beginning and I have a ton of things to get done before I head off to ADF, including doctors appointments, apartment applications for next school year, and in general, not being bored for the next three weeks, which includes a rollercoaster-filled trip to Fiesta Texas!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

It's been so long since my last post...kinda, not really, but it certainly feels like a long time. Since my last post, the Royal Wedding occurred without a hitch, I got through all my finals, packed up my apartment, and made it all the way back home to Texas. But let me tell you, it was not a smooth ride by any means.

Let's start first with my thoughts on the Royal Wedding:
1. LOVED IT!!

2. Love the DRESS!!

3. Love Wills and Kate...so cute!

4. Love Harry and Pippa!

5. Loved that the fairytale all ended with both a carriage ride back to the palace and a drive in an Aston Martin, James Bond style!

Woot! In general, it was a great success and so much fun to watch at 4am! If not a little tiring...

Next, finals...never a fun time of the year, but everything got done and I'm extremely proud to say that I got straight A's this semester! Super happy and really proud of one of the papers I wrote about the TV show Miami Ink and it's effect on perceptions of tattoos.

Followed closely behind finals was packing up our little dorm apartment, which deceptively held a ton of our stuff. There was so much stuff that my roommate Liz and I ended staying up all night to pack and had a minor panic attack around 3-4am...yikes. We became terrified that the storage unit we rented wouldn't be big enough for everything, but the lesson learned from all this: it's totally surprising how much you can fit into a 5x5 storage unit.

And finally! I packed my clothes, shipped boxes home, and hauled all my luggage onto the Metro and made my way to Reagan Airport to fly home. Slept through the whole flight and finally made it home in one piece! And now that I'm actually looking back, this all happened in exactly one week. It was around this time last Friday that I was up waiting to watch the wedding and now I'm home, prepared and excited for a great summer of dance and rest and contemplation about my last year of college and the future. It's gonna be crazy, but right now I'm just content and happy to make things go my way for the future!