A few days ago, CNN Asia posted a video and an accompanying article titled “Plastic surgery boom as Asians seek ‘western’ look” which tells the story of Lee Min Kyong, who opted to have Asian blepharoplasty — otherwise known as double eyelid surgery — at the age of 12 in order to “westernize her eyes.”
This really pissed me off.
As I have written in the past, I am well aware that East Asia has a disturbing rate of cosmetic surgery. I also believe that many people who choose to go under the knife are — in my opinion — too young to make such decisions.
But I wasn’t pissed about this.
I was angry at CNN’s assumption (and the resulting skewed report) that Asians have plastic surgery in order to look more “western,” or “white.”
Westerners did not invent the double eyelid. Many Asians naturally have it. The reason that so many Asians prefer the double eyelid to the “monolid” is because it lifts the extra skin and fat on the upper eyelid and creates a crease which gives the illusion of larger eyes.
Large eyes, a well-defined, pointed nose, and a smaller chin are standards of beauty in women for many cultures. And they have been what is considered the ideal beauty in Asia for centuries, well before its assimilation with the West.
Now I’m sure that some Asians who go under the knife do so because they want to look white. But I can assure you that these people are few and far between. The vast majority of Asians who get plastic surgery do so in order to become more aesthetically-pleasing while retaining their Asian features, not to look more western. And most Asians do not think that being caucasian does not automatically make one more beautiful.
Here are two of Korea’s biggest celebrities, Song Hye Kyo and Lee Hyori.
Neither of them look “white,” in my opinion.
While the Asian idea of beauty may have been influenced by the West over the years, the idea that Asian women are trying mimic caucasians is an incorrect interpretation. An Asian woman getting double eyelid surgery, a nosejob, etc is rather an attempt to enhance one’s features in a society that overly glamorizes beauty and celebrity culture.
Likewise, an Asian dying his/her hair, wearing colored contacts, etc are not in efforts to look more western. They are merely ways of standing out and experimenting with your looks in a sea of black-haired, brown-eyed people.
In my opinion, the notion that Asians have plastic surgery to look white is like saying caucasians who tan and get lip fillers are trying to look black.
30 Responses to “The (Incorrect) Western Interpretation of Asian Plastic Surgery”
In the spirit of disclosure, I’ve never had cosmetic surgery, nor do I personally know any other Asians who have (or perhaps more accurately, if they have they didn’t tell me). So my personal experience on the topic may be limited. However, I agree with you – I don’t think those who do get surgery are so blind to think “Oh hey, now I look Caucasian” nor do I think that is their intent (at least for most of them). My whole immediate family has the eyelid crease and I highly doubt anyone has ever mistaken us for a Caucasian family, haha. I would love to hear articles where they got quotes from people saying “I got this surgery to look less Asian and more Western” because so far, I’ve only seen this as an assumption by the writer, not as verified reason.
I saw the same clip and I think it was pretty clear when the girl was thumbing through a magazine, pointed the white model and said she wanted to look like her. I’m not saying all Asians want exactly that, but from the doctors quotes and the little girl’s express pointing to the white model, I understand why the writer (who is also Asian) would write this.
Personally, I find it sad when anyone of any ethnicity believes they have to have plastic surgery to be more beautiful.
I just re-watched the video and while they stop at the page of a white model, the girl never says she wants to look like her. Rather, when they compare two Asian models — one with a double eyelid and the other without — the girl says she thinks the one with the double eyelid is prettier because of her eyes.
I’m not so sure about the doctor, but I guess he gets those types of patients, and he’s only one doctor. All I know is that most Asians who would get cosmetic surgery would be horrified at this video.
I personally don’t have anything against plastic surgery as long as it makes you happier and more self-confident…the only line I would draw would be in extreme cases like body dysmorphic disorder.
Yes, you’re right. I suppose that shows my unconscious biases and how I lumped it together in my memory. Also interesting, I was more mad at celebrity culture in America for not celebrating more looks – so my bias also made me more reactive to blaming whites.
Why do you think the writer would be so quick to put this spin on the story? Is it just another viewpoint, or do you perhaps suspect that she was put up to it?
Great discussion!
This topic has actually been around for years. If you google it, you can find tons of blog posts, forum posts, and articles talking about how Asians who get cosmetic surgery are NOT trying to look white.
I suspect that either the reporter or her higher-ups got the idea to resurrect the issue because recently, an article ran in the NYTimes talking about how the nouveau-rich in China are turning to plastic surgery in great numbers (and even going on “medical tours” to Korea): https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/world/asia/24beijing.html
And while I said that I don’t have a problem with those who get plastic surgery, I do think there’s a cultural problem in China, Korea, Japan, etc where plastic surgery is SOOOO rampant.
Interesting. Good info. I appreciate you correcting this. I honestly wouldn’t have thought much about it, but it does add to the overwhelming hubris of the United States sometimes. Sadly not surprisingly.
I’m not going to comment on the whole of ethnicity issue but I do have to say that Lee Hyori is amazing. And actually she likes to comment quite a bit that she has a “Western” upper body but “Asian” lower half, I remember back in the day when Family Outing was still airing she used to get teased a lot about it… but this whole body thing is something I’ve never been able to understand, for me you just look like yourself and everyone is different. Same thing for eyelids, as you say there are tons of Asian people who have double eyelids and you can’t say they’re a Western thing! Right. So that went off on a tangent there… but really I started this comment just to say that Hyori will always be my Korean girlcrush, she’s just that amazing.
Snap – good points! I have always wondered the same thing about tanning, in particular.
Hmm. The desire for lighter skin (among Chinese, Indians, and a host of other Asian cultures) though, would you not say that is a desire to conform to western beauty?
Ugh, can’t edit my comment. It just astounded me how so many of the skincare products when I visited Malaysia promised to whiten skin (being rather ghostly by nature, that’s the last thing I want, so it’s a good thing I didn’t run out of my own products while over there)
The desire for lighter skin actually goes back hundreds of years, when those of the lower class had darker/tanner skin from working outside. This was the same in western cultures, but while the west “grew out” of this trend, in Asia white skin continued to signify upper class in addition to purity for women.
i’d like to add that there’s always been that obsession with a snow white-like beauty in asia. dark hair, pale skin, red lips, etc.
anyway, I see lots of articles calling out asians for skin lightening–whydotheydoit?dotheywanttolookmorecaucasian?isitselfhatred?–but none for tanning. this really gets me, since while some whitening products are harmful, you CAN whiten without getting something, like oh, i don’t know–SKIN CANCER.
americans basically risk melanoma by baking themselves, yet no one thinks they want to look black or hispanic. WTF?
To be honest, I think the image of beauty that Korean and asian women strive for, with the large eyes and pale complexion, is inherently Western-influenced and Caucasian. Present also is Western influence in the Korean education system’s pushing students to speak fluent English at a very young age, and Korean commercialism and celebrity media. Koreans may not pinpoint and say “I want to look American,” but the face of beauty that media presents to them says otherwise.
In the end though, we all desire what we can’t have. Regardless of where this obsession originated from, as you’ve pointed out in previous articles, it’s definitely an appalling thing when plastic surgery is used so frequently and haphazardly. We have no right to tamper with what God has given us.
As a half-Korean American and a teenager I find it such a struggle to resist defining parameters for beauty, especially with celebrities glamorized in magazines and the redundancy of cliches like “everyone is beautiful in their own way.” At the same time, I find it hard to identify young Koreans who would go to great lengths (even if they don’t believe plastic surgery is a big deal) to essentially change their face. From talking with Korean friends and cousins from Korea, I do find that Koreans in general are very into staying with the popular opinion, music or celebrity. I know I am exaggerating and stereotyping, but to many Koreans it’s completely unacceptable to be individualistic, to look different, to not be successful (in the traditional sense of good education, good job and family). Therein lies the (what I believe to be infamous) criticism that Koreans and other asians have of other people — but on the flip side, also their ambition and drive.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m completely proud to be a Korean. I just feel the grounds of modern-day Korean society can be too obsessive and sickening.
On the same note, please check out this documentary-in-the-making that was created by a young American living in Korea. She aims to provide an intimate look into Korean obsessions about education and beauty. I feel like these topics rarely receive much attention in America and the filmmaker calls to light so many tragic realities young Korean students face but seem not to realize is shaping their lives.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1877491487/documentary-on-korean-education
I agree with you, Bri. Your comment was very well-written! But thank you for including information about the documentary on Korean education. I found it interesting and decided to back the project!
ASIAN women are stone beautiful and they command a very large and noticeable amount of interest (especially here in the states),imo because of a seemingly incredible amount of beauty,gentleness and femininity (which are extremely desireable attributes and qualities to have) They don’t need to emmulate anyone and there seems to be a growing sentiment of jealousy,envy etc.against them.Just my observations,but if they say asian women are trying to mime western beauty does that in turn mean that if western women are trying to get thinner then western women are trying to emmulate asian women? You can see where im going with that.Oh well CNN blows anyhow.
We have a Chinese exchange student living with us, and she is 14. She got the surgery mentioned above a couple years ago, but not to look white, just to look “more beautiful.” Honestly, you can hardly tell that she has a “double eyelid” now. It just makes me sad, whatever the reason, that barely pubertal girls are getting cosmetic surgery for non-critical issues.
THANK YOU! I have had exactly the same thoughts for years. I feel it’s downright arrogant and ignorant to assume that Asians have a natural tendency to want to be more westernized. It makes me want to roll my eyes every time I hear it. The reporter did what mostly other writers of westernized thinking do, they just rehash old ideas about this topic. I’ve come across this whole Asian’s do plastic surgery to become white thing dozens of times.
I feel like it’s because it’s hard to understand a culture completely outside of your own without some genuine effort. And some really just don’t care enough to learn.
Frankly, I’m just angry because I find it really insulting. I am Asian and I would never get surgery to change my ethnicity. I am proud of who I am, where I come from, and what I look like. There are millions more like me.
The standard of beauty in Asian perspectives are actually vastly different from the western standards. Sure there are a few traits that are Asians do prefer like pale skin, big eyes, and etc. Both cultures look for harmony and balance between facial features, but each well structured face holds different meanings to both cultures.
We’ve got to remember there’s a history, modern culture, a certain level of intelligence that goes behind imagery. Obviously being that Asian culture is very different from the Western one, it is logical to assume that the standard of beauty is not the same. It is influenced by Western culture and beauty but it is, again, not the same.
While I think your point has validity, it’s not nearly as black and white as you make it sound. For example, how do you explain epicanthoplasty, a unique Asian operation to remove the tiny fold in the eye corner nearest the nose? Epicanthal folds are found on nearly 100% of people of Asian descent but on almost none of European descent. Yet, epicanthoplasty is a wildly popular Asian facial plastic surgery in both the East and West, but especially in the East. And that’s only one example; there are many others.
Plus, just ask any plastic surgeon who offers these surgeries (but do so in private or you’ll just get the party line). Patients may not tell anyone else, but far more than a few will confide to their surgeons that a very big reason they’re undergoing surgery is for westernization.
So, while it’s really not so simple, it’s also far more complicated. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, check out
http://www.asianplasticsurgeryguide.com/overview/politicallyincorrect.html
Rock on!
From what I understand, (and from what I’ve read in Asian magazines, online articles, etc), Asians who choose to undergo epicanthoplasty in addition to blepharoplasty do so because the fold will look more natural.
I have actually had conversations with my parents about this CNN article (since posting this) and my father tells me that the Asian community was largely offended by the article and any idea that are similar to it.
I know this is a somewhat old thread, but will you answer an opinion question for me?
What is your opinion of the so-called westernization of East Asian cultures as a whole? Such as, what do you think about people’s aggravated view about Asians learning English in schools or choosing convenient fast food instead of traditional meals? And what is your opinon of the “modern” music in these cultures? Many say it mimicks late 80s and early 90s music from America, but others think that music itself simply follows a pattern and a trend in music can be set simply by one person with a different taste.
I know it seems weird to ask this, but I’m doing a project on the Westernization of East Asian cultures and I found this very intriguing.
Asians learn english in schools… ask your ancesters what they have done in Asia then you will know why
Choosing convenient meals instead of traditional meals…we eat our traditinal food everyday 3 times each but sometimes we want to try new thing as most westerners do when they come to “expensive” thai restaurant.
What’s the problem with asian who like fair skin while most westerners prefer tanned skin and the process of becoming tan is far more dangerous than becoming lighter. What make westerners risk their health to become tan, severely self-hatred?
Hi there,
I’d like you to know how absurdly naive and uninformed you revealed yourself to be in your post on Asian women having eyelid surgery. I’m quite certain that you are unconsciously vying to protect your own sense of self-identity and self-worth, which would make your stance (again, one that you’ve unconsciously developed) essentially a thinly veiled form of a defense mechanism. That’s just not good enough for me and anyone else who cares deeply about this issue.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever lived in an Asian country, but I doubt it. In fact, I’m 100% sure of it, because your ignorance bespeaks this fact.
I’m a white male, and I lived in Seoul Korea for one year teaching English. I also traveled in Japan and Thailand for some time. Have you any idea how many times I was utterly aghast at the OVERWHELMING influence that American culture has on the Korean society, and especially Korean youth? Surely you do not.
I discussed exactly this issue in class with my Korean students, in private tutoring sessions with women from twenty to middle age, and with Korean female friends. The answer that came time and again (not from all, but from many – especially the young and easily misled) was unequivocal: it is better to look white, or to put it another way, the closer you look to being white, the more beautiful you are. Obviously this is complete horse shit, but that’s the message that I got from these women, time and time again. I couldn’t understand it at first. I really couldn’t.
And I’m sure that you have trouble believing that women living in overseas countries could think such self dis-empowering thoughts, but it is the cold reality of the world outside North America and Western Europe, where thankfully women have made enormous gains in the last 100 years. Elsewhere in the world the yoke of oppression in its many guises still holds sway over countless woman’s lives. Westernization of Asian women is just another regrettable incarnation of this form of oppression and dis-empowerment.
I had female bosses of mine (school principals) literally tell me that “Asian women are lower in terms of beauty, and white women are up here” (using hand gestures to signify her perceived Asian beauty inferiority). I had students whose minds were being warped report to me on how they want eyelid surgery so they can be more beautiful like the white Hollywood stars they see on TV, in magazine, in films, etc. Not a few young women, MANY, MANY young women. This was a fascination of mine, and it eventually become a bit of a personal mission to tell these women not to buy into this poisonous cultural indoctrination.
You must understand something. Western influence is omnipresent in Korea, Thailand, China and to a lesser degree, Japan in addition to many other Asian nations. Everywhere you go there are looming, massive billboards with white women and white faces. These images shape the perceptions of old and young alike, and it is clearly evident in multiple societal values and pursuits – one being the eyelid surgery phenomenon. Everything Western in seen as superior by a large subset of the Korean culture, and sadly this permeates the minds of the young. I’m telling you this passionately because it dismayed and enraged me while I lived there.
What equally enrages me is that someone like you with a listening audience can glibly whitewash this toxic reality by acknowledging none of the entrenched and destructive forces that currently shape untold millions of Asian women. Your perspective is simplistic and reductive, and the worst of it is that you’re trying to speak to the solution of an ugly problem without even knowing basic things about the roots, origins and realities of it. Anyone knowing and caring about these types of trends should not be misled by ignorance – unless of course they want to remain ignorant themselves. If that represents you and your readers, then what I’m writing doesn’t matter, but I doubt that’s the case because you do seem sincere.
Understand that to speak English is a status symbol in Korea. The better you speak, the more powerful you are in socio-economic terms. This Western centric illusion of superiority stretches into how you dress, what you eat, and especially how you look. Again, this general trend is apparent in China and Japan to a lesser (but still very prevalent) extent. Many countries in Asia are far worse than Korea and Thailand when it comes to the Western centric illusion of superiority. I could go on at length about it (because as a teacher I cared, and continue to care about the forces shaping young minds), but I won’t. I just hope you can glean the value from what I’ve already said and take it upon yourself to develop a more informed perspective, especially before you go disseminating it on the internet for other people to be falsely influenced by.
If you can’t understand these intangible, more ineffable realities and the effects that these dominant (albeit sad and unfortunate) cultural mores have on young, impressionable minds, that is your problem alone. But don’t sit on your soapbox and act like you have the answers in black and white, highly simplistic and obviously uniformed terms. In other words, don’t bloviate loudly on things that you ultimately (and very clearly to anyone who has direct life experience) know nothing about. That’s the highest form of ignorance and close-mindedness, and I know you have it in you to be wiser and more thoughtful than that.
Wishing you happiness and well-being.
Open roads,
DB
Stop acting like you know any shit about Asian. I bet you just another dumb foreigner who trying to act like badass, the reason there are white women show in asia because the product is from the west. PS speaking English has nothing to do with status in china. About all you people who acting like ninja, watching anime?? Can I said that that you guy got Asianized too? Please at least learn about Asian culture first before you open your dirty mouth, and why do white ppl getting lip injunction and tanning?? Can I said that they want to look black?v
Hm. I lived in Korea for 3.5 years and my wife is Korean, so I feel pretty well informed to participate in this conversation. I see your point, Drew, that Korea is obsessed with Western media, and that this clearly has an influence on their ideas of beauty, and to completely deny this is naive. But I also think you’re overlooking the validity of the original post. I see nothing in the original post that strikes me as naive: she recognizes that Westernization has had an influence. You didn’t address her point that many elements of the Korean beauty ideal have been present long before Western influence: lighter skin, big eyes, etc. These are universals of human attractiveness that are associated with youth, fertility, and wealth. Yes, some are new: wanting large breasts is a recent acquisition, which is likely influenced by Western media.
You’re both right. Your emphases are different. Why the hostility?
Anyway, it’s obviously an overdetermined phenomenon. My own personal angle, whenever the issue is discussed: I think it’s largely a status issue. A tan in Korea makes you look like a poor laborer. A tan in the U.S. makes it look like you vacation in Fuji. And there is an association in Korea with white=rich, so there is probably some unconscious (and sometimes conscious, as in the anecdotes you mentioned) influence.
Great points Shane! Thanks for contributing, you broadened my perspective with some of your thoughts, and I certainly do agree with what you’ve stated.
Many thanks!
I really appreciate this article. I’m definitely Caucasian, and I believe that different countries have different perceptions of what beauty is- but share a lot of the same ideas. For example, larger eyes. Most countries, as far as I know, consider large eyes beautiful. Does that mean that every person in Asia that get’s eye lid surgery is trying to look Caucasian? Of course not! I mean, I have to admit that I’m jealous of people who have straight, dark hair- and I have colored mine to match on occasion. But that doesn’t mean I’m trying to look Asian. It just means I like dark, straight hair. Just like how some people who have straight, dark hair want light colored, curly hair. Different people have different perceptions of what’s considered beautiful to them. The same goes with eyes. I think that this girl just wants her eyes to look bigger, not Caucasian.
Why some people found it amazing that there are number of Asians had cosmetic surgery than Caucasian people had surgery? Is this a perfect example of reverse racism? “White people” can freely visit cosmetic clinics and Asians are not? Why are surprise that Asians had also the desire to change some of their features like any other person?
except that song hye gyo and lee hyo ri are completely natural.
I know I’d love to get double eye lid surgery BECAUSE my hooded eyelids make me look really tired and my eyelashes curve inwards and poke at my eyeballs. Some people get it to just feel comfortable in their own skin.
AND in korea, for interviews, the employers tend to judge people by their appearance (generally) – for instance if you look pudgy, they think that you can’t look after your health, hence can’t look after the company, something like that. REally unfortunate.
Great post! This is exactly how I feel about this issue. I personally actually get insulted when Westerners claim that when Asian people get this procedure to appear more “White”, suggesting that they lack confidence in their own culture. This presupposes that Asians are victims of some sort of Western hegemonic culture, and I don’t think it is one bit true. Usually, people who insist on this have little comprehension of Asian culture. It’s sort of like saying, hey, I noticed that a lot of Caucasians are obsessed with getting a tan…I wonder if that means they lack self esteem and want to be black!