Video Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv-WI6Vlrpk&playnext_from=TL&videos=yEMhOqWBYWI
Video Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8XWQ62HdCs&playnext_from=TL&videos=cLWQf9E9k8c
How are Asian American women supposed to look? Thin? Petite? Exotic? Cute?
This post is partially a complement to Chris’s A Girl Like me. The link above is directed to a short film that addresses the issues of Asian American standards of beauty. Winner of the audience favorite at the 30th Annual Asian American International Film Festival in SF, the film is basically a compilation of interviews with Asian American college students at Columbia University, directed by Calvin Sun.
One interviewee speaks, in reference to Asian American standards of beauty, of “two expectations that can’t possibly co-exist.” These Asian students speaks up about the pressure they face in this society to look both “western” (exotic, alluring, and sexy) and “Asian” (innocent, petite, and submissive). As hard as it is to feel comfortable in your own skin nowadays with images of supermodels and Hollywood stars plastered everywhere, Asian Americans, especially the females, have to face this contradiction that makes it even harder for them to establish their own self-identity since their body image is especially tied to their Asian identity.
Another discourse discussed in this film is that of eating disorder, which is more common than most people think in the Asian American population, but is an extremely taboo subject among Asian Americans because of their conservative cultural backgrounds. Sometimes, Asian females feel even more pressure than their white counterparts to be thin because thinnest stereotypically comes with the norm of being Asian; it’s not limitedly viewed an aspired standard trait of beauty, but a norm is what I’m trying to say.
When I was younger, the greatest problem I had with my image was being too tall. Standing at 5’6 right now, I’m pretty comfortable with my height. But imagine being around this height at the age of 13 and standing next to girls who are at least half a foot shorter than you. Every time I went to some Asian events, I always felt like I was the giant in the crowd.
In any case, I think this film begins a good dialogue about the issues that Asian Americans are encountering in regard to our idea of beauty and what the media tries to brainwash us into, and how, if possible, can we change the way the media and other people view us.
Finally, have you guys ever had any problem with your body image and has it ever been tied to your race or ethnicity?
Those are some good videos!! Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting being with my Chinese boyfriend and talking about the ideas of beauty that are prevalent in Chinese culture. As mentioned in this video, the standard of beauty involves pale skin, thinness, and submissiveness. I am not the biggest fan of striving for this idea of beauty (who knew?), primarily because it goes against having a healthy body and being a strong (both physically and psychologically) person. We were talking the other day and he mentioned that when he was in China, he didn't question the idea of beauty that girls lived up to (being thin and weak, particularly); after living in the United States, though (and being with me, ha!) he said that he's realized how unhealthy and sometimes sick many of the girls look in China (or Chinese students here at SLU). It's a similar situation in the United States due to the emphasis on being skinny, leading to eating disorders and an unhealthy body.
I hadn't really thought about the standards for Asian-Americans before seeing this video. In many ways, American standards of beauty resemble those of Chinese women as mentioned (particularly thinness), yet, as Thoa mentioned, there's an idea of exoticness that seems to enter into the picture for marked individuals. Thanks again for the interesting links and comments!
Thank you for posting this video up.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much to be said. One of my best friends from high school has struggled to come to terms with the "right" body image and appearance in general. What has been particularly challenging for her is embracing her Chinese identity and her American surroundings simultaneously.
She is very petite, I don't think she's more than 5'4 and maybe 103 pounds. The thing is, her dad is always telling her to exercise and watch what she eats, espeially since the gaining weight her freshman year of college.
But her parents are not the only parents who stress a certain body image. My grandmother, for instance, does the same thing. And it's really ironic in a way because so much of that culture is centered on eating. There isn't a time of day when we don't have a tea break or coffee break with some kind of sweets followed by lunch or dinner and a snack in between. But my grandmother is constantly telling my brother and I to watch out weight because it's important to maintain a body image acceptable to those around us.
Regarding Asian-American beauty. I wanted to comment on something else. Earlier this year, Dr. Kevin Nadal came to speak at an event by the Filipino Student Association. Dr. Nadal said something that was very intriguing. He talked about beauty and what people deem as beautiful. But he was talking about the perception of beauty from the perspective of Asian-Americans. He asked how come many Filipinos and other Asians see people that are "mixed" as more beautiful that people who are not. What is it that makes "mixed" people more exotic? And what implications does this view have?
Anelga, Regarding the comment made by Dr. Keven Nadal, I totally believe what he says about Asians and their thing with racially mixed people is true. I admit...sometimes when my sister and I see a mixed Asian/black/white, we would discuss about how beautiful their features are.
ReplyDeleteI've read in some report that there was an experiment in which a computer generated face that is a combination of many faces put together was perceived as more beautiful than another computer generated face that is a combination of less faces. What I'm trying to say I guess is that mixed people have very diverse pool of alleles so their facial features are richly mixed and form combination that is not commonly seen, and that's may be what makes many people perceived them as beautiful. I don't know if I'm making any sense.
I remember a mixed friend (black/white) I had in high school. Even though his skin tone would classify him as black, he has the most beautiful and striking set of green eyes I've ever seen. Because his skin tone is darker than most whites, his eyes stand out all the more. I guess his facial features were refreshing to see.
In the end, I guess what it comes down to is that mixed people tend to look more unique than other people. They are a blend of two or more different races so their combined facial features usually are relatively atypical and refreshing to look at.