A Different Standard: Chinese Beauty Ideals

A Different Standard:

Chinese Beauty Ideals

A Different Standard:

Chinese Beauty Ideals

By Amy Chen

Thank you to everyone who helped make this book possible: Daniel for being an awesome advisor and offering much needed encouragement.

Grahame for looking over my layout with me and perfecting the tiny details.

My lovely interviewees for providing such fascinating insight.

Xin Photography for jumping to my aid and shooting amazing photographs for this book. (All photos used in background belong to her, find her at xxixin.com) Emilia, Charisse and Jolly for being my gorgeous last minute models. (BIG thank you for braving the -20 degree weather the day of the shoot) Chris for proofreading through my whole manuscript.

And my best friend for just being there in the lab with me as we both internally screamed.

Contents Introduction....... 1 Face...................... 5 Trends

8

Anecdote

19

Extra Feature

23

History

29

Impact

35

Makeup............... 39 Trends

41

Anecdote

47

History

53

Impact

61

Body..................... 67 Trends

69

Anecdote

77

History

81

Impact

87

Fashion............... 91 Trends

93

Anecdote

97

History

101

Impact

105

Conclusion........ 111 References......... 116

Introdu 1

uction 2

The idea of beauty is ever changing, from decade to decade and culture to culture. This book explores modern Chinese beauty ideals. More specifically, ideals propagated through media, online, and cultural norms that are popular among the middle class living in first and second tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. It will look at modern beauty standards and ideals through popular culture and history to understand why those ideals came into place and its effect on Chinese society.

Interviews with people who grew up among Chinese beauty ideals will offer insight to modern standards and society.

Beauty ideals mentioned in this book are those that are generally seen through media and trends, they do not represent the mindset and views of the whole nation. Additionally, the beauty ideals explored throughout China’s history are mostly applicable to those of high social class; much of the poorer population did not have time or money to focus on beauty standards.

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The book is organised in sections that focus on one umbrella category of beauty. Each section will explore current trends, history and impact on society. The text will explore each ideal with mention of Western ideals for comparison.

The differences between Western standards and Chinese ideals intertwine and split in various ways. Globalization brings certain ideals together while different history and culture branches off in various directions. The current era is a time of crosspollination between Western and Eastern ideals; understanding different societies is becoming increasingly important. Learning about different cultures and standards of beauty opens up one’s mind to new ideas and perspectives. I hope this book offers insight to one aspect of China’s modern society and rich culture.

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Face 面对

face 5

面 对

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Face 面对

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Trends Turn on the television to watch the latest drama and you will immediately notice a flowerbed of beautiful females. The small screen is swimming with images of China’s beauty ideals. Large eyes, pale skin, and a melon-seed face form the holy trinity of facial beauty and are desired by much of the young female population.

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Face 面对

e c Fa e p a h S The first element of the holy trinity is face shape. While is it not spotlighted in the West, the shape of a woman’s face is of great relevance in China. Western beauty ideals are not overly concerned with one face shape but rather think of it as something that makes each person unique. Make up and contour tips include different techniques for a round face, square face, heart shaped face...etc. [insert image] The focus is on finding out what works best with one’s individual face shape.

In China however, there is a desired face shape hailed as the most beautiful. Although there are a variety of facial structures, many females do their makeup to create an illusion closer to the desired shape. Recently there has been great emphasis on the “melon-seed face”. To elaborate on the term, China has four classifications for female face shapes:

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guāzǐ liǎn 瓜子脸 (Melon-seed Face) é dàn liǎn 鹅蛋脸 (Goose-egg Face) guó zì liǎn 国字脸 (“Country”-character Face) bǐng liǎn 饼脸 (Flat-cake Face) The first two are the most desirable with the melonseed face shape taking the spotlight. Advertisements and TV dramas commonly feature women with this face shape. The prevalence of the melon-seed face is much more noticeable in recent years. In fact the female often regarded as the most beautiful woman in China has the perfect melon-seed face.

Fan Bingbing has a face many girls in China dream to have. With large eyes and a straight nose, she embodies China’s modern

Fan Bingbing for Vogue Taiwan

beauty standards.

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Face �寚

e g r a L s e y E Moving past face shape, another feature thought to make a beautiful face is large eyes. Parallel to Western beauty ideals, bright eyes are seen as highly attractive. The scientific reasoning behind this, as described by Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Konrad Lorenz, is that the physical features of infants will activate the innate desire in adults to take care of them. Large eyes have been desirable through much of China’s history and it is still going strong today. However something different that emerged is the obsession with double eyelids. I use the term obsession loosely however the popularity of double eyelids has increased dramatically over the past decade. Double eyelid tape is easily accessible and considered a basic necessity by some. Although each has their own reasons for using it, one of the top reasons is most likely to enlarge the eyes. Many Asians are born with a monolid and it may make the eyes appear smaller or drowsy. Other reasons a

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double eyelid is desirable could be that it is easier to apply makeup and makes the person appear more awake and vivacious.

In Western advertising, Asians often have a monolid. It serves to play up the exotic nature of the model. Take for example Jū Xiǎowén (雎 晓雯), she is the first Chinese model to be the face of Marc Jacobs and has walked the runways of many international brands such as DKNY, DSquared and Victoria Secret. She has also appeared in various issues of Vogue China and campaigns for Moussy, Calvin Klein and Kenzo.

By the beauty standards mentioned above, she would not be considered beautiful in China. Much of her work is with international brands rather than Chinese brands. Compared to models in Mainland China, her looks are undoubtedly “Chinese”. I use quotation marks because although it would be wholly generalizing what a Chinese person looks like, the monolid and small eyes are still very much associated with someone of Chinese descent and prominent in a

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Face 面对

large part of the population.

The different representation of females in advertising is evident between the West and the East. Features such as the monolid and smaller eyes effectively communicate a sense of exoticness on an international scale while large eyes and double eyelids appeal to Chinese citizens. Being aware of these differences brings more dimensions to cultural diversity.

Jū Xiǎowén for Vogue China 2015

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Wh at d o yo mos u th t im bein ink port is th g de ant e eme fact or o d be f auti ful?

"Large eyes, definetly large eyes" ~Interviewee M, Age 19 (Shanghai)

"You have to be charming, but if you're asking about physical attributes, then large eyes. It looks a lot cuter" ~Interviewee C, Age 45 (Beijing)

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Face 面对

n i k S e l a P While having large eyes and a pointed chin all add to one’s beauty points, both will be rendered invalid if one is not pale. There is a lot to cover when it come to skin tone in China, and I would like to think it is one of the most important factors to look at when it comes to Chinese beauty standards. While pale skin could be grouped with body ideals, there is much focus on having a pale face, thus I will couple it into this section.

Now to a Western audience the notion of having pale skin to be deemed beautiful is absurd, why should one’s skin colour impact one’s overall beauty? Especially in North America where there is such a diverse spectrum of ethnicities, skin tone is not a determining factor of beauty at all; in fact different shades are

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celebrated. There are cosmetic companies that offer personalized shades of foundation and lipstick that compliment a variety of skin tones. All of this is influenced by the large scope of ethnicities being represented.

However in China, skin tone is of paramount importance. Pale skin has long been revered with darker skin being viewed as largely undesirable. It has less to do with race and more to do with social status. 91.6% of the population is Han people, China’s majority ethnicity, and the other 8.4% is mostly made up of other Chinese minority groups. The percentage of non-Asians living in China is extremely low in comparison. Because much of the population is of the same ethnicity, the concept of race being a factor is largely diminished. The notion that pale equals beautiful has been around since ancient times. Upper class ladies spend their days indoors while the peasants toiled in the sun. Thus having pale skin became a sign of status. Similar to the trickle down theory of fashion, habits of the powerful became aspirational trends for the lower class.

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Face 面对

Various treatments, creams, and accessories that promise pale skin or protection from the sun can be found in China. Additionally, the majority of celebrities and models sport clear porcelain skin.

A well known phrase in Chinese is “一白遮三丑”(Yī bái zhē sān chǒu) which roughly translates into “one white can cover up three uglinesses”. The cultural obsession with white skin also gave rise to the term “白富美“(Bái fùměi) literally translating into “white rich beautiful”. This term is used to describe the most desirable female, almost like a trophy wife. This further instills the importance of being pale; females with pale skin will have an easier time finding a partner. There are several reasons the first being perceived as higher social status and the second being dark and dull skin being a sign of bad health. There is such a long running history of the desire to be white that pale skin could be perceived as the most important factor to modern Chinese beauty standards.

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"Chinese girls don't like tanning, American girls like getting tanned, but in China most girls slather on sunscreen or carry an umbrella when it's sunny out" ~interviewee T, age 18 (Beijing)

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Face �寚

Anecdote Although I grew up in Canada, I soaked up many opinions about traditional Chinese beauty standards through my parents and sparse visits back to China.

Looking back, the thing that I remember the most was thinking I had to be pale. I cannot recall when I embodied the notion that pale equals beautiful but I never questioned it. I was an active kid who liked playing outside a lot, thus I absorbed much sun and vitamin D. Once I entered high school I started shying away from the sun. It is

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Face �寚

quite a common thing for girls in Asia to do; load up on the sunscreen and always have a parasol at hand in the summer. I despised getting tanned, and to this day I still avoid tanning. Furthermore, my mom would always tell me how dark I used to be and how nice and pale my skin is now. When I went back to China in 2013, my relatives also commented on my skin. In fact when I walked into stores, the sales associates would also comment on how nice and pale my skin was.

In China, the ideal that pale skin amounts to beautiful is bombarded from family, society and the media. In all honestly no one has ever asked me why I wanted to be pale nor have I ever though about it in detail. Thinking about it now I just thought pale skin suited me better since I don’t tan very well. I personally think I look more refreshed and vivacious with a lighter skin tone and tend to look washed out with a tan.

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Because I live in North America, I am often at the intersection of Western and Eastern ideals. My ideals of beauty are often a mish mash of both cultures however when it comes to the face, I tend to lean towards Eastern ideals more. The reason being that my features are Asian and I naturally associate myself with Asian beauty more; I know I will never look Caucasian so there is a disconnect with beauty standards associated with facial structure.

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Face 面对

Extra feature 1 # s ' a n i h C t a p k p o a o l g n A i t i d e e fi l e s

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Selfie culture is extremely strong amoung China's urban youth; mobile apps specifically for editing selfies are common practice to have on one’s phone. What differs these apps from their Western counterparts is the fact that they are ridiculously advanced and go beyond filters and lighting adjustment. They can completely transform a user’s face.

One of the most popular apps on the market is Meitu, Literally meaning “Beauty Image”.

The company, Meitu Inc., has several beautifying apps under it’s umbrella and total downloads exceed 1 billion.

Because these apps are mostly used

by Chinese Females, its functions speak volumes about China’s beauty ideals.

For this exploration we will use the app Beautycam by Meitu.

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vv

Face 面对

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1

1. Starting Image 2. Choose Filter 3. Smooth Skin 4. Tone Skin 5. Slim Face 6. Contour Face 7. Enlarge Eyes 8. Narrow Nose

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3

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Face 面对

Before

After 27

These apps are all part of the Meitu family and all serve to beautify one's selfie.

Meitupic

Meipai

BeautyPlus

Beautycam

MakeupPlus

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Face 面对

History 29

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Face 面对

Beauty standards fluctuated through much of China’s long history.

Most painting throughout the dynasties depicts women with oval faces and small cherry lips. The most noticeable difference was during the Tang dynasty where women were painted with wide faces and rotund figures. Oval faces were once again preferred during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and largely remained the ideal shape until chairman Mao came into power in 1949. During Mao Ze Dong’s leadership, beauty ideals went under the radar.

It was about function over form and looking natural. The public conversation around the notion of beauty remained dormant from about 1949 until the 1980’s when China opened its doors to the world.

When Deng Xiao Ping (邓小平) won the leadership seat in 1978, he immediately got to work on improving China’s trade and economy.

Thanks to his open door policy enacted in 1979, China opened up to

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the world and began soaking in international influences. Not only were the markets impacted, the idea of beauty was resurrected.

Due to the onslaught of international companies, Western ideals began to take root. Women wanted to look like Caucasian models. Large eyes and a straight nose became the highly desired look.

Additionally because Caucasian models dominate the fashion industry, the belief that paleness equates to beauty was further ingrained. While Western influence had a great impact on Chinese beauty standards, recently influences from Korea also creeped in. The Korean wave brought ideals in line with Chinese beauty standards but solidified and raised those

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Face �寚

expectations. Big eyes, slim faces, and pale skin from Kpop stars were more aspiration for Chinese females.

The preference for large eyes and a slim face has roots in culture and tradition as well. The overall image of the desirable female is largely submissive and delicate. Feminist theories and well as gender theories are woven into centuries of customs and beliefs.

Through the dynasties, women were thought to be lesser than men. This thought still lingers in the older generation today. To understand why, we must briefly look into cultural norms. Marriage and family life plays a crucial role in Chinese culture. The common belief is that one will get married have kids and take care of their aging parents. Traditionally, women were seen as possessions and daughters from a rich family would have a large dowry.

People did not marry for love; they married for convenience.

Today, marriage and family life are still a central part of Chinese culture, however it is now done for romantic love rather than for tradition or convenience.

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"Women face more judgement on their looks in the work place than men, As long as a man gets the job done, he's good. It's a bit unfair in my opinion." ~interviewee M, age 19 (Shanghai)

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Face 面对

Impact 35

A notable impact on Chinese society from these ideals is the increase in plastic surgery. Plastic surgery was unthinkable 10 years ago, but thanks to increasing wealth and social media, cosmetic surgery procedures have skyrocketed.

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Face �寚

Thanks to the Kpop obsession, an estimated 60,000 people travel to Korea each year to get cosmetic surgery.

Additionally

a

2016

research

study

conducted by HSBC forecasts the cosmetic surgery industry in China is set to double between 2014 to 2019. Cosmetic surgery is often frowned upon in the West however it is commonplace in countries like Korea. China is in the middle ground; many people do not like exposing the fact they had surgery but still go under the knife in order to achieve the face they desire. A possible reason for the desire and quest for beauty is because of the overwhelming competition in China. China is the most populous country in the world with over 1.3 billion people as of 2015. Job competition is fierce and looking attractive may grant an edge in certain fields such as hospitality and tourism, as well as entertainment and business.

The increasing amount of people chasing after beauty creates

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an extremely superficial society. The idea that being beautiful will make one’s life easier is not exactly a lie. An example is the TV show Ugly Wudi, the Chinese equivalent of Ugly Betty.

The main character in the show is called Wudi and relatively unattractive by modern beauty standards. The show takes a turn on the hero saves princess and turns it into a heroin saves prince storyline. Although the message sent out says unattractive women are fully capable and brains can win love, it also blames many of Wudi’s hardships in life on her looks. She gets rejected from job interviews and has to work harder than others to obtain success. The underlying message is that being beautiful makes life easier.

The pressure among women to conform is high and the popular beauty ideal is hard to achieve. The skyrocketing rates of cosmetic surgery are an indicator of that.

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Makeup 化妆

Makeup 化妆

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Makeup 化妆

Trends 41

To talk about the face is also to talk about makeup. Make up trends come and go but popular looks seen in the streets and mainstream media the past few years include a natural look, glam makeup and soft innocent appeal.

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Makeup 化妆

The clean innocent look revels in minimal makeup to channel childlike virtue while the elegant glam look plays up the smoldering eyes and bold lips. While there is a medley of makeup trends in existence, some aspects are predominantly noticeable. Nearly all makeup looks incorporate the straight eyebrow. Celebrities, advertisements, and social media all incorporate the straight eyebrow look. It is a softer more innocent look compared to the thinner arched eyebrow prevalent in the early 2000’s. For more visuals, let us take a look at what makeup looks the app Beautycam

by Meitu can do.

Original Image

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As the images show, full eyebrows are in fashion, much like current trends in the West. Eyebrow obsession is at an all time high with girls showing off their perfectly filled brows and even men hopping on the bandwagon. While social media, like Instagram, highlights perfect eyebrows without a hair out of place, eyebrows in China generally tend to be a bit more natural. Of course the more glamorous look connotes heavier makeup but for an everyday casual look, girls often fill their eyebrows in such a way that it looks full but still soft.

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Makeup ĺŒ–ĺŚ†

From the previous case study, full eyebrows and eye enlarging makeup are in the spotlight. A popular accessory among females for enlarging the eyes is circle lenses. While many people wear contact lenses for vision correction, some circle lens wearers wear it purely for aesthetic purposes. These lenses increase the size of the pupil and create a wide eye dolly look. While it may sound like a small addition, wearing them makes a huge impact on someone’s look. It is like the final extra piece that brings the look to the next level.

While large eyes are desired, smaller faces or slim cheeks are also sought after. This leads to the rising popularity of contouring. While Western style contouring is about sculpting the cheekbones, Asia, specifically Korea, has developed a slightly different style. Instead of focusing on cheekbones and angles, the outer edge of the face (towards the hairline and ears) has bronzer applied and blended to create a soft shadow. The best way to visualize it is to imagine wearing a hoodie with the hood up and pulling the string so that the opening becomes smaller. The centre of the face is the brightest while the outer edges are darker. This of course ties into the desire for a melon-seed face.

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"Korean makeup is definitly popular, there's a lot of influence from other Asian countries." ~interviewee T, age 18 (Beijing)

"North Americans are braver with makeup; I feel like there's a lot of emphasis on the eyes.

They're also not afraid to use colour, especially for lips." ~interviewee J, age 18 (Yunnan)

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Makeup 化妆

Anecdote 47

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Makeup 化妆

My journey with makeup undertook many metamorphisms before I discovered what works for me.

My personal experience with makeup started when I was in middle school. I tried out mascara that promised long thick lashes, and to my disappointment my lashes did not reach even a fraction of the length of the model on ad. That’s not unexpected since advertisements do exaggerate their product, however I also placed part of the blame on the fact that my lashes were short and straight, and on my monolids. All the makeup tutorials I saw in magazines used a Caucasian model and I could never figure out how to make it work on my own facial features. Nothing worked well on monolids. So I started exploring makeup for Asian faces and somehow came across the extraordinary fact that there were

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products to create double eyelids. Looking back I believe my desire for double eyelids coincided with my kpop obsession and I wanted to look just like the girls dancing in music videos and dramas. My non-Asian friend once asked me with distain why I use double eyelid tape; “It’s changing your appearance, like plastic surgery,” or something along those lines. I was quite annoyed since it was literally just a piece tape I stuck on my eyelid, much like other girls use fake lashes. It seemed a bit extreme to compare it to plastic surgery. That was the first time I was fully aware of the difference in Chinese and Western trends.

Fast forward to present day and my makeup looks follow trends in Asia. A big factor is because the makeup looks work with my Asian features. Other reasons are because they follow beauty ideals in Asia I heard growing up from my parents, and I personally like the cute innocent look. Also, many failures with Western makeup

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Makeup 化妆

"The makeup artist who was doing my makeup had no experience working with Asian features and I walked away mildly resembling a clown."

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looks put me off attempting trying them at all. One of the most vivid memories I have was at a promotional event where they were doing makeup touch-ups for free. The makeup artist who was doing my makeup had no experience working with Asian features and I walked away mildly resembling a clown. The second memory was with another promotional event at a mall. This time I opted only for lip makeup rather than a full-face touch-up, I mean you can’t really screw up lip makeup, right? Well it ended up less than satisfactory because the shade of lipstick the makeup artist chose for me clashed horribly with my skin tone. Those two experiences stick with me to this day and I still only buy Asian products because I know they are made for an Asian audience.

Moving on here are plenty of makeup trends and products that work with Asian features, who’s to say we can’t rock the red lip like Taylor Swift or a smoky eye like Demi Lovato? There are many Chinese girls who grew up with Western ideals and do their makeup with influence from both. Everyone has their own preferences, and makeup styles are simply another platform to express one’s personality and identity.

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Makeup 化妆

History 53

Throughout ancient China, women used makeup. Common elements throughout the dynasties were the use of face powder and painted lips. During the Tang dynasty (618 A.D – 907 A.D) there were seven steps to putting on makeup.

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Makeup 化妆

1. Powder the face • Powder was generally made from rice to whiten the face • It is similar to today’s use of foundation Pale skin was highly desired.

Women used special gels and lotions made from natural ingredients to whiten their skin 2. Rouge the cheeks 3. Tracing the eyebrows • This was a crucial step to the makeup routine, every female should know how to do their eyebrows • The style of eyebrows differed with each dynasty and time period. .• Extremely important, Emperor Tang Xuanzong wrote a book dedicated to drawing ten different styles of eyebrows (Shi Mei Tu 十眉圖) • Eyebrow shapes inspired by objects in nature like willow leaves, olives and such

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Drawings by Nancy Duong (2014)

4. Gilding the forehead • Women powdered ocher powder to their forehead to resemble gold.

5. Colour the lips • During ancient times, the raw material used was vermillion. Throughout the years, it was mixed with other ingredients, such as beeswax and animal fat, to form a balm that lasts longer.

• Different dynasties had different preferences for lip makeup, however nearly all of them favoured small lips.

6. Dotting the cheeks • Dots were placed on the cheeks to imitate the look of dimples 7. Pasting on floral designs • This refers to pasting on flowers or petals on one’s forehead • Popular legend says it started when Princess Shouyang was sleeping under a plum blossom tree when a petal landed on her forehead. The imprint lasted for 3 days and the court ladies admired it so much that they started imitating it with makeup.

• Floral designs were super popular in Tang and Song dynasty 56

Makeup 化妆

While makeup in ancient times was relatively stable, makeup styles after the last dynasty went through various transitions. After the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912, makeup retained elements of its predecessors until the 1920’s. Western media such as silent films creeped into the country and makeup took on Western influence with red lips and bobbed hairstyles. The influence was especially noticeable in the 1940’s as China was allied with the US during WWII. However makeup receded from the public sphere soon after.

As mentioned in the previous section, beauty ideals were not in the spotlight for much of the population during Chairman Mao’s rule from 1949-1976. Specifically from 1949 to about 1960, women did not wear makeup, firstly because conformity to a natural look was expected of all citizens. Femininity was suppressed and women were expected to join the workforce along with men. Secondly, communist China was closed off to the world and the economy was not in good shape. People were poor and living standards were low. Schools imposed strict guidelines on appearance and uniform dress.

From 1960 to 1965, femininity resurfaced with an emphasis on natural beauty. Those were the somewhat peaceful years before the Cultural Revolution took over and beauty ideals became handcuffed to the Mao suit. The battle between Mao and his

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Poster from 1960 People's Commune is Great as Women are Liberated thoroughly

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Makeup 化妆

followers wanting to destroy everything ‘old’ and the opposition wanting to preserve China’s traditions virtually descended the country into civil war. When China’s open door policy went into effect, the love for aesthetics was no longer supressed. International brands spread and beauty ideals began to shift and take form. The use of makeup was still minimal during the 1980’s. The country was in the beginning stages of shifting from a command economy (production, investment, and prices controlled by the government) to more of a market economy (production, investment, and prices fluctuate depending on supply and demand). People were still poor and commercialization was in its beginning stages. However ideals had started changing and Western influence could be seen through changes in fashion and hair. The 1990’s saw exponential growth of China’s economy and the use of makeup increased along with it. The 2000’s witnessed makeup trends appearing and a common every-day look would be natural makeup with thin arched eyebrows. That look evolved and now in the 2010’s, the Kpop look is taking over with women imitating the dewy skin and full eyebrows of Korean pop stars.

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"Korean makeup is the most popular. A lot of people watch Korean dramas and try to do their makeup like the actors." ~interviewee J, age 18 (Yuunan)

"From what I remember, people didn't wear makeup at all in the 70's. They didn't really wear makeup in the 80's either, it was around the 90's that wearing makeup was starting to normalize." ~interviewee C, Age 45 (Beijing)

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Makeup 化妆

Impact 61

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Makeup 化妆

The impact of makeup on Chinese women follows much of the countries political history and current social situation. It has been a tool to control the people and identity.

However looking at the impact of makeup in today’s society, the most significant effect is on the expectations of women. The phenomenon of makeup as everyday routine is seen worldwide.

"Looking good offers you an edge in the job search. Of course you have to be competent, but at the same time employers like women who look put together." ~interviewee Y, age 20 (Dalian) 63

The importance of makeup is compelling and similar in Western and Asian societies, with slight differences at times. There are arguments that makeup is pushed onto women as a necessity, however the flip side says that women are taking control of their femininity and can do what they wish. Feminist theories are highly relevant when discussing the role of makeup and an integral part of viewing makeup as identity.

In addressing the role of makeup in the professional world, it is both a leverage and obstacle. Wearing makeup can make a woman appear headstrong and capable, while not wearing makeup may liken them to someone incapable. A New York Times study found that women who used cosmetics were deemed more competent than those who did not. Instead of being judged solely on their skill, they are also judge on their appearance. The wearing of cosmetics has been normalized so much that the average working

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Makeup 化妆

woman is expected to wear makeup. Makeup has inhibited itself as a part of feminine identity; it is just what women do. The act of putting on makeup has evolved from a secular activity to being tied with power and competence. It is arguable that the patriarchal system has made it easier for men to climb up the career ladder and enjoy more freedom in the job market; they do not have to worry about being judged on appearance as much as women.

While it is acceptable for a man to go to a job interview makeup free, a woman is usually compelled to wear makeup. This is especially noticeable in China’s service industry. Companies like to hire attractive females as the face of their business. It is a great advantage to be pretty if you are a in customer service.

On the flip side, it could be debated that after the gender neutrality during Mao’s rule, women were finally free to embrace things associated with femininity. Some may say that the use of makeup

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is a choice and women are free to use it to have agency over their appearance.

Furthermore, as women are getting higher paid positions in companies, they are free to spend their money however they wish. However when given a closer look, many female executives wear makeup in order to appear professional and put together.

The arguments work for both sides since the pressures of appearing attractive in public is true; the use of makeup is also a conscious choice of many women.

While makeup was used as a secular activity through ancient history, it is now a tool used to gain an edge in the professional field as well. Arguments that women are pressured into wearing makeup and the use of makeup as free choice can both be supported by believable reason.

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Body 身材

Body 身材

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Body 身材

Trends 69

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Body 身材

Beauty standards for the body are quite predictable. Following in line with the majority of the world, a slim figure is desirable. In China especially, thin equals beautiful. While a trend in North America has been the desire for a large booty and a full chest, Asian countries still value an overall slim figure over a curvy one. While a lot of celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj are popularizing curvy bodies, Chinese celebrities have exceptionally thin figures.

Although they are thin, a full bosom and perky backside are also desired. It is a hard combination to achieve. While Western society focuses on working out and having a healthy diet for a great body, many girls in China simply diet to become thin. Advertisements and social media are a prime source for these ideals. Social media challenges especially show how much value thinness has. Some of the most popular challenges are: • Belly button challenge • Underboob pen challenge • A4 waist challenge • IPhone 6 challenge However, before we dive into the challenges, let us take a look at China’s social media landscape.

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China's Social Media Although many social media platforms are banned in China (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube... etc.), Chinese citizens have access to their own social media sites. These social media sites are almost exclusively used by Chinese netizens and offer a glimpse into trends, lifestyle, and ideals in the mainland. The use of social media is lucrative among the country’s youth with 70% of users being under the age of 35. China’s social media is an example of the country's sheer manpower; with an estimated 650,000,000 online users in total, that’s approximately twice the population of the United States! To put this in perspective, let’s compare the number of users of the top 5 Chinese social media sites in 2016 to the population of Canada.

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Body 身材

Canada’s population = 35 Million Tencent QQ 850+ million monthly active users

= 24.3 Canadas Wechat 600+ million monthly active users

= 17.1 Canadas Sina Weibo 287+ million monthly active users = 8.2 Canadas Baidu Tieba 200+ million monthly active users = 5.7 Canadas

Douban 200+ million monthly active users = 5.7 Canadas 73

Now, social media is no stranger to challenges (think Chubby Bunny or the Running Man challenge) however, China’s social media brings a lot more vanity into the mix. Many of the well-known challenges tell us the extremes of their beauty ideals.

Belly Button Challenge This trend took off in June 2015 when Korean boy band member Sehun posted a photo of himself on Weibo reaching his arm behind his back to touch his belly button. The post garnered 150,000 shares and over 500,000 likes and many people took to the challenge.

This was meant to show off a thin waist and was popular among female netizens. However chubbier netizens have disproved this method of judging one’s thinness by successfully completing the challenge as well.

Image source: Weibo

Underboob Pen Challenge In addition to having a slim waist, big boobs are also an important part of having a desirable body, according to this challenge. The act of putting a pen under boobs was originally from an advice column of the Chicago Sun Times as a way to see if you need support for your boobs. However it blew up on Weibo with women showing off their assets and lots of topless selfies involved.

It became so popular that men joined on the challenge by squeezing pens between their pecks.

Image source: Weibo

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Body 躍ć??

A4 Waist Challenge Another ode to having a thin waist, this challenge involves holding a piece of A4 paper in front of the waist to show you are thinner than the dimensions of the paper. If there is no sign of your waist on either side of the paper, then you have passed the challenge. It became hugely popular with many girls posting selfies on Weibo to show off how thin they are. However it glorifies thinness to an extreme standard and has received much backlash and parodies as a result. iPhone 6 Challenge One of the most recent challenges to surface on Weibo, it involves placing an iPhone 6 horizontally over your knees. if you kneecaps are narrower than the phone, you have passes the challenge. This proves absolutely nothing. Kneecaps have zero correlation to body weight and are a fixed size.

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From those challenges, we can gather that having a slim body with sizable boobs is the most desirable. While North American culture stresses going to the gym to work out, in China working out is seen as a masculine thing to do. Chinese women are not as forward about going to the gym as women in the West. They do not want muscles but rather a delicate figure, much like those desired in ancient China. Because of that extreme dieting is rising among girls.

"In China, a big part of beauty revolves around being thin.

Westerners focus more on exercise and healthy eating, but a lot of girls in China will go on extreme diets rather than exercise." ~interviewee C, age 45 (Beijing) 76

Body 身材

Anecdote 77

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As someone who’s grown up hearing certain ideals from family and bombarded with standards from Western Media, my ideal of a beautiful body is a mixture of the two. However my opinion for the most desirable body shape only extends to myself; the body shape of others is not for me to judge. The West is more accepting of different body shapes and the message that everyone is beautiful in their own right is the widespread message.

From personal experience, I feel like China is more judgemental compared to North America. When I was 14, I went to China to visit my relatives. I was never considered fat in Canada; I was a pretty average build.

Yet my grandma would comment on how chubby I was from time to time and my aunt especially would make it known I was chubbier than my cousin. I always remember that moment my cousin had a too-large shirt and said she can give it to me. My aunt then quietly said to her that it’ll fit me better because I was fatter than her and the two of them broke out in a fit of giggles.

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That moment, she solidified herself in the book of people I did not like. Fast-forward four years; I was visiting family again at the age of 18. This time I had slimmed down, toeing the line of underweight territory. I only saw my aunt once this time and she did not say anything about my weight this time; I was the same build, if not slimmer, than my cousin now. It was a strange experience because looking back, nearly every clothing store I walked into, the sales associate would compliment me on my body shape and how thin I was. Even if it was their job to compliment the guests, the fact that they would comment on how thin a girl’s body is brings forth the idea that thin equals beautiful. Turn the clock to 2017 and my ideal of a beautiful body has seen the effects of two polarizing ideals. I will want to be cute and thin yet I also want to be strong with curves. It’s like having two forces pushing against each other that do not quite mix. Perhaps I want to look thin and delicate from afar but up close I am actually fit and strong. As of now I just tell myself to live a healthy lifestyle and not to get hung up chasing after certain standards. From my perspective, young girls are most susceptible to beauty standards and may adhere to them to try to please others. As we grow older we may still be impacted by beauty standards, but instead of chasing after them to fit in, we work on our appearance for ourselves.

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Body 身材

History 81

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Body 身材

The ideal female body varies throughout the dynasties, with a slim figure dominating through most of them. Historical paintings often depict women with the beauty ideals of the time so let us inspect several of the most prominent dynasties in China.

Tang Dynasty (618 A.D – 907 A.D) The Tang dynasty is regarded as a golden period in Chinese history with flourishing arts and culture. It was also a liberal time where women enjoyed more freedom than previous dynasties. Round figures were preferred as a signifier of wealth and prosperity. Paintings in this era often depict women with round faces. It was one of the few eras where a full figure was desired.

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907A.D – 960 A.D) The beginning of this era still retained likeness to that of the Tang dynasty, however as time passed, women in paintings slimmed down.

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Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644/1662) Women found in paintings of this era had an elegant and delicate quality about them. They are illustrated with willowy figures and oval faces.

Qing Dynasty (1636/1644 – 1912) This period expanded artistic subjects to include women of all social status. They were often shown with slim figures and oval faces.

Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses (簪花仕女圖) by Zhou Fang 周昉 (ca 730-800)

Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk (搗練圖) by Zhang Xuan 張萱 (ca. 710-748)

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Body 身材

20th century As Western influence entered China’s big cities in the 1930’s, the ideal of a beautiful female took on Western characteristics as well. Shanghai especially experienced Western impressions. The two images to the left show Vivien Leigh, who starred in Gone With the Wind, and Hu Die, a popular socialite in Shanghai.

Slim bodies are accentuated by long sleek fashions and they carry themselves with an air of sultry femininity. While the females depicted in ads are slim, they all retain a healthy glow and figure with full bosoms

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and hips. This remained the ideal body shape to have until the People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. As mentioned in previous sections, the ideal female was not flowery and delicate but strong and hard-working. The slim dainty female was replaced with images of capable, energetic women working for their country.

After Mao passed away in 1976, the resurgence of advertising attracted a plethora of international brands. Images of models slimmer than anything seen in the past few decades appeared and the desire to be feminine and beautiful materialized. Then in the 1990’s Korean pop culture began gaining ground in China; the first instance of the Korean Wave or Hallyu. The influence of slim, beautiful Korean girls made its way into mainstream media and a slim body was glorified even more. Today, the standard is a tiny waist, a perky bosom and butt, with slim legs.

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Body 身材

Impact 87

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Body 身材

The image of female bodies in mass media has become thinner than ever and its impact can be seen as an increase in body image issues and rise of extreme dieting.

While there is a stereotype that Asian women are naturally smaller and thinner than their Western counterparts, studies find higher levels of body dissatisfaction among Asian females than American females. A 2012 study on body image found college women in China rated the ideal body from “extremely thin” to “not fat and not too thin”. The women interviewed who were from a vocational college seemed to face even more pressure to be beautiful than those from public colleges. Vocational colleges often had 5 to 7 females rooming together and peer pressure to look a certain way was extremely high.

Participants describe difficult and torturous methods they’ve seen fellow roommates go through to lose weight. The general consensus of the women is that, once again, to be thin is to be beautiful. The overwhelming majority of participants all agreed that clothes look the best on a skinny body. The cohesive agreement that a thin body is a beautiful body places a huge pressure on young girls. Teenage girls still physically

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"There's a big emphasis on being thin, I don't think it's very healthy at all." ~interviewee M, age 19 (Shanghai)

developing are particularly vulnerable to going on strict diets and obstructing proper growth.

The focus of adhering to beauty standards in China has its roots in the male-dominated social system. Many females want to look prettier for a better chance at the job market. Compared to the West, Chinese women face more obstacles in the job market. Many companies favour males and

when hiring a female, prefer one with an attractive appearance. The same 2012 study found that women felt pressure to be beautiful in order to be “accepted into society” or “follow the underlying rules”. Feminism is not as predominant in Chinese society as the West and the correlation of a woman’s appearance on her life and career is tied more closely together as a result.

Notably in poorer communities in the countryside, families would send their sons to school if they can afford it and the daughter would remain at home to take care of the family. If she decides to leave home and find work in the city, the most likely jobs would be waitressing or something similar that requires her to look pretty. In a sense, beauty is a form of capital.

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Fashion 时尚

Fashion 时尚

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Trends 93

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We’ve covered body expectations; now let us talk about dressing the body. Before specifying trends and looks, we must take a look at China’s fashion market. Again these trends mostly apply to middle and upper class citizens in big cities. A prominent trend that appeared in the last decade or so is the love of luxury goods. China is the world’s largest luxury goods consumer, and in 2015 had up to 596 billionaires by US dollars. The consumption of luxury goods has a lot of do with social status.

Social status is of extreme importance in China and luxury goods are a way to affirm and assert that appearance. Previously, Chinese people bought luxury brands to fit in or to enter higher social groups, now more and more are buying simply because they like the products.

Contrastingly, as the middle class grows, upper class citizens are looking to other international brands who are targeted at their niche market, in

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order to stand out. They are looking for something that suits their style, something that cultivates a sense of belonging to an exclusive group. This is a trend reserved for the wealthy and affluent.

However for much of the mainstream crowd, a sense of fitting in is of more importance.

Recently sportswear or athleisure, wearing athletic wear outside of the gym, has been on the rise with Nike and Adidas leading the trend. This is thanks to an anti-corruption campaign by the government as well as an increase in the Chinese fitness industry. The anti-corruption campaign aims to: restrict the consumption of traditional luxury goods by public officials, and to stop bribes and unlawful favours. As a result Chinese consumers are looking to buy goods that do not have repercussions and the growing fitness industry provided a market ripe for picking.

In terms of mainstream style, we can generally gather them into four categories.

1. Cute and innocent 2. Glamorous 3.Relaxed and casual 4. Cool and edgy

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Anecdote 97

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As someone who grew up surrounded by Western trends, I never took much interest in them. The takeover of Uggs and Hollister in my junior high days never drew my attention, nor did the crop tops and high waisted shorts in my early days of university.

That’s not to say I didn’t like them, I just never felt compelled to follow them. The main difference I noticed is that Asian fashion has a niche market for cuteness. There are more frilly dresses available for adults and cartoon prints are more playful. A more mainstream

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trend I have noticed among foreign youth in Canada is a black and white streetwear style. Keeping in mind that these students come from rich families, the brands they wear are probably unaffordable to the lower class. Strangely enough, if I were to describe the clothes they were wearing piece by piece, they would all sound like things you can get at the nearest mall. Yet put them together and the style looks and feels distinctly East Asian. I believe the coordination and overall look of the person is what breathes life into the clothes.

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Fashion 时尚

History 101

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Fashion ć—śĺ°š

Illustration by N. Duong, 2013

Fashion and clothing in China goes back thousands of years. They were a symbol of status in ancient times; the rich and poor dressed differently. The governing power would establish certain rules that distinguished the poor from the higher class. For example, during the Sui dynasty, the poor could only wear blue or black, only the elite were allowed to wear colour. Often times only the rich were permitted to wear silk; the poor wore hemp and cotton. The illustration shows garments worn by upper class ladies through the dynasties.

After the Qing dynasty fell in 1912, fashion in the Republic of China still resembled traditional dress. However it started taking on characteristics of the modern Qipao soon after. The qipao design is based off the Mongolian style of dress with a high collar and diagonal fastening.

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From the 1920’s - 1930’s Westernization brought new styles to Shanghai. This was also the defining decade for the Qipao. The early 1920’s saw the beginning stages of the garment; it was generally loose with long sleeves and worn unadorned. The modern qipao evolved from that thanks to Western cinema; it became more form fitting and higher cut. Modern prints also became popular. Of course, not everyone wore the qipao; regular Western style dress was also on the rise. However it was a hybrid of Chinese and Western rather than pure Western dress.

Once the People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949, style and fashion was swept under a rug along with the old government.

The Mao suit was common wear and blue, grey and green were dominant colours. The suit was usually worn in public however simple more colourful shirts were worn as well during secular activities. When China opened its doors in 1979, clothing once again became varied and colourful. Western influence was prominent with bell bottoms and bright colours were seen throughout the urban centres.

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Fashion 时尚

Impact 105

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Much like Western society, fashion reflects social, economic, political and cultural ideals of the time. It is not only a tool for aesthetics but encompasses public thoughts and practices.

The result of Mao’s rigid rules coupled with new found freedom and a growing middle class created an interesting environment for fashion. While much of China’s society still values uniformity and fitting in, many desire to stand out from the crowd. It is a paradox in itself. While the rich and powerful wish to stand out, they want to stand out in terms of excellence and be looked up upon and accepted by the rest of society. Rather than deviate from mainstream fashion, most reach for the most aspirational luxury brands. In comparison to the West, China’s fashion scene has a more cohesive aesthetic. While in North America, where

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many schools do not require uniforms, rigid dress codes are standard practice in China. As a result, there are more opportunities for young people to experiment with looks and style in North America. The culture of dress is different and standing out with flamboyant apparel may attract negative prejudgements in many situations. Overall, uniformity of dress and fashion plays a bigger part in Chinese society than the West.

Moving beyond simple surface aesthetic, fashion operates at the heart of China’s professional and business culture. Chinese society is exceedingly group orientated and a sense of belonging is sought after and valued. Being in good standing with members

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Fashion 时尚

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of a group, whether it is school, friends or work, is important. The dialogue around social status is culminated into the word 面子 (miànzi). The literal English translation would be a person’s face but the closest meaning would be image and social status. That is where the phrase “Losing face” comes from. It is almost like social currency, a person’s status or place in society. It is the combination of a person’s job, dress, family, personality, friends and all aspects of their life. Miànzi is extremely important in starting one’s career and relationships. Anything can impact one’s miànzi, if you know someone involved in a scandal, it will impact your own image as well. The connotations and culture of miànzi is central and expansive in Chinese culture.

Furthermore, Fashion is a vehicle for someone’s image. Owning recognizable brands, in most cases, boosts one’s social currency.

Social currency raises one’s standing in certain groups. Social groups refer to friends, family, school, workplace and fitting in as a respectable member of society is valued above all else.

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Conclu 111

lusion 112

Chinese beauty ideals have traveled down a twisting path from ancient times to modern day. The Fan Bingbing standard is what mass media present as the ideal female beauty; Melon-seed face, large eyes, slim body with graceful poise. Certainly that doesn’t mean everyone in China sees her as the ideal; she just happens to have many features deemed beautiful and desireable by members of the public. If I dare say, China’s standards are more strict with less wiggle room. Part of the strict expectations relate to women’s status in China; there is a strict divide between male and female expectations and women are often seen as the weaker sex. However, women have come a long way since the days of arranged marriages and are finding their own self expression and freedom.

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The current beauty ideal retains elements of ancient societies as well as outside influence. Ideals such as pale skin and large eyes were seen throughout history while makeup and fashion gained solid footing after China’s open door policy in 1978. Western influence is evident, however influence from other countries, especially Korea, is a huge impact as well.

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