Special issue 2013
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PG 8
BEAUTY PG 20
BIOLOGICAL
PG 32
CULTURAL the gentlewoman special issue 2013
PG 68
IMPACTS PG 86
DISCUSS
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CONTENTS
PG 8
BEAUTY PG 20
BIOLOGICAL
PG 32
CULTURAL
PG 68
IMPACTS PG 86
DISCUSS
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FOREWORD BEAUTY The first section opens the magazine with the basic idea of beauty, questioning what beauty is. BIOLOGICAL The biological influence of the perception of beauty opens the second section proving that science and proportions play a part in our perception of beauty today. CULTURAL The third section delves into the cultural causes of our perception of beauty highlighting factors such as mass media and culture. IMPACTS The impacts of the perception of beauty opens the fourth section of the magazine with the harmful impacts and statistics. DISCUSS In the last section, females from different industries talk about their own perception of beauty regarding their field.
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BEAUTY
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physical attractiveness / adonic / aesthetic / adorab artistical / artistry / aspectabund / asset /attraction / a / beautiful / becoming / benefit/ bleached blond / b charm / cherry / class / comeliness / comely / curiou eesome / elegance / elegant / enchanting / esthetic / / featous / feature / fine / fit / fit to be seen / gimp / good looks / good thing / gorgeous / grace / graceful importance / in full bloom / jaunty / jimp / leggiadrou amiss / ornamental / passable / penciled / personable / proper / quaint / refined / refinement / resplendent shining / showy / sightly / sleek / smart / snod / spar / sublime /superb / svelte / symmetrical / symmetry / undeformed / unkempt / unspotted / value / venus / physical attractiveness / adonic / aesthetic / adora artistical / artistry / aspectabund / asset /attraction / a / beautiful / becoming / benefit/ bleached blond / b charm / cherry / class / comeliness / comely / curiou eesome / elegance / elegant / enchanting / esthetic / / featous / feature / fine / fit / fit to be seen / gimp / good looks / good thing / gorgeous / grace / graceful / importance / in full bloom / jaunty / jimp / leggiadr 12
bleness / allure / allurement / apollonian / artistic / attractive / beaming / beamy / beauteous / beautified blessing/ bloom / blooming / bonny / boon/ bright / us / dainty / dapper / dazzling / delicacy / delicate / excellent/ exquisiteness / fair / fairness / fascination glamor / glossy / glowing / goodly / good looking / / gracile / handsome / handsomeness / harmonious / us / loveliness / magnificent / merit / natty / neat / not / pictorial / picturesque / polish / pulchritude / pretty t / rich / rosy / sabi / seemly / shapeliness / shaply / rkling / specious / splendid / spotless / spruce / style y / tempean / tidy / tight / tricksy / trim / undefaced st / wabi / well / well / well / winsomeness / worth ableness / allure / allurement / apollonian / artistic / attractive / beaming / beamy / beauteous / beautified blessing/ bloom / blooming / bonny / boon/ bright / us / dainty / dapper / dazzling / delicacy / delicate / excellent/ exquisiteness / fair / fairness / fascination glamor / glossy / glowing / goodly / good looking / l / gracile / handsome / handsomeness / harmonious rous / loveliness / magnificent / merit / natty / neat / 13
E B U A Y T 14
B E A U T Y 15
Beauty [ byoo tee ] 1 The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations. 2 A beautiful person, especially a woman. 3 A beautiful thing, as a work of art or a building.
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There are all sorts of definition and characterizations of beauty throughout history that can be applied. Some philosophers have framed it in terms of a moral question of beauty as goodness, others abide to the modern dictionary definition that beauty is “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or pattern, or something else.”
Although the phrase ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ might appear cliché on the surface, it in fact distinctly correlates the nature and nurture elements that complete the meaning of beauty. This phrase suggests that people’s
“Although the phrase ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ might appear cliché on the surface, it in fact distinctly correlates the nature and nurture elements that complete the meaning of beauty.” opinions about the question of beauty differ. Beauty is not determined simply by the dictionary’s definition of giving intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, also known as the beholder. It is determined by the factors that influence the “eye” of the beholder. The factors are subjective cultural influences and biological elements that ultimately define what beauty is. Psychologists from all over the world point out that biological factor to facial symmetry and evolution and credit the mass media as a strong determinant in defining what beauty is.
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Beauty
Although the dictionary has a certain degree of accuracy in it, such definitions does not suffice the psychological question of the perceptions of beauty because there are additional complex elements such as biological, environmental, non-physical factors that are necessary to include when studying about beauty.
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SYMMETRY
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ymmetry is scientifically proven attractive to uman eye
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Symmetry scientifically to be attracti the human
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Universally, people prefer symmetrical faces. Many emphasize symmetry as being the most important factor that remains attractive to the human eye. Based on a recent study in Neuroimage, self-evaluation of one’s own facial attractiveness may and could be related to self-esteem.
“Symmetry has been scientifically proven to be inherently attractive to the human eye.”
Symmetry has been scientifically proven to be inherently attractive to the human eye. It has been defined not with proportions, but rather with similarity and balance between the left and right sides of the face. Faces that are symmetrical and average looking tend to be regarded as more attractive in scientific studies. In fact, even babies respond more positively to attractive, symmetrical faces. There are theories that specific proportions are the most naturally beautiful, with ratios, length and width being the most important. With the help of computers, it has become apparent that morphing a lot of faces together typically produces an end product that is highly attractive. The blending gets closer to face prototype that may highlight attractiveness, the ultimate idea of a face is the most average one. A study in perception and psychophysics suggests that symmetry adds to the attractiveness of an average person’s face.
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Symmetry
Vertical alignment creates attraction with one another. Both men and women perceive beauty in different ways, with different types of features.
Vertical alignment creates attraction with one another 28
attraction 29
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THEN & NOW Then, back in the Renaissance peiod, women did not concern themselves with things like a few extra pounds. Then, the ideal beauty was more voluptuous. Now and today, our perception of the ideal beauty has changed to something drastically different. Why is that so?
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The Renaissance was a cultural movement that began in Florence in the 1400s, then spread throughout most of Europe, and lasted into the early years of the 16th century. Because the heart of the Renaissance era dealt with an idolization of the art and literature from the ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece, the perception of what was considered beautiful changed.
Then & Now
Women of the Renaissance period did not concern themselves with things like a few extra pounds of weight. In fact, just the opposite was true. The ideal beauty of that era was more voluptuous than perhaps any other time in history. Paintings from the Renaissance period often focused on women who would today be considered fat. However, at that time, their figures and forms were considered the height of sexiness.
“Women of the Renaissance Era were in many ways more ‘natural’ than the women of today.”
This is a stark contrast to modern attitudes. Nowadays, unless we literally starve ourselves to death, we can’t get remotely skinny enough to be what is deem as attractive. At five foot eight, barely tipping the scales at 110 pounds, and a US size 7, we are considered fat. However, during the Renaissance period, natural women were prized for their God-given bodies. Women of the Renaissance Era were in many ways more “natural” than the women of today. Cosmetics were not considered a necessity and clothing was varied enough that even the most discerning woman could express her own style. While some women wore corsets, they weren’t necessarily required as they would become in other eras. A woman’s natural form, as given to her by God, was considered to be absolutely perfect. “A little meat on the bones” was a good thing and not something to be hidden. While no era in time has or likely ever will be perfect for womankind, it is perhaps the Renaissance Era that best celebrated the soft, natural, graceful curves of the
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feminine physique. What a pity that this attitude has been lost in time. Throughout history, the common person has understood his or her era’s perception of beauty by how it was presented by the media of the day. The media not only presents society’s current ideal, but it helps propagate that ideal through its assertions that the ideal can be made into a reality. In the past, that ideal imitated what was being seen in the reality of the time, but in the present day that ideal has become exaggeratedly unreal. In the Classical era, the feminine ideal was that which was attainable by the aristocracy. Hearty, well-fed, pale, small breasted and statuesque, this ideal was best portrayed through both paintings and sculpture. In the
“In the Classical era, the feminine ideal was that which was attainable by the aristocracy. Hearty, well-fed, pale, small breasted and statuesque, this ideal was best portrayed through both paintings and sculpture.” Victorian era, emphasis was placed on thin, corseted waists, again, attainable only by the aristocracy, but the ideal soon returned to the healthy, proportioned look. Sex Goddesses of the 20th Century, such as Marilyn Monroe, had that same pale, healthy, average-chested look that would be considered heavy by our current standards. Because of various factors, including the supposed abolishment of social classes, our culture’s perception of the ideal has not only drastically changed, but it is now available to the masses through four distinct mediums such as television and film, magazines, comic books and Video games, and traditional print media. Each of these mediums uses the same ideal for its own specific and particular purposes.
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Then & Now
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THEN
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NOW
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BARBIE
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The perception of beauty is being corrupted due to mass media. Superficial women are being portrayed as beautiful and it affects children as early as their childhood. This kind of exposure can be really harmful to a young girl due to the fact that they are more impressible than adults. At around the age of 3 or 4, a child may receive her first Barbie doll. Barbie is a slim curvaceous beautiful woman, in many people’s eyes Barbie is flawless. She was and is still portrayed as many young girls role model. If Barbie Barbie
was blown to life size she would be 6 foot, her chest would measure at 39 inches, her waist 19 inches and her hips would be 33 inches and would weigh 110 pounds, which is severely underweight. Young girls have been swayed far more than just by Barbie. In 2001 a new doll was released called “Bratz Dolls”. They are sexy dolls with a curvaceous shape, and pouty lips, and tone of makeup. The outfits that come with the dolls are very revealing. These dolls promote superficiality and create unrealistic ideas of body image in the mind of these children. On the other hand, Barbie has life goals, a wide range of jobs, which require intelligence. The Bratz dolls have no priority other than their “passion for fashion”. Learning these unnecessary skills of applying make-up and having hot boyfriends if overpowering the importance realistic goals. 43
5’4”
36.5” 38”
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Average Woman
145 lbs
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33”
barbie
101 lbs
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MASS MEDIA
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According to Leonard Eron, senior research scientist at the University of Michigan, “Television alone is responsible for 10 percent of youth violence.” This is only 10 percent, and not including the effect it has on body image, sexuality and eating disorders. Magazines and movies on television everywhere are negatively influencing youth. Each movie or magazine depicts some sort of image for the youth to imitate.
“Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight.” heals to look taller, or putting on that extra make-up to look younger. Everyone wants to reach perfection. According to media activist Jean Kilbourne, “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight.” Excessive exercise and dieting have been over-advertised in newspapers, commercials, and magazines, causing women to be more self-conscious about their body. These women then try to compete, with the assumption that they will attract more men that way. We owe most of this to the film industry for showing all beautiful women as the skinny, Barbie-like ones. Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that, “Over three-quarters of the female
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Mass Media
What is the proper definition of “Beauty”? The women displayed on television everyday are young, tall and thin, very similar to a barbie doll. It very rarely is someone with those qualities described as beautiful. Because of the women on television, girls everywhere worry about losing those extra 10 pounds, wearing those nice shiny
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characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size.” The disturbing part of this is that no matter how hard many women try to achieve that level of “beauty,” only a small percentage succeed, causing the rest more harm that good. Research shows that if a girl did look like a Barbie doll, she would not last very long. Her body would not be able to support itself from how thin it is, and she would die much earlier.
In addition, movies show that the “fat” woman is ugly and hurtful comments such as, “Why don’t you just wear a sack?” are used. These, meant to hurt the person’s feelings, are unintentionally giving the audience ideas that there is something wrong with being a little on the heavy side. Not only that, but heavy women are rejected from certain jobs because of how they look, such as television broadcasting. If a woman is not thin, they do not hire her, telling her she will discourage the audience from watching. The “thin woman” standard is not only used for broadcasting, but for selling food and cars. The usual advertisement for cars has a woman leaning on it, wearing immodest clothing. The same woman is also the waitress that serves that great new plate. As long as movies and shows display “thin, beautiful” women, girls everywhere will continue to harm themselves through binge-eating, anorexia and excessive exercise without realizing it. Girls will lose whatever selfesteem they have and their character will become shallow to the point where all that matters is looking good, rather than having a good personality.
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Mass Media
“The disturbing part of this is that no matter how hard many women try to achieve that level of “beauty,” only a small percentage succeed, causing the rest more harm that good.”
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$$$ MONEY MAKING SCHEMES
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$$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ 54
when necessary, cascading at least to her shoulders. As a whole, this ideal was bought into because in the limited print advertising at the time this was how women were portrayed. Therefore, it must be correct, was the general thinking to the public. As the era of the flappers and motion pictures made its entrance to the world, the standards for beauty changed yet again. A woman should still have a full figure, but not quite as full as her mother’s era. A buxom woman was still in vogue and the curves were good, but they were to be limited more to the hips and bust. Short hair became a sign of desirability as the women often appearing in films chose this look as it conveyed a liberated woman that was breaking with the norm and standing on her two feet.
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Money Making Schemes
The media constantly changes our perception of what beauty is because we as a society allow it to. Years ago the ideal standard for beauty in a woman was someone that had a full voluptuous body. Curves in any form were a good thing, and a woman that had some meat on her bones was seen as a sign of not only health and fertility, but also being sexually desirable. Likewise, during this era, a woman was to have long hair to be beautiful. Sure she could pin it back or wear it in a bun, but to be truly beautiful she had to be able to let it hang down
Moreover, oddly enough, a woman that smoked was even seen as beautiful as this had been a taboo in early years. None of this ever would have caught on most likely had Hollywood not fed everyone a steady diet of it. Jumping ahead past the eras of Rosie the Riveter in which the tough by day soft by night woman serving both country and her man was the near the pinnacle of beauty with her rugged exterior which cleaned up instantly to sheer femininity, to the hippies of the 60s when the
“The reason the media did this is that it is, at its core, a money making scheme.” media became conflicted as to what beauty is, we reach the 1970s. The 70s are when we really see the media dictating what beauty is at the speed of light so to speak. As opposed to earlier generations where televisions were more of a privilege than a “necessity” and movies were far fewer, beauty was being redefined subtly. One day women were being told that being large was no longer beautiful and that the pixie haired pale waif was what anyone seeking beauty should aspire to be. People were convinced that this was the ideal look because it was seen on every visual media platform. Almost as quick as acceptance of this notion had been won, the rules changed again and the long huge haired women with deep tans and curvy bodies became the standard of beauty due to us being told that is what we were to believe. The reason the media did this is that it is, at its core, a money making industry. It identifies one thing which has a slim popularity, as it did with the television shows and holds it up as the ideal. Promoting a ‘perfect’ person in this manner rather than a product takes a much smaller investment, is easier to dispose of, and is in constant demand because we as consumers are always looking to be just ahead of the pack when it comes to identifying the next trend.
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Money Making Schemes
They promote what their view of beauty is by simple forceful repetition. They identify the new standard and begin flooding the market with anyone who resembles it until it is all anyone sees. They push this look in the highest rated television shows, movies, commercials, print ads, music videos, posters and anything else, which can portray a visual image. Lists of the “most beautiful� people are compiled over and over again further blatantly telling us what beauty is. They force us to confront the images everywhere we turn and finally just give in to it. Just as a lie can be accepted as truth by some people if it is repeated often enough, a definition of what beauty is can be changed by putting it in our face often enough. Combat this by finding the beauty in yourself and others that lies within. True beauty shouldn’t be a competition.
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MEDIA AFFECTS WOMEN
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While many women might actually be dissatisfied with their own body, they do not develop eating disorders. Appearance related dissatisfaction could easily be linked to low self-esteem and increased social anxiety. Internalization plays a major role in nourishing appearance dissatisfaction among young women.
“Besides being thin, women in the media usually have perfect skin, high cheek bones, plump lips like Angelina Jolie, and most times are helped by digital retouching which can make a person with flaws, flawless.” Thompson and Stice describe internalization as, “The extent to which an individual cognitively ‘buys into’ socially defined ideals of attractiveness and engages in behaviors designed to produce an approximation of this ideals,” Although there are many women that are actually trying to attain the ‘ideal’ beauty that is presented in the media, there is evidence that women also realize that attaining this body is unrealistic, unhealthy and unattainable because if it was, everyone would be the “ideal” beautiful.
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Media affects women
In this segment, it talks about what the media portrays as beautiful and how it can affect women. In the media there is a lot of evidence that a major characteristic of beauty is thinness. Most times this extreme thinness is impossible to attain and also not medically recommended. Besides being thin, women in the media usually have perfect skin, high cheek bones, plump lips like Angelina Jolie, and most times are helped by digital retouching which can make a person with flaws, flawless. With these models, singers, and superstars being portrayed in the media to be perfect it tends to lead to body dissatisfaction among young women, which then is linked to eating disorders and obsessions to attain this impossible ideal image.
Most TIMES EXTREME
THINNESS is impossible to attain
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Media affects women
In the article several experiments have taken place to see how women think looking like their ideal image of beauty would change their lives in a positive way. Women were exposed to an image of a thin model and a description was written below. The description either indicated that the model lived a happy or an unhappy life. The women were also told that the description was common amongst thin women. The results were that the women who read the positive description were self-conscious about their own body and showed lower self esteem compared to women who were shown the negative description. Another experiment that took place evaluated 109 undergraduate students. They were asked to think about the ideal women and what she is portrayed like in the media, then they were given a piece of paper to write down a description of what she should would look like. They were told to imagine if they looked like the women they described, and how they think their lives would change, and if it would be positive or negative. The result in the end indicated that the women believed that their lives intact would change in an important positive way; they believed that they would be more socially competent, well adjusted and successful. Research has indicated that to some extent the participants were right, and that socially they would become more competent, but it usually would not effect their level of success.
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EATING DISORDERS
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70 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD SUFFER FROM EATING DISORDERS
140,000 PEOPLE
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THAT’S BIGGER THAN THE POPULATION IN UK.
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The impractical standard of beauty is not only unreasonable but also dangerous. The extreme desire to obtain perfection has resulted in an alarming number of health and eating disorders. The constant pressure for women to measure up to the socially constructed perceptions of beauty have produced a breeding ground for eating disorders, which are almost always linked to obsession and insecurity.
“The impractical standard of beauty is not only unreasonable but also dangerous. The extreme desire to obtain perfection has resulted in an alarming number of health and eating disorders. ” An eating disorder is a serious illness that involves insufficient or excessive food intake. These types of illnesses, such as anorexia and bulimia, usually occur as soon as individuals believe they have poor body image. Since many people believe that television is supposed to provide its viewers with the ideal and correct perception of physical beauty and body image, many people try to mimic or attempt to physically look the same way as certain popular television characters. In an empirical and quantitative study, researchers examined the effect of exposure to images of idealized beauty in the media on adolescent girls’ and boys’ body image. The 595 participants, who were adolescents viewed television commercials containing either images of the thin ideal for women, images of the muscular ideal for men, or nonappearance television commercials. Body dissatisfaction was measured before and after commercial viewing. It was found that exposure to idealize d commercials led to increased body dissatisfaction for girls but not for boys. Idealized commercials led to increased
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negative mood and appearance comparison for girls and boys. An average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day and by the time she reaches 17 years of age, she would have received 250,000 commercials. Even though television isn’t the direct cause of eating disorders, it is still responsible for influencing people’s drive for thinness and body satisfaction, since being “thin” is perceived as beauty according to television’s perception of beauty. In an article called Dangerous Pursuit of Beauty: the Medias Notion that Thinliness is next to Godliness Plays Havoc with Vulnerable Young Minds, the author, Stephen Pritchard agreed and stated, “It is hard to separate the influence of the media in the development of eating disorders. Studies point to the correlation between low self-esteem and eating distress. The media may contribute to low self-esteem by promoting slenderness as the pathway to gaining love, acceptance and respect, while at the same time reflecting a trend in society to demonize fat”. Therefore, those who are labeled attractive aren’t the ones who mainly have eating disorders. That quote also shows that those who want to be labeled as “attractive” and have low self-esteem to believe that they really are beautiful may tend to develop this disorder too. So since people are constantly and subconsciously exposed to slender body images by television programs, it isn’t much of a surprise for people to believe this perception of beauty as valid and actually want this bodily image. As a matter of fact, they are so determined and influenced by television to look a certain way that they are willing to do whatever it takes, even if risking their health by developing eating disorders while trying to achieve this “beauty” is required. This pursuit and challenge for looking beautiful is why many suffer or die from these eating disorders. This not only shows how dedicated and determined people are when it comes to achieving
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television’s perception of physical beauty, but it also shows how heavily influential television can be from a physical perspective today. Moreover, in 1999, Anne Becker and Rebecca Burwell of the Harvard Eating Disorders Center found that media exposure dramatically increased the incidence of eating disorders in the island nation of Fiji. The researchers chose to study Fiji both before and after the introduction of Western television programming to the nation. Before Western TV arrived, most Fijians subscribed to traditional ideas of beauty: larger bodies, bodies that would be classified as obese in the West, were considered the most attractive. Large bodies were seen as evidence of a person’s health and high status; slim bodies were thought to look sickly, and were seen as indications that the person suffered from a lack of food and/or a lack of friends and loved ones to support them. Only three years after the introduction of Western TV programs, which mainly consists of US, UK and Australian, the number of girls and women who reported vomiting to control their weight increased five-fold. 74% of girls reported feeling “too fat,” and 62% reported dieting in the last month. Furthermore, girls who watched more television were more likely to evaluate their bodies negatively. Interviews with the girls and young women demonstrated that they were attempting to emulate the thin Western actresses they saw on television. Researchers have found that thin models lead females to overestimate their own body size, experience dissatisfaction with their own bodies, and result in lower self-esteem and a pessimistic mindset.
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A N O R E X 76
35%
OF “NORMAL DIETERS” PROGRESS TO PATHOLOGICAL DIETING 77
%53
SSERGORP ”SRETEID LAMRON“ FO GNITEID LACIGOLOHTAP OT 78
OF THOSE
20% TO 25%
PROGRESS TO PARTIAL OR FULL SYNDROME EATING DISORDERS
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BEVIN NG Graduated in theatre at the School of the Arts also known as SOTA, Bevin Ng, 19, won herself an academic year’s worth of school fees when competing in a film competition collaborated with Lancome. To celebrate Lancome’s 75th anniversary, the French luxury beauty brand handed the students in SOTA a challenge to create a minute long video exploring the four themes of beauty, creativity, innovation and feminity.
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Arella: So what was your Lancome winning video about? Bevin: It was about celebrating true beauty for feminity, the idea of untainted beauty. As a childhood is a collective social memory, the video was to explore beauty in its raw, uninhibited form in children. Why did you take part in it? I took part in it because there was a scholarship. I think it was quite good; 10k or something. That’s why I did it. It was not open to everyone though. It was actually open to the visual art students only and I’m a theatre student. But I asked my teacher if I could join and she said yes. Honestly, I didn’t expect to win, it was just an opportunity and I wanted to try my luck. Since the video you submitted for the Lancome challenge was based on beauty, what is your take on cosmetic surgery? It depends on what kind of cosmetic surgery it is. I can understand why people who get burn would want to go for it. But to look better, I’m not certain. There’s all the usual stuff about natural beauty but I can imagine why a lot of people choose cosmetic surgery; for example, the Koreans. I think it’s very scary because there’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way. It is easy to judge them but when you are in that business, I can understand why they would want to do it but I don’t think I will ever do it. Why won’t you go for cosmetic surgery? I won’t do it because I won’t be able to decide what I want to look like. I think it’s kind of scary that you choose how you look like and it’s very artificial. But anyway I don’t think I’m that ugly till the extent that I need surgery. Maybe I’ll change my mind if I look really bad. Everybody has body issues but mine is more of height and weight than face; not so much of my looks. If you aren’t satisfied with your size, will you ever consider going for liposuction? No, I think I would rather exercise. Liposuction seems very weird to me. It is a shortcut and I don’t believe in shortcuts. There is always bound to be something wrong. Will you stop eating just to reach your ideal weight then? Actually I think I almost got an eating disorder. It happened to me consciously yet unconsciously at the same time. I think it was last year when I started to exercise a lot.
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After I exercised I would not eat too much so that I would lose weight. I didn’t know that it was going to become bad or anything so I ate very little but I didn’t know it was very little because I had a lot of my meals on my own. I can tell you how little I used to eat. For breakfast, I would only one red bean bun, for lunch I would have salad in a super tiny lunch box maybe a drink and a fruit. And for dinner, I would have a small sandwich. It was dangerous because my body was not getting enough. It was not possible for a tiny salad to feed my entire body. But like I ate like that for very long. My mother would tell me that I was eating too little but I would always reply “no la”.
“Liposuction seems very weird to me. It is a shortcut and I don’t believe in shortcuts. There is always bound to be something wrong.”
Did you lose any weight eventually? I did lose weight. But I didn’t know that I was close to getting an eating disorder. It started one day when I realized I got scared when I ate more. I just couldn’t eat more. When I ate more I felt as though I was going to get fat instantly. Also, if I eat more, I would exercise even more and it got a bit dangerous. I used to read a lot of books on eating disorders and questioned myself “what was happening to me?” One day, on the days I are very little, my stomach started shaking like mad and I asked myself “okay, now what is happening to me now?” Also, I’m a vegan so I don’t eat meat. Then my eyesight started failing me. I realized I ate too little for a long time and decided it had to stop. So then I started to eat normally. In the past I could survive without food on some days but I would be constantly thinking about food. I always really wanted to eat but I couldn’t because my brain told me I could not. I had to control and I was very conscious of my food intake. When I stopped exercising, I could feel myself putting on weight. I would tell my friends “oh my god, I think I’m getting fatter” and they would tell me no. They told me I looked the same but I could feel it. I started to realize that the path I was going down was very dangerous and so I decided to stop. You wouldn’t expect someone like me to be like this. It is good that I stopped. The thing is, if you are not that extreme people would tend to overlook you, which is dangerous. I also realized that food was made to be enjoyed with company. And
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because I was not eating so much, I kind of got into my own world. I stopped wanting to eat with people. Because if I didn’t eat with people, no one would comment on how little I was eating. I would start lying to my mom or to people about what I ate. When they asked, “oh what did you eat today?” I would just be like “I ate bread” or “I ate already”. But then I started realizing it was bad and in the long run it you be bad for my health. I didn’t want to die early. What do you think are the reasons that would possibly have caused you to want to lose weight? Actually I think that what people say is very deeply rooted. I know where mine came from. It was from primary school. Perhaps it was because in primary 2 I was in TAF club. When I was in Kindergarten 2 (K2), I would stick out my legs and look at the girl’s legs next to mine and compare. That was the day I realized that my legs were not small like other kids. It was the day I felt and thought I was fat. K2, That’s really young. Yeah, I was really young. I was quite mature for my age too. It made sense that I was thinking about these kind of things. It just didn’t go away since. I think when you are fat as a kid; you grow up thinking about it. That’s why I never stopped feeling fat. When I was a kid, I prayed to god to ask him for me to be skinny. I felt that it was unfair. I didn’t eat as much as the girl who ate a lot but never gained weight. I think it was only this year when I started to be at peace with who I am. They always say that if you can’t change it then accept it and love it. But I never really knew how to do it. How did you accept yourself then? I think I prayed a lot, I kept praying. My perception of beauty was very flawed because of all the influences around me so I told myself that god created my body and I prayed for god to let me see myself as how he wanted me to see myself. We’re all pieces of artwork of god. So if I hate how I look, it is kind of insulting him. I tried to be really thankful. Even though I don’t have slim legs but at least I have legs allow me to run. I can run like 10km in one hour, can a skinny girl do that? Then I started thinking about other stuff. I also think exercise helps me feel ok about myself.
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Do you exercise every day or week? Actually I do it everyday. I try to do it everyday even if it’s just a little bit. When I exercise, I don’t feel so bad. I’m also more proud of my body because I’m using it when I exercise. Today I went for yoga. So while I was doing yoga, I saw a tall and lean girl next to me. Even though I might not be tall or lean as the girl I could do so many things she couldn’t do. I’m not trying to say that I’m better than her but instead of seeing what I don’t have, I see what I have. I have flexibility and strength. Even though it might not look as nice as the super tall girl but I will never be tall. It’s embarrassing to say you have issues like these because it’s so superficial. Why am I thinking about this? There are other better things to think about other than this. I used to do yoga when I was 13, it was fun and I think it’s a good way to lose weight. I don’t even try to think about losing weight. Thinking about it is too unhealthy and taking too much of my brain space. I would rather be thinking about something else, something much healthier and useful. Now I’m very happy that I don’t have to think about it anymore. It was very torturous and it made me very depressed. It’s very draining emotionally to keep thinking about it and you cannot tell anyone because you’ll sound absolutely stupid.
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“ i don’t even try to think about losing weight. thinking about it is too unhealthy and taking too much of my brain space.” 94
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“They always say that if you can’t change it then accept it and love it.” 97
“I prefer not to attach a photo of myself.” – Min Yi
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TAN MIN YI Student, model, host, actress Tan Min Yi doesn’t believe in shooting photos to “look pretty”. She shoots to tell stories in stills. The 19-year-old lady tells people that she is not a model; she only models. She loves what she does but she hates the associations it sometimes can come with. She loves what she had learnt from castings, shoots, live shows and recorded shoots.
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Please tell me about yourself and what you do. I’m studying International Relations, English and Communications & Media Studies at Tufts University. When I was in Singapore, I was involved in media projects like acting for films, hosting (I hosted Now You Know on clicknetwork.tv and emceed for New Paper New Face 2011 at Takashimaya Square), photoshoots, TV projects (for CNA and Channel 8) modeling assignments under Upfront Agency, etc. After graduating from JC, I also worked at Gardens by the Bay’s Education department for awhile.
You said that you don’t shoot photos to ‘look pretty’ not only because you don’t think you are, but also because you don’t think ‘prettiness’ as an attribute you’re born with has done the world any good. Why do you think that ‘prettiness’ hasn’t done the world much good? I’m not saying that things that are aesthetically pleasing cannot perpetuate some good in the world; what I am saying is that prettiness alone can hardly directly cause beneficial outcomes. In that paragraph what I wanted to bring across was that we overvalue the importance of looks – (1) it is something one is born with, not some laudable consequence of self-improvement, and (2) why are looks viewed as important as they are, when looks alone can hardly directly cause beneficial outcomes in the world? So how can ‘looking pretty’ ever be a legitimate goal in and of itself? That’s why projects I do with photographers are more than just “trying to make pretty pictures” – we work as a team to create stories that we take pride in. 100
“Why are looks viewed as important as they are, when looks alone can hardly directly cause beneficial outcomes in the world?� 101
What do you think about the perception of beauty in our society today? I feel like its perceived as something important that must be achieved at all costs, and something that bestows arrogance & a false sense of superiority. For better or for worse, it’s a quality that is very salient in the consciousness of people’s mind. Beauty or the pursuit of it has been important throughout history, but never before so prominent than today.
What do you think about cosmetic surgery? People do purely-comestic surgeries for their own reasons. Being in the USA, I am exposed to a stunning amount of advertisements for cosmetic surgery which is quite shocking. I personally don’t think it is safe nor desirable.
Will you undergo cosmetic surgery to look ‘perfect’? No. Looks are not so blindingly important to me that I would resort to cosmetic surgery. I would rather learn to eat less cookies/ice-cream/cake and live a cleaner, healthier lifestyle.
Do you have any other thoughts about the perception of beauty?
The perception of beauty is very much influenced by popular media and sometimes, the messages the media perpetuates is not exactly the most beneficial for society. For example, makeup brands earn money from women who feel like they need make-up before they can step out of the house - it is in the interest of advertisers to make women perceive that beauty is donning plenty of make-up products.
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What is beauty to you? I think beauty is anything that is genuine.
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“These extreme methods and extreme goals are very unhealthy and possibly a manifestation of a greater underlying issue.� 105
LINDA HAO Linda Hao has never stopped trying something new. From being a model, stylist, designer and DJ, she now has an online store, YESAH, where she stocks some of the Chinese indie labels as well as wholesale items.
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Arella: Please tell me about yourself and what you do. Linda: Right now I’m doing Yesah full time, it’s an online store where I stock some of the Chinese indie labels as well as wholesale stuff. But I also freelance as a stylist and a DJ; that’s about it. Is this office under Yesah? It’s actually, Actually’s office but since they had free space and I needed a space so I rented a table and a storage space. Because it’s Sunday, there’s no one around.
You mentioned that you hope to illustrate your own concept of beauty and art into every creation of yours and influence those who appreciate it. What is your own concept of beauty and art in some of your works? Oh okay. I think what I meant is that I always have an idea of what I want to do and what direction I want to go into but the thing is beauty is very subjective so it really depends on what you’re talking about. So for example if you’re talking about fashion, it’s ‘this’ type of beauty I’m going towards. But if you’re talking about human beauty then it’s different. I wanted to ask you about beauty in fashion first, for example, your own style. For me I want to be more creative, even in
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dressing up everyday. I don’t like to give myself a specific theme like ‘oh I am a girl next door’ so I’m going to be ‘a girl next door’ everyday. It’s very different and it depends on my mood on that day. If I feel lazy to dress up then I’ll mostly wear black. But on some days when I feel that the weather is good, then I’ll do some layering. So I have different themes for different events and places that I go to everyday. To me it’s about the effort that you put in. Dressing up for me is a form of respect to people that I meet. For example, I’m having an interview today, so I wouldn’t want to like dress too down. I also don’t like to look slack so that’s very important and I think this is the kind of things you do to make yourself beautiful. You can’t be lazy; there’s a saying in Chinese that goes “世界上没有丑女人，只有懒女人”. So it’s really true that there are no ugly people unless you are very lazy. You can be very beautiful if you put in effort to trim your hair, put some make up or dress up nicely. To me it’s really about how you want to do it or if you’re even interested to do it. That’s very important. I see, so that’s what you think about beauty in fashion; so what do you think about beauty in people? I think the most important thing about beauty in people is confidence. Even before you ask yourself whether you are beautiful or not, it’s about your confidence. You have to feel confident and that’s why I really don’t like plastic surgery and that kind of stuff. I don’t support it at all because I feel that if you are born this way then you should embrace yourself and even if you know that you are not really skinny or if you’re not of a certain face shape or skin tone, you have to tell yourself it’s okay. There’s always a way to look beautiful in whatever skin or whatever shape you are. That’s very important, it’s confidence. Do you have other thoughts about beauty besides cosmetic surgery? For instance, what do you think about dieting then? Dieting, I think a healthy diet is okay. It is acceptable because it is regarding your health but if you are already healthy and slim and you want to go on a diet just for a specific weight, like ‘oh I want to be 40kg’ then I think that’s a really wrong mindset. Before you even carry out the, the idea itself is already wrong. To me it’s about the mindset. Why is it that you want to go on a diet? If it’s for ‘beauty’ sake then I think it’s a bit wrong because why do you think that being skinny is beautiful? Why? There’s no right or wrong size. It’s more of being healthy, confident and being who you are. So it’s very hard to say that a particular person is the standard of beauty because I think there’s no specific standard.
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“There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.”
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只有世 有丑界 懒女上 女人没 人 , . 113
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So why do you think some of us have a certain perception of beauty? It’s definitely the pop culture, TV and media. Especially now with all the KPOP culture going on; it’s so crazy. The whole fever is beyond control. Everyone gets influenced. Okay, media influences people. Why? Because every household owns a TV set. Everybody watches the TV and would think that the TV is ‘education’. If a celebrity looks a certain way, people would be educated to have a perception that that is the ideal standard of beauty. But that is not true. That is just their job. They must look a certain way because that’s their job. I always tell my friends and close friends that it is not wrong for celebrities to go under the
knife because that’s their job. If they don’t look ‘beautiful’, they lose out because they have their own competition in their industry. But that is none of our business; it’s theirs so let’s just watch them. It’s enough. You don’t have to be like them. If you’re trying to be like them then I think it’s a bit too much, unless you also want to be a celebrity. I think media influence is really the biggest impact on people’s perception of beauty.
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Share something random and interesting about yourself. I don’t know. Maybe, I just like to stay at home but people who don’t really know me think that my life is very interesting and happening but actually it’s not really true. It’s just that sometimes I have to attend an event and take photos because I am a social media influencer but deep down I just like to stay at home, watch TV and do nothing. I like a really relaxed lifestyle. I’m not so crazy about going to places and enjoying the. I think that’s something people might not know.
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“I think media influence is really the biggest impact on people’s perception of beauty.” 122
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