'But while real Chinese bodies have gotten heavier, the ideal body type — for women at least — has shifted in the other direction.'
In PRC, as in the USA, UK and Australia, obesity is now strongly correlated with poverty. The urban poor in China are now the most likely to be among the country’s 320m overweight adults.
18
Recently a view from a city cab of a friend, leaping like a gazelle from one block to the next on our way to separate offices, is enough to write a short story about her and how we first met in the humanitarian world for the care of children.
Not long ago, we had a rare dinner outing at a Mexican restaurant, where she reflected on a recent workshop for the eradication of polio held in Beijing.
The closest I have been to China is when young I was once compared to a porcelain doll with iron rods. They do not like Blacks, my dinner companion, began. I found this startling, unexpected, and wondered if an historical war in the past was the cause.
Appearances are important, and some of us spend our lives with the passion of a collector for beautiful women, art objects, paintings. In his 'Summing-Up', the British author, Somerset Maugham, writes that beauty can become boring.
Wang Ju looks vivacious and spirited, with beautiful lines and curves, a model for a painter. She stands apart from the other swans in this pop talent show with a distinctive look.
While wishing we could hear her voice, she has reminded this reader on a quiet day to go out and enjoy some sunlight in the garden.
23
Having a Chinese girlfriend, and having viewed by now a number of Chinese and East Asian dramas and performances, it does seem to me that the East Asian ideas of feminine beauty do trend to the almost childlike. Women considered beautiful in East Asia look to a Western eye like they're about 15 years old. And their voices, speaking or singing, also seem childlike. In Japan, that ideal of beauty extends to the men,
23
Just by observing these societal transformation the past 30 years it seems that the loss of gender equality goes hand in hand with the rise of capitalism. Capitalism does not stop with the human body if money can be made from it. I remember quiet well when the iron curtain came down in Europe street prostitution became a big business along the border areas.
This woman looks beautiful to me. But I guess you could argue that this is my Eurocentric view...
22
How can Chinese (or any) capitalists make a fortune by selling expensive cosmetic products to women unless they persuade them that they are not pretty enough to attract a husband of their own social/economic status, and that the stuff in a jar or tube will solve the "problem"?
Men are, indeed, attracted to beautiful women. But the well-kept secret is that youth and health are enough to make women beautiful and attractive to most men.
38
Beauty, both male and female, is a biological tyranny. It's totally unfair. But it seems that the western, often Nordic, model is nearly universally attractive (especially in the female.) This seems crazy and wildly unfair, too. People will scream that this isn't so. But it seems to be, as politically incorrect as it is to talk about. I wonder why this is the case? Is it some wacked out grain of truth that the horrifying pseudo-science of eugenics has seized upon? I doubt we'll know in my lifetime, but it's a fascinating question.
15
I couldn't believe this was the "not pretty" woman in the title. She looks warm, approachable, and happy. And beautiful.
It's funny to me that the Chinese are heading for the blonde Barbie doll ideal. I used to work with a nice Chinese lady who had never been in a relationship because she refused to date outside her race. She thought white men were "hairy and ugly" but Asians were rare in our community. Nowadays it seems that the Chinese men she yearned to meet would rather their girlfriends didn't look … Chinese.
48
China is changing rapidly and traditional practices, where women were viewed mostly as potential mothers and little else, are waning slightly, even as the Chinese government still promotes this perspective. But in contemporary Chinese society the old expression, 门当户对, or "suitable socioeconomic status" is still quite influential in the choice of husband and wife. However, one could argue a similar variant exists in the West and the US.
In regards to beauty, Chinese men often find beautiful women a bit threatening. Yes, they're attracted to them, but worry a beautiful woman will be a concern to marital fidelity. Most men view marriage as a compatible family living arrangement and are less focused on Western style romance.
But as late as the 1990s, young Chinese women were not even aware of the"facts of life", the birds and the bees, and sex education was left until marriage for the young newlywed to discover for herself. This was because a young, naive woman was considered the most desirable type of bride. Consequently, a good number of college-age females of that time thought they'd become pregnant by kissing a man! This is no longer the case.
11
It would be interesting if she would audition for one of the shows here , like the Voice , they sometimes have talent competitors who sing in Spanish . Why not Chinese ? And she is pretty .
24
I have to question the authors claim that white, paler skin has been imported from Japan, etc. When one looks at the general art, plus the history of the geisha, "yueji" in China, its clear the pale (mostly makeup) was prized among the rich and powerful. So its a rather old ideal. Its just that Mao rid the nation of the Courtesan class, so now it might appear that the still existing "sister" Japanese geisha "look", that has influenced the pop culture look in Japan of girls and women, looks to be new and imported.
One also cant count out the huge influence that the western modeling machinery has had on the general look of females in that region as well. To be a successful model from China or Japan and make it in the West, one had to look more western, then Asian. Tall, pale, and too thin.
Enter the rise of female pop-stars in the US bringing their look to that market, and the thinner, whiter, female is cemented in place. If one seeks that sort of career and popularity - and if they wish to maybe cross-over to the west.
Which is now all shook up by the rise of R&B and rap and their more real looking female artists. The older rap icons like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, LilKim, Salt n Pepa, then R&B's/pop; Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Minaj, etc...
All real, unstarved, strong female body types.
Good luck to Ms. Wang. And Chinese women in general as they battle the cultural sexism that the music, entertainment industry inflicts on them. Hope they learn from our mistakes.
30
Odds are that stringent female beauty standards will diminish in light of China's gender imbalance.
6
Insert New York, LA, or any number of American cities instead of BEIJING add American Idol, The Bachelor etc. and with minor edits you would have essentially the same article.
48
Not to simplify an obviously complex issue, but it seems as though it is the "Americanization" of China has become much more noticeable and in many other countries, too. Many (mostly here) have become an obese nation.
I am a baby boomer.The US has become a world symbol of overweight people. If you asked me (and my friends I grew up with) to name a single thing which is at the bottom of this, I would say fast food: McDonald's. As I wrote above, this is a very complex issue. I have watched generations grow up, and I put blame on fast food which is bad for you (I'm being kind). I don't care how many carrots are in a Happy Meal. We now really want fried foods, sodas, sugar, etc., just go around the corner: there it waits.
When I was in school a "fat kid" was the exception; now, the rule.
I grew up in Louisiana, too. My mother made (mostly) healthy meals. We had fried chicken (sometimes), but we mostly ate Cajun food. My father was 100% Ashkenazi Jewish. He was born in Fort Worth, TX; my mother, S. Louisiana, but she was of N. European ancestry. Danish, Dutch. My father's parents were born in what is now Vilnius, Lithuania.
He liked potato pancakes; my mother: gumbo, crawfish etoufee, raw oysters, etc.. My father hated Cajun food. I love and miss all. My family, but food, too. My birth family all died in the first decade of the MM Century (except me, of course) in this order: father (90), brother (61), sister (60) and mother (96).
Genetics, sure; what you eat? Much more.
12
What’s with this Asian self-hatred and desire for white features?
They have been brainwashed into not believing in their inherent beauty. Instead, they now seem to value a “plasticized” and unnatural look. It seems that Asians have given in to “THE LIE” which says that people of color cannot be beautiful.
BTW, Ms Wang is attractive, and looks very much like these women of “Traditional China” pictured by the Asia Society:
Women in Traditional China
https://asiasociety.org/education/women-traditional-china
Geez, it's time to throw away the skin-whitening creams and cancel the plastic surgeon visits.
Value yourself, your children, your parents, and your neighbors.
44
Every race with a variation in skin lightness/darkness the light has been preferable. Easy to figure. Those with the lightest skin are the richest. Never worked out in the sun, neither the women or the men. When they went out, big hats, long sleeves, glove. Want a decent mate right? The members of society with the darker skin worked outside. In fact did (often still do) all the outside work. In some cultures they wore/wear big hats, but, that is more to keep sun stroke at bay than for keeping skin white. It is the same the world over. Pale people have the money & so are more desirable. It’s not because Asians want to look like Europeans, it’s been that way there since long before Asians ever saw Europeans. The rich always want to look like they never lift a finger. How do the do that? Over the thousands of years they noticed if you stay out of the sun (don’t work) you don’t get darker skin. Over those years those at the top of the heap made the others do the work, and over the millenia they got darker. This was the turn back from the African diaspora when humans left Africa & wandered the world. Some went back after hundreds or thousands of years & brought their paler skin back. It waSn’t better, just different. And to humans different is either anathema or prized. Skin color has been & will continue to be both.
19
Another significant appearance, they don't find attractive, is having a tan! I always wondered why many Chinese ladies hold umbrellas in the sunshine! It was explained to me, that having a tan in their culture means that you work in the fields! Peasant! Peasant! Peasant! That's a big no,no! Go figure?!
11
Fascinating.
Great article.
As soon as you said ‘bai shou mei’ I understood perfectly.
In many ways it is sad because it pushes a standard that for many is unachievable.
In South Africa distinctions of shades of colour remain to this day.......rigidly enforced by communities.
In Vietnam I remember smiling when I saw the pretty girls in their white outfits with their big umbrellas.
Only workers in the rice fields had brown skin so this was a mark of distinction and elitism.
Humans are so dumb.
95
Especially in the generation Ms Wang is in. Men should worry that the few women available will consider them buff enough, wealthy enough, willing to give a woman everything while demanding nothing. It comes of the one child rule mixed with the ‘we must have a son’ rule. Now many of the sons have to look outside China, to darker skinned rice field workers for a wife, which means their children will be, if female, not suitable for the next generation of men. Their sons unsuitable as husbands for the pale prima donnas that will be raised. Men have a double dose of dumb.
31
They are idiots, she is stunning.
24
Good for Ms. Wang! It just goes to show that the poisonous feminine ideals that men impose on women is not specific to Western cultures. Kudos for those who challenge the status quo.
26
"Men impose on women"?
I do not recall seeing any men forcing women to buy over-priced cosmetics at gun point. I missed the part where men "impose" skin tight jeans on women.
Most of us want to look as good as we can. I eat right, dress appropriately and exercise. I do it for me as well as for my wife. It makes me feel good. She does the same. For me and because it makes her feel good.
16
Oh, come on. You know the "men impose" line is true but saying it out loud is socially unacceptable. This doesn't mean all men are sexist but any realistic look at pop standards, fashion, advertising shows the cultural ideal is white, thin, pretty in any language. And who decides the standards? Well, look at the male-female numbers in any high-income, standard-influencing job and it's easy to see which gender predominates. Sadly, many women become just as sexist in order to succeed by maintaining the existing "standards". This is not "blame men for everything". It's just acknowledging reality. Naming the injustice is the first step towards changing.
33
Ms Wang is a beauty, not only or necessarily because of her looks...but because of her personality, her feeling so comfortable in her own skin. Too bad that China's discriminating rigidity can't appreciate things as fully as Ms Wang's worth.
40
She's got true Han DNA.
6
A few thoughts on women's issues which will hopefully be of help in the long run.
1. Women's oppression, especially in prosperous socities through cosmetics and beauty contests, is perpetrated by men and women alike. Male motivation is obvious and is being fought, why are women part of the problem?
2. How many women will watch a show on female engineers or philosophers or intellectuals, vs beauty queens, pop and rock singers (the pretty, dancing type vs the Aretha Franklin or Ella Fitzgerald type)?
3. All women are not alike, but there is a clear probability distribution with a distinct average and variance. Is this average where women want it to be? If not where do they want it to be? What are they willing to do about it?
4. Boys and girls learn more initially from women - they spend more time with their moms, the elementary school teachers are mostly women. Women are nurturers, etc etc... but are these nurturers meeting their own aspirations or reinforcing old patterns and prejudices in the process of trying to raise good kids? How can this be helped?
Does Capitalism HAVE to emphasize the objectification of women, when Communists and Socialists at least have made some inroads into broader views of women? What can each of us do (being the atoms of capitalist society) to make our freer and richer society fairer, and I mean in terms of justice on not lighter pigmentation?
Cheers!
11
Why note that "She is, in fact, rather pretty"? Unless you're judging a beauty pageant, it's simply not your place to remark on anyone's physical appearance. The comment, even if motivated by good intentions, undercuts what I thought to be the point of the piece (the consequences of subjecting female bodies to shifting standards of beauty).
60
Fascinating. Wang Ju is strikingly beautiful, and yet is considered "not pretty" by increasingly commercial, and Westernized, standards. Chinese women are too smart to allow themselves to be judged by superficial, literally skin-deep, characteristics. How many women are in engineering school in China? In graduate school? It would be good to hear more about these women. While physical beauty is always compelling, I hope that Chinese media celebrates the physical beauty in diversity and not only a narrow and cosmetic approach.
36
?? It's NOT western standards. she would be considered pretty by most American men.
14
Re-read the article, paying particular attention to paragraphs 6,7,8, and 9. Then read the reader comment from Belasco of Reichenbach Falls.
The beauty standards discussed in the piece are entirely homegrown. The idea that they could only have come from Western influences is ironic in its condescension.
18
As Chinese become wealthier, they have also become more conscious of their looks and are " conspicuous consumers. Some of the "standards" of beauty are obviously imported by cosmetic firms, TV shows, movies, etc. The writer also failed to point out that there were quite a few contestants that dyed their hair to look more "Western."
23
Women's bodies are the site upon which gender oppression is played out. While China has its own unique expression of these ideas rooted in their cultural history, this is also a recognizable pattern. Multiple feminist scholars have documented that when women gain economic power, there is a correlating rise in the oppression of their bodies via narrow and rigid standards of beauty. It's the natural push-back of the social system to keep women in their place so that they don't gain too much power and disrupt the "natural" social order of male over female.
67
Wang Ju is extremely attractive. I hope she has much success in the future.
48
A few weeks ago, as my Chinese friend and I approached the tennis courts, we saw a few crows forraging in the grass. I heard him say, "they are BRIGHT." I said, "no, they are CROWS." I asked if there were crows in China, and while he said there were, he also said they were considered "BLIGHT" and are killed on sight. It was at that point I realised that he meant to say "BLIGHT" and not 'BRIGHT". I asked what would happen if a dark-skinned guy like me ever visited China? He told me I would not have any problems, but I couldn't help but think he was just trying to allay my obvious fears. As we played over the following days, he took the time to show me the difference in his 'dark', exposed skin, as opposed to his 'lighter', covered skin. We eventually ended up at the pharmacy to buy some 'skin protection' cream. I can't help but wonder what would happen if he had my dark skin? As shocked as I was, I was also glad to know how other cultures see colored skin. As you can imagine, I've since put my Beijing trip on hold.
53
China has become less friendly to tourists from the USA over the years as it has become more and more nationalistic. If you take a package tour you can be sure you will be taken to "safe" places and cautioned against wandering away from the crowd. I've been there about 5 times over the years, last about 6 years ago was difficult as the government had been successful steering a nationalistic anti-west sentiment.
The USA's relationship with China is simple - they give us an oppressed low wage workforce, we build their infrastructure, technology and military with our investments.
Wall Street CEOs pocket the difference. The Chinese people understand this and are wait patiently as the USA sells its middle class to China for pennies on the dollar. As far as Trump's nonsense? He just wants to build Trump tower in Beijing, he'd give his own children away for those bragging rights.
28
Dude, you are really stretching. The crows as a blight thing is from Chairman Mao since they eat wheat and Chairman Man isn't really an ecologist so he declared them to be executed. People obviously know more about ecosystem now but crows eat grain and is bad was taught still when I was a kid and I am in my early 30s. Nobody said you are a crow. Chinese people prize black doves too.... Do you not out on sun screen and moisturizer? Have you ever looked in the mirror and think, geez, I really got some farmer tan. God, my husband is a white guy and he points out his wetsuit tan where his head is all dark and there is an obvious line on his neck and below is quiet pale. I am not a huge fan of China actually but everything you said that happened sounds just so normal for most people, and you had no idea about the cultural background of the crow thing.
14
Actually, one of the most famous concubines in Chinese history, Yang GuiFei, is always portrayed as plump. So maybe Wang Ju is reviving an archetype.
30
While colonialist systems continue to import raw materials, it exports self-hatred and internalized oppression.
28
China is a colonial power now.
9
What is the relevance of this comment? But since you brought it up, may I suggest you look up what a colonial power did:
1. The Spaniards systematically wipe out the entire Inca civilization, building churches on all their temples and ensuring that their aristocrats were unable to pass on the knowledge built up in their civilization.
2. The British, in a strategic attempt to carve up China from the west, attacked Tibet and massacred poorly armed monks.
That is just 2 examples of what a colonial power did. In all honesty, can you say China is doing this "now"?
Yes ,when you have delivery from Mc Donalds ,now in China ,things may change.
7
Lovely piece by Yuan Ren about 'Fat, Dark, and Not pretty'
beauty queens in the People's Republic of China. So happy that in America our newest beauty queens are not "bai shou mei" --'tall, thin and fair', America's accursed gold standard of beauty in the Age of Trump. Let's hear it for "Mens sana in corpore sano" the true epitome of womanly beauty.
4
"In recent decades, however, notions of beauty in Asia have converged around the tall, thin and fair image exported by Korean and Japanese pop culture." Sorry. The tall thin and fair notion of beauty in China did not originate with Korean and Japanese culture. It has been an inherent part of Chinese culture for far longer than Japanese and Korean pop "export" culture ever existed. It also reflects the perennial North/South split in China. With the Northern Chinese being on average much taller and lighter skinned -often much paler than Europeans - than their Southern countrymen. This also fed into the status issues surrounding skin color. Much like the beauty standards in the West light skin in China indicated wealth and status because pale skin was an indicator those who possessed it did not have to engage in gruelling farm labour under at hot sun. Hence in modern times the plethora of umbrellas on sunny days, the equivalent of welder's masks on women riding motorcycles and bikes on sunny days and those facial masks worn at the beach by those "unfashionable" but stability providing middle aged Da Mas. The Chinese perception of beauty does, however, change as it does in the rest of the world and go through cycles. Back during the Tang Dynasty heavy women with round faces were the ideal. You can still see their delightful images in the porcelain from that time.
105
Ms. Wang will be alright. If she doesn't see it now, she will eventually see that not getting picked was a blessing.
Hope we come to a place where no one shape, complexion, hair or eye color will be the standard.
55
Yah my god their first group performance was such a disaster.
2
It is good to see folks to rise above expectations and to thrive outside the rigid conformity others place upon us.
30
"But while real Chinese bodies have gotten heavier, the ideal body type — for women at least — has shifted in the other direction."
This was (and is) also very much true in the Western world. In the 1950's, being slender was the norm for average women and of course then it was the unattainable ideal of Marilyn Monroe. As the average woman grew heavier, supermodels continued to get smaller and smaller. Beauty must be hard to obtain or nobody would buy ridiculous products that usually don't work anyway.
Keep telling us how much we need to change and we'll keep doling out the dough.
122
Super models may be skinny but they are certainly not small. Most of them are almost six feet tall or taller.
4
piginspandex, your comment reminded me of two things:
(a) the big, billowy women in paintings by Rubens, Titian et al. are considered beautiful because back in the day, everybody was starving. Now that it's common to be unhealthily overweight, the ideal is to be unhealthily UNDERweight.
(b) I didn't see "Rosemary's Baby" until the early 2000's. When Mia Farrow is having trouble with her pregnancy and they want to show her looking all sick and emaciated, my thought was that she looked like Gwyneth Paltrow.
7
I have long thought that if women accepted their bodies and looks, the U.S. economy would come to a screaming halt.
12
Is there any reason to doubt that the results were rigged by the show's producers to produce a desired result?
75
The apparent popularity of the edgy, slightly unconventional Wang Ju could be an encouraging sign that Chinese society is becoming more accepting of women who don't aspire to cultivate the narrow, and, frankly, unappealing part tradition still expects them to play. On the other hand, the fact that China's ranking for gender parity has, according to a report by the World Economic Forum, fallen for the ninth consecutive year since 2008, putting it 100th out of 144 countries, gives little reason to hope that the role of women in Chinese society is becoming less, not more, circumscribed under the current political leadership.
31