The Washington Post has concluded that Chinese women want pale skin, big eyes and a narrow jaw.
The Post asked women in the Chinese capital’s Sanlitun to share their thoughts and take a selfie.
According to the poll, most said that they use apps to beautify themselves before posting their picture. Wang Mingyue, 19, declined to have a photo taken on the spot, opting to send an edited selfie from home, saying,
“Looking fake, not like the real you, that’s my standard.”
The Post also cited a growing popularity in plastic surgery due to rising incomes and a widening gender pay gap in which women have more money but make less in salary growth to men, resulting in more pressures to look good for marriage.
15 year old Liu Yuqing said that her classmates’ discuss injections and going under the knife to change hteir face shape, as well as wearing coloured contact lenses to school,
“Some have injections to make their faces smaller… I think one’s personality is more important.”
The majority of those asked acknowledged the pressure to stay thin, pale and fashionably groomed, but many also said that the mainstream look did not resonate with them. Tiffany Wang said that she didn’t like the groomed look,
“You have to be thin and have a small face with a pointy chin, but I don’t like that. I think healthy is beautiful, no matter if you are fat or thin.”
The Post compares the pressures of beauty trends to that of their grandmothers’ and great-grandmothers’ generations, coming of age during war and surviving through the Cultural Revolution. 66 year old retiree, Lin Shufen said that expectations of women have drastically changed,
“Back in my day, a woman had to be strong and well-built. You had to be able to labor, and you couldn’t be too absorbed in your looks. These days, girls are different, they all want to be thin.”
A photo posted by Emily Rauhala (@erauhala) on
