K-pop has become a large trend globally, surpassing 178 million fans in 2022. Along with the catchy music and impressive choreography, one of the reasons K-pop idols are so popular is because of their ‘flawless’ appearance. They can be considered to be the representation of Asian beauty standards which many young fans look up to. Today, I’d like to discuss the beauty standard, especially for East Asian girls.
As a Japanese girl who spent the early years of elementary school in the USA and came back to Japan, the differences in beauty standards came as a shock. ‘How to lose weight quickly’, ‘How to make your skin paler', 'How to get double eyelids from mono eyelids’. Such videos flooded YouTube and even as an elementary school kid, some of my friends attempted weight-loss diets.
Image Credit: PNB Met Life
Indeed, the focus on thinness in East Asia is reaching a point where it can even be considered ridiculous. In Japan, there is a concept called the “Cinderella weight” which is calculated following a BMI of 18 and is often used as a weight loss goal. A BMI of 18 is in the underweight range as defined by the WHO and is considered unhealthy. Yet, many women are pushing themselves to reach that goal. In fact, Japan has the highest rate of underweight females in the OECD, followed by Korea. Being skinny is typically one of the key criteria to be considered pretty in East Asia. Everywhere in the media, you would see thin fashion models, influencers, idols, etc, it is almost as if the whole population is hypnotized. Although many people realize that the intense focus on weight may be unhealthy or even absurd, peer pressure is pushing many women to stay within the beauty standards. Even clothing sizes are different – an S in Western countries would be the same as an L in East Asia!
Another feature that is considered to be a key factor in being beautiful in East Asia is having pale, flawless skin. You will find tons of sunscreen piled up in the drugstore in the summer. They even sell sunscreen that makes your skin look lighter when you put it on. Also, many women use ‘sun umbrellas’ in the summer to block sunlight when walking out in the streets in the summer. In the most extreme cases, people will have arm covers while having a fine layer of sunscreen underneath, and have their sun umbrellas open. Having tanned skin is considered fine for children and also for adults in some areas, but in large cities, having light-colored youthful-looking skin is considered ideal. It is said that the focus on having light-colored skin came from the admiration towards Western countries, but now, it has become so intense that it exceeds those countries.
Image credit: Walmart.com
Finally, the last feature that cannot be ignored when discussing Asian beauty standards is having double eyelids. Having large, round, wide eyes with double eyelids (aka ‘doe eyes’) is thought to make you look innocent and youthful, and is preferred widely in East Asian countries. As many people born here do not have double eyelids, the number of plastic surgery cases is skyrocketing and eye tape or glue to get double eyelids are common. As someone with mono eyelids, there have been times when I felt a little more than simple admiration towards those with large wide eyes, features I know I cannot achieve by birth. All the makeup tutorials are on double eyelids, and mimicking those would just make my eyes look puffy, so I gave up in the end.
East Asian beauty standards push individuals to a point where it looks peculiar from the outside, but not many realize it when we are in the midst of it. Or, even if some do realize, that not conforming to what society perceives as beautiful can be very challenging. However, at the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that these beauty standards are starting to become harmful to our physical and psychological health. Everyone is born different and attractive in their own unique ways. Maybe it’s time we throw out the standards and seek beauty within each of our unique features.
References
It's good to know how beautiful East Asian girls are. I really like how you concluded the write up by saying "Everyone is born different and attractive in their own unique ways."