Good-looking bodies and skin color in the Westerners' eyes [Photo/JIN Magazine]

The Twilight Zone had an episode called: “Eye of the Beholder.” Although according to www.imdb.com this aired all the way back in 1960, little has changed in nearly sixty years. Namely, beauty is highly relative. This point is proven by hoping on a plane and crossing the ocean. No matter which direction you fly, be ready for a big change when comes to what is considered beautiful.

Skin Color (肤色 fūsè)

In China, as with other Asian countries like Japan and Korea, white skin is beautiful. There are two versions of what is really one saying in Chinese: “一白遮三丑 yī bái zhē sān chǒu,” which literally translates to “one white, covers three uglies;” and “一白遮百丑 yī bái zhē bǎi chǒu,” which means “one white, can cover one hundred uglies.” Of course, a more fluid translation of the phrase and its real meaning is: “white skin trumps all.”

Western women are going to be shocked upon arriving in China when it comes to what color skin is considered beautiful. Girls who likely grew up laying out and paying for tan by going to a tanning booth are in for a rude awakening. Chinese women love white. Well, at least when it comes to skin color that is. Remember those little porcelain dolls and their perfect white skin? That concept hasn’t changed much. Instead of spending time and money to get dark, women in China are forking over tons of RMB to whiten up, which again, is going to be mind-boggling for the average expat female. Unless of course they hail from another Asian county, whereby it is pretty much the same concept of “white skin” is beautiful. An American expat woman has been hit hard by this reality. City living and smog has made staying tan in Tianjin really difficult. This in itself is a blow to her self-esteem. As again, in the west, beautiful skin should be bronze.

Eye Size (眼睛大小 yǎnjing dàxiǎo)

Have you ever thought twice about the size of your eyes? Or how about if there is a fold in each of your eyelids? If you answer no, you’re probably from the west. If you answer yes, you might well be Chinese. Eye size is a big deal to Asian woman. There is even a derogatory expression referencing the eye size of eastern born people. Relatively smaller eye size isn’t a big hit in China. Of course, women wanting to maintain a more traditional look of Chinese beauty will probably not want to change the size or shape of their eyes. But a younger generation looking to keep up with the international standard may. In fact, they could be willing to pay for it, both in money and pain. There are surgeries related to the eyes. A popular surgery is augmenting the eyelid so there is a fold in it, so as to look more like those of non-Asian descent. Some Chinese even travel abroad, to places like Korea to get this surgery or other plastic surgery done.

Ironically, a tour of China will reveal an interesting trend. It is far more common to see an expat man with a Chinese girl than a Chinese man with an expat woman. At least on some level, this seems to indicate that some non-Asian men are attracted to Asian women. These Asian women naturally look different than the average western lady. One of these unique features, is their eyes. Thus, it could be argued, if a Chinese girl wants to attract a non-Chinese man, they better not go changing their eyes. If they do, they’ll start losing some of the uniqueness that is attracting expat men in the first place.

Figure (身材 shēncái)

A Chinese male star who doesn't have touch muscles [Photo/JIN Magazine] 

Both the size and shape of bodies that are considered beautiful or good looking yet again varies greatly from east to west. Regardless of gender, one of the biggest differences may be the idea that skinny, gaunt and bony is beautiful in the east. Whereas having muscle is definitely a big bonus in the beauty category in the west. Watch any top show or movie in the west and it becomes obvious, being buff is mandatory. Famous men and women better be packing some biceps and abs if they want to make it on the big-screen. Obviously, women don’t need to look like a female Arnold to beautiful in the west, but they often won’t be as thin and feeble as those making the big screen in the east.

Check out some top Chinese media and it becomes obvious the difference in standard when it comes to men too. The so-called attractive Asian male may look almost feminine. They usually don’t have much muscle, and appear even girlish from a western standpoint. This holds true with leading men in Korea as well. Asian men tend to look small and soft in comparison to western men. Please note, we aren’t trying to put anyone down here. These Chinese guys are super famous, making big money and adored by Chinese girls. Following suit, eastern women tend to strive for a far leaner look than western ones. A white stick-like woman may be considered quite beautiful in China. Whereas an athletic, well-built female will probably turn more heads in the west.

Conclusion

Chinese model Du Juan represents the beauty of the East [Photo/JIN Magazine] 

Before permanently changing one’s appearance, think twice about where you’re going to live and how relative beauty is. Otherwise, all that time and effort and pain might be in vain. Rather than promote some fickle standard of beauty, clearly, both men and women need to understand what true beauty really is. Instead of saying “white skin trumps all,” a better phrase might be “moral decency trumps all.” Even with surgery, there is only so much someone can do to change their look. Not to mention, old age and grey hair destroys even the most fantastic of figures. Instead of buying a tube of who knows what to become whiter or tanner on the outside to meet some relative standard of beauty, why not save the money and consider how to become more beautiful on the inside?