Despite the large and never-ending demand of aesthetic procedures amongst the Asian population, the ideals of beauty and rationale behind such high levels of cosmetic surgeries are not well studied and poorly understood both inside and outside Asia. On the surface, the double-eyelid surgery, prominent noses, and skin-whitening may seem to be attempts of Asians “westernizing” themselves. However, such practices are interpreted without much consideration for a more sophisticated and psycho-social approach specific to their culture and history.

For instance, in China an individual’s mental or moral character, fortune, and future are often assessed based on facial features while in South Korea, an individual’s desire to seek plastic surgery may be valued as “the care of the self” or be interpreted as the individual putting emphasis on the importance of social harmony.^1,2

Moreover, the “western look” that Asian women assumedly aspire is in fact the exact contrary of western beauty standards, and the discrepancies are clear in certain procedures. Koreans for example tend to prefer slimmer jawlines, flatter cheekbones and natural lips, three features that contradict of the look sought by Western patients (i.e. stronger jawlines, higher cheekbones and full lips).³ In a more general perspective, white skin in Asia has been historically identified as high-class status as it signifies one’s distance from agricultural labor, whereas Western bodies may mark status through tanned skin and its association with leisure and luxury.⁴

So we asked our IMCAS Asia faculty:

It has been the assumption that Asians undergo plastic surgery to “westernize” themselves. However, recent trends show that there was never in fact a “western look” that Asians strived for. Rather, it has been a result of the modern society that is conformist in nature, emphasizing and idealizing perfection and social harmony. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What are the common demands or general psychosocial tendencies of your country?

Influx and Assimilation of Western Culture

“There are many different beauty standards all over the world. But nowadays, women's beauty standards are fairly similar in many developed countries across cultures. Women desire big eyes with a double eyelid and a big nose. I think this kind of standard becomes pervasive due to an influx of western culture to Asian countries. Some women want to fulfill the western standards, but I have seen in my practice that oftentimes when women in Asia seek to have an “actress look”, they often prefer an Asian look to a western one. The general tendency I observe is a balanced beauty which entails western eyes, "higher" nasal bridge, less round but not really sunken cheeks. Most women love to be Audrey Hepburn instead of Angelina Jolie. The average face of Asian actresses keeps balance of the beauty standards between Asian and Western cultures.”

Youth and Beauty is Not Defined

“When it comes to Asian standard of beauty, the general image of “beautiful” turns out to be sharper jawline, a well-defined nose, or a fair skin. In reality, different ethnics in Asian countries also shows some different looks that meet Asian standard. Not all Asian who go for a plastic surgery want to westernize themselves or try to look like someone else, but mostly they pursue a younger and more beautiful version of themselves.”

The Ultimate Desire is Cultural Acceptance

“I disagree with the idea that patients all want the western look. The number of Asian cosmetic surgery has increased tremendously during the recent years and many medias have assumed it’s due to this concept that women want to be westernized. As a mainland Chinese plastic surgeon, I think Asian women’s plastic surgery tends more towards the overall conformance of Asian women’s characteristics with the protrusion of individuality. For instance, Asian women still prefer a small, oval face, seeking gentleness and harmony as a whole. As for the nose, they pursue pronounced three-dimensionality and large double eyelids as for the eyes. These overall characteristics still fit in the Asian beauty standards. As discussed in the article “Consensus on Changing Trends, Attitudes, and Concepts of Asian Beauty” (Steven Liew, et al., 2015), we believe that the beauty pursued by Asians is not over-westernized, but is more an effort to beautify the Asian ethnic characteristics.”

The Aesthetic Values Depend on Culture

“All nations have different standards of beauty. These two articles, based on South Koreans’ fascination with plastic surgery, highlight the fact that some cultures place a higher value on aesthetics than others. For some, conforming to an aesthetic norm increases that person’s value in the workplace and helps them to find a like-minded mate. For others, celebration of their diversity helps to cement their identity. I believe Asians are not very different from Westerners in their life goals. It is these, not a desire to look Caucasian, that drive the interest in a beautiful face and body.”

Innate Dreams Come True at Low Cost

“It is reasonable that women desire beauty; it is also reasonable that they desire to keep their youth. Many would agree that the two are almost innate desires people have. South Korea has one of the highest rates of procedures done per capita in the world, and perhaps these statistics have led to the rudimentary interpretation that a lot of Koreans are simply dissatisfied with their physique and in search of the perfect model to follow suit. But as a practicing physician in South Korea, I believe the reason lies more within the fact that it is a commodity that is readily available and of high-quality. Korea’s plastic surgery techniques are undoubtedly one of the best in the world, and to top it off, treatments are cost-friendly, therefore it is considered normal in Korea to go under simple operations or treatments since it’s affordable and safe.”

The Essence of “Trends” is Constant Change

“I do agree that the trend is changing, and the concept of beauty is a trend. A prominent example is the Miss Universe contests: one might have noticed over the years, there is a general preference for a certain physique, the one that is considered as the most “fashionable” or fitting to the current trend time period wins, like the look of new mobile phones. In Asia, we have been slowly but surely moving away from the westernized look to an appearance that radiates health and youth. For example, it is no longer “fashionable” to have the slim V-shape face as it was the case before; nowadays I see more patients wanting a broader face with sharper jowl-lines. A similar trend is found in my older patients between the ages of 40-60 years who now want to keep their natural face shape only to make small corrections for a firmer, tighter look, and where the changes are gradual, not drastic.”

Western Aesthetics vs Asian Perspectives

“I feel that the debate about Asians wishing more and more to be westernized grounds deeply to our past. However, the tendency today is that most Asians are going for a look that accentuates the physique but still complies to the culture that they belong to. To put this into perspective, we are seeing a rising trend in patients who wish to have breast lifts rather than breast augmentations. The trend is more towards the accentuation of the already present physique rather than an enlargement process further strengthening my belief that the Asian paradigm is shifting.”

References
1. Samizadeh, Souphiyeh & Wu, Woffles. “Ideals of Facial Beauty Amongst the Chinese Population: Results from a Large National Survey.” Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, vol. 42, issue. 6, 2018, pp.1540-1550, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-018-1188-9.
2. Vdovychenko, Nataliia. “Plastic surgery and the quest for the perfect selfie in South Korea.” Diggit Magazine, 3 Aug 2018, https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/plastic-surgery-quest-perfect-selfie-south-korea.
3. Jacobs, Harrison. “People have the wrong idea about the 3 most popular procedures in South Korea, the plastic surgery capital of the world.” Business Insider France, 28 Jun. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/south-korea-plastic-surgery-gangnam-biggest-misconception-2018-6.
4. Liew, Steven et al. “Consensus on Changing Trends, Attitudes, and Concepts of Asian Beauty.” Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, vol. 40, issue. 2, 2015, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282278092_Consensus_on_Changing_Trends_Attitudes_and_Concepts_of_Asian_Beauty.