As a native Chinese girl, I have observed that the most successful actresses in China and Korea all have one thing in common: their glowingly fair, glass-like skin. No matter which part of the world you are from—be it Asia, Africa, or South America—media, art, literature, and television all have an overwhelming preference for white beauty standards. As a result, Chinese women often carry umbrellas on a hot summer day just to avoid getting a tan, or wear foundations 5 or 6 shades lighter than their actual skin tones. These are only a few phenomena illustrating how a Western image has impacted Eastern culture.
I believe it is best to teach young women around the world to explore their cultural beauty, so they can be confident, powerful, and strong without the need to change who they are. I am repulsed by the fact that there are so many whitening creams sold in Asian countries such as India, Japan, China, and Indonesia. These products scar young women’s self-esteems. Personally, I wear a foundation that matches my skin tone and I always feel good about it. Other girls in other parts of the world change their appearance just to fit the social standard, a standard which depicts the ideal image as pale—what chance did they have?Â
I grew up in the United States, where there is not as much pressure to be pale as there is in some Asian countries. I am very lucky to have received this type of education that I do not need to become darker or paler; I can just be me. I have a medium-tan skin tone and I do not use skin whitening products. Ultimately, you have to feel comfortable with who you are to achieve confidence.
If we accustom our eyes to seeing different cultural beauty, then we could appreciate a variety of skin tones. This appreciation was hard for me because the town where I live is predominantly populated by white people, and I was one of the few Asians in my grade. A few years ago I attended a fashion show in my school’s diversity festival. I saw girls wearing their cultural clothing such as hijabs and Qi-Pao. It was an eye-opening experience, different from anything I had seen on TV. The girls I saw were so beautiful, and I really appreciated this experience that showed me different types of beauty from around the world.
As a beauty blogger myself, I have witnessed how the beauty industry has failed to satisfy its diverse audience. On Instagram, the cosmetics company Tarte unveiled a picture of their highly anticipated “Shape Tape” foundation, but the foundation swatches only contained four shades for tan and dark-skin women, and about ten different shades for light-skin women. On the other hand, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna aims to be all-inclusive with their “beauty for all” campaign. Fenty’s “Pro Filt’r” foundation contains forty shades that suit women with various skin tones. After the backlash, Tarte released a statement with a mission to include a larger variety of shade ranges for all skin tones. It shows that, collectively, we can make progressive change.
In addition, social media can be a powerful tool with which we can empower women to embrace their natural states. I learned that prior to June of this year, only two Asian women had been on the cover of Allure in 28 years and 327 issues. Maybe beauty campaigns and magazines have failed to feature Asian and African women, but that doesn’t mean we can’t post our own selfies on all sorts of platforms. We can refocus the lens of beauty by embracing ourselves, showing women of all ages that they do not need to change their appearances to satisfy what the media advertises or what society prefers.
My favorite poet, Rupi Kaur, said, “We all move forward when we recognize how resilient and striking the women around us are.”
Some days when I don’t wear makeup I feel self-conscious about the state of my skin. However, I need to keep in mind that what really matters is not physical appearance, but how much you give to others. Being pretty has many perks, but it should not be all we value in a person. What makes me feel good is helping others, being a loyal friend, and working hard for something I really want. We all have insecurities and are bound to not feel beautiful at times, but all the negative little things you say to yourself about your skin tone are their own form of self-harm. A gentle reminder that you are so much more than your skin: acne, stretch marks, skin tone. You are incredible and strong. Â