Yet another post on the supratarsal fold
When was a wee boy, I remember sitting around the dinner table with my family. My mom would always have lots to say (she still has lots to say) about many subjects. Oftentimes, the dinner table topics would center around what she read in a Chinese American newspaper. Sometimes, it would be from the World Journal or shì jiè rì bào, a daily Chinese newspaper serving oversea Chinese folks in North America. (A lesser known fact is that this paper is slighted biased in its news content since it is funded by a Taiwanese-based media conglomerate.) But, most often it would be one of those free Chinese newspapers you can get at your local grocery store.
One time, the topic of eyelids came up. My mother has always talked up the whole “double eyelid” thing. How “double eyelids” are more beautiful. I’m not sure who the hell decided that double was better than single in this context, but somehow double is more beautiful… at least according to mom and most other Asians. The funny thing is, according to this post by Slanty, Dr. Edward Kwak claims that approximately 50% of folks of East Asian heritage lack the “supratarsal fold” aka the double eyelid. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but that means approximately 50% of folks of East Asian heritage have that second fold.
So, one question is, how did 50% of the population decide that the other 50% was ugly and then made them believe that they were so ugly that they had to go get surgery? Maybe you’ve heard that question asked before in a slightly different context: gender-based beauty standards. (Though since I started subscribing to GQ—don’t ask why—I’ve suddenly felt very ugly and physically inadequate… Actually, not really. Rather, I ask myself whether I could make it in the modeling business. I digress.) Other questions that came to mind:
- Do Asian men with the monolid ever have double eyelid surgery?
- Who the hell decided that double was better than single? Who was the fool that made that statement and then had the resources to conduct a PR campaign to evangelize this new beauty standard?
Apprently, the answer to the first question is yes. Apparently, Jackie Chan had double eyelid surgery. [See photo here.] Since finding that out, I wonder if double eyelid-dom makes you more “palatable” to white audiences. I have scoured the “Googlenet” for images of famous Asian American actors and actresses and scrutinized their eyelids. I haven’t found many monolids… but then again, I can’t tell from pictures and I have bad eyesight.
As for the second question, well, I doubt I’ll find an answer to the second question. Some people claim that it wasn’t until Asian folks encountered white folks that this beauty standard arose. After Asian folks saw white people, they “realized” what “true beauty” was. Somehow, I don’t believe it. Some Asian folks have a racial hierarchy and let me tell you, white folks aren’t at the top. If you have your theory, feel free to share.
Full disclosure: I have carefully examined by eyelids and I cannot for the life of me determine whether I am a double or a single and frankly, I don’t really care. In my opinion, all you all are beautiful, especially those of you who read this far.
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Tags: beauty, Commentary.
i’d blame the white supremist heterosexist patriarchal society that we all live in, for both #1 and #2.
i don’t know what it is about the content of the emails that i receive, but i swear every other ad that i see on gmail is for eye lid surgery.
the fact that i don’t have a double eyelid is used as a dis by some folks.
i don’t think it’s as simple as asians saw white people and thought they were better looking, it’s way deeper than that. the world’s media, the colonization, indoctrination, the message that the traits of the third world are undesirable. etc etc.
no matter how much of an individual you libertarians claim to be, you are indoctrinated with these messages from birth - even if you didn’t grow up in the states. my family in china asked me why i didn’t date a white girl.
not knowing how to explain my political point of view, i just said “white people are truly ugly.”
i know this is not that related to the topic of this post, i just like telling people that.
Months ago, I found this “how to achieve a double eyelid” video from some asian site and sent it to AngryAsianMan but he never posted it. While I myself have a double eyelid, I still think single lids have their positive traits. For one thing, you don’t need to worry about your eyeshadow creasing (yes, superficial reason, I know, but there it is). And in case people were wondering: squinty is IN this season (*cough* Rain, who also happens to be a model) so bah humbug to all those people trying to get blepharoplasty. Stick to what your momma gave you, and make the best of it!
Also, just in response to Eugene’s note: some days when my allergies are really acting up, I tend to temporarily “lose” my double lid from tearing up a lot…so it’s not even a permanent fixture, really.
Giles… you didn’t really mean to say third world right? Cause third world is first world from another perspective. Yeah, I think I’ve been brainwashed too.
“third world” is a term that has been reclaimed from whitey.
but in the context i used it, it is actually a reference to what the “first world” (used sarcastically) believes.
so yes, i intentionally used the phrase.
Sometimes, you’re too subtle for me.