By Caitlin Johnston
Transforming from traditional to trendy; how Asian essence is commercializing for western beauty trends.
The merging of beauty trends and cosmetic surgeries aimed at imitating Asian features has triggered a complex relationship between aesthetics and cultural identity. Many cultural skincare practices such as using a gua sha has also been taken on but usually in non-traditional ways. These issues have aroused and been made viral through social media beauty communities while sharing popular makeup and skincare trends. While some are seeking these transformations as personal choices, the broader consequences reinforce Asian cultural stereotypes and a potential detachment from heritage.
Gua sha is an ancient Chinese healing technique that is practiced by using a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape and or press on one’s skin. It is often used to promote blood circulation, reduce inflammation, and kickstart the healing process in one’s body. Gua sha is not reserved for the face, but also to relieve muscle
pain and tension. This is a practice that has been passed down through generations as a therapeutic method with its deep ties to Chinese holistic medicine. Recently it has gained heavy popularity in western skincare regimens. Corinne Oishi is the daughter of Japanese immigrants and is native to Hawaii. With knowledge on the traditional uses of these tools she offered some insight on these changing tools. “Gua sha has also been popular amongst Japanese and Koreans, but not really face rollers. Asian countries have always had more beauty tools than America, but I think this is starting to change.” This new adaption has caused some red flags to be raised in whether its significance is understood and appreciated, and if it too is a victim of cultural appropriation.
Sparks of cultural appropriation rumors have risen due to a lack of traditional presence. Gua sha products have transformed from traditional Chinese healing to a commercialized repackaging self-care gimmick. There has been a complete detachment between its cultural significance in holistic Chinese medicine to a new way to quickly and easily “reshape” one’s face. Traditional gua sha tools are made up of crystals such as jade or rose quartz, adding to the holistic and spiritual properties, but are now cheap and easily made from plastic to be a quick and affordable way to appease a crowd and make a profit. When these quick cash grab schemes are presented, there is an immense lack of education, it is always promoted singularly for its beauty benefits with no regard for its holistic healing nor its traditional purpose. When these products are promoted by beauty influencers a similar pattern persists, there is no acknowledgement to its cultural context but a heavy promotion for its ability to slim one’s face.
The fox eye trend is a makeup trend that is used to imitate the look of having slanted eyes mimicking a fox’s eyes but also Asian eyes. This trend usually is created through strategically applying makeup, but recently
more extreme measures have been taken. These extremities take the face of taping the face to stretch and lift the skin and many cosmetic surgeons have recently performed a fox eye thread lift surgery. This cosmetic surgery alters the outer corners of the eye to lift the skin making the eye appear slanted. During this surgery a hole is made, and the skin is lifted by a process of threading it upwards tightly. As this surgery gained popularity, controversy quickly followed due to its imitation of Asian features that have often been the cause for ridicule. When people want to dawn this look without going under the knife, they opt for face tapes. These tapes are translucent and placed on the temple and pulled to attach to the one on the other side of the face, meeting in the middle of the head stretching the skin.
Kaitlyn Umemoto a Hawaiian native has long experienced scrutiny for her Japanese features and finds it hard to navigate the new celebration of them. “Some recent beauty trends that are somewhat offensive are the winged eye liner looks. It seems like people are trying to make their eyes look smaller. It’s weird because Asians are typically made fun of for their small eyes.” Umemoto explains. “It is weird that fox eye looks are now a trend. As an Asian American I’ve always felt insecure about my small eyes and have had people make fun of them. So, to see that they are now trendy is confusing and annoying.”
This mimicking of Asian features is incredibly harmful to the perpetuation of hurtful stereotypes and heavily contribute to cultural insensitivity towards Asians. The trend of emulating a slanted eye shape, associated
with Asian features, is a commodification of an Asian feature by non-Asian people. When a certain eye shape is idealized it reinforces the notion that this feature is only attractive now when certain people dawn it. Slanted eyes have always existed but have not been celebrated or deemed a beauty standard until it was replicated on people that are not Asian or naturally have this eye shape. Asian individuals have long faced discrimination and stereotypes based on their appearance. When celebrities promote these beauty trends and transformations the general public views that as the green light to follow. This phenomenon is known as “asian-fishing”, a spin on the term of being a catfish meaning you are deceiving in your looks. This new slang is dawned on those who are not Asian but transform their appearance to appear as though they are, whether it’s through makeup, tools, or cosmetic surgery.
The United States specifically has a terrible past in discriminating against Asian people when placing anyone with Asian features in internment camps during WWII. When people decide to take on this feature, it completely dismissed the real struggles that many Asians have faced due to their physical attributes.
Linae Bezdek, a media arts major with a heavy connection to her Korean identity explains the troubles of these trends and the sharing of culture.
“To see people changing their appearance to become more Asian is just very strange and creepy to a lot of Asian people. On the other hand it’s rude and hurtful. Mostly because me and many other Asian people in America were made fun of for small eyes and aegyo sal. I used to be super insecure about both of those and would never smile big as a kid so my aegyo sal wouldn’t be noticeable. It feels as though non-Asians are getting the aesthetic and looks that they find pretty without facing all of the other factors we faced.”
Aegyo sal is the skin underneath your eye that frames the lower eyelid. This feature is commonly acknowledged in Korean beauty and often is what deems someone as younger thus making them more attractive.
This isn’t to say that traditionally practices are meant to be shared but through education and understanding, it is easy to navigate what is appropriate and what isn’t.
“I feel like a lot of times it just ruins things for everyone.” Explains Bezdek on the topic of these examples of appropriation. “It paints the other race in a bad light but also makes it seem like appreciating another culture is wrong when it isn’t. The truth is, many Asians love when other races experience their culture. Korea specifically is a very extroverted and welcoming place. We love sharing our food and products to the world. It is a shame that a handful of people can ruin that experience for everyone. When people are respectful and credit where and who they are recreating, then I don’t see a problem with it. In fact, I can appreciate someone appreciating another culture. But often, people become super defensive and take it a bad way.”
Some steps to pivot away from appropriation and towards appreciation there are many options. In terms of the fox eye, certain makeup looks teeter on the edge of appropriation but in terms of tools and surgeries it is best to abandon those practices. When using practices such as gua sha it is imperative to approach with cultural sensitivity, curiosity, and a desire to honor origins and traditions. The first step to take is to learn about the cultural and historical context of the practice as well as its cultural significance in Chinese medicine. Next, using and viewing gua sha as what it is not a trendy or luxury beauty tool. Finally, when purchasing a tool look to support authenticity. Look to buy from Asian owned brands that use authentic materials, not large corporations benefiting financially.
My name is Caitlin Johnston and I'm an Arizona native with a passion for soccer, cooking, and social justice. My love for these areas fuel my lifestyle writing aspirations. I aim to be a columnist for a publication where I can authentically share my diverse passions and contribute to meaningful discussions.