MTV's The Hills star Audrina Patridge
Yes, you know the body I’m talking about.
Surprisingly, this poem talked about a different kind of body image, the kind of body image that not many people understand or experience. This poem was written by Nellie Wong and titled When I was Growing Up. This Chinese American poet talks about her personal experience wanting to become white when she was younger. This body image isn’t about the legs, butt or boobs. Instead it’s about the color of one’s skin and wanting to fit into a different culture. As I read this poem I felt like I was struck by lightning. When I was younger I thought I was white. It wasn’t that I WANTED to be white, I thought I WAS white. As I got older, I realized that I was not white because that body image was completely unattainable. That is, unless, I wanted to bleach my skin like Michael Jackson, get some hair implants on my eyebrows, and get surgery to change the shape of my eyes. The next body image I began to assimilate was from Asia. Wait, that didn’t really work out either, I mean I’m not small by any means. I’m a towering 5’8. 5 with broad shoulders, long legs, and big boobies. After a bit I became more or less ok with my body, I didn’t fully fit either body image, I was like a mutt. A very loveable mutt! After thinking about it I had the best of both images because I have the obvious Asian features as well as the long legs, and boobs Americans want.
Sadly, I didn’t stay at that happy medium of body images because I was going back to the land of my birth. I was going back to that country where the women are short, pale, fashionable, they live in heels, and everything I was not. I was going to Korea. Oh lord, shoot me now or let the plane crash. All I wanted was to fit in….ok well at least not draw any attention to myself more than I had to. I was traveling with a white/blonde American, so much for not drawing attention…haha. My body image got so contorted. I suppose my body image is like looking at a mirror. Instead of a nice flat mirror, mine became a crazy mirror from a fun house. I wanted to cut my legs, pull a Michael Jackson, and have my boobs detached from my body. Then I arrived in Korea.
Oh lord, the women were short! They had bobs and bangs and looked exactly like a very pretty doll. The men were tall and lanky, I didn’t expect much from them. The majority of Asian males have a very hard time building muscle. Then I began to see some taller women, even with heels!! Sweet! I began to realize that most of my body image was just a mind game that I had put in a blender and still tried to play. I actually made a very interesting discovery while in Korea. The younger generations of Koreans have become vastly influenced by the Western culture. There are American clothing and shoe brands, food places, coffee shops, music and movies all over. I was told that for younger Korean men, their ideal female body image is a mix of Western and Korean. They refer to this as Eurasian. The men want a girl with the boobs and the butt.
South Korean Model Im Ji Hye
Men on the other hand value their masculinity. They take jobs that are considered masculine, and some even show their masculinity through their body. I'm not quite sure what exactly this body image, but I'm guessing that this body will be defined. I say "defined" because it is harder for Asian men to gain muscle. At least how Americans think of muscle. Eg weight lifters.
South Korean Olympic Swimmer Park Tae-Hwan
American Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps
Looking back on this experience and particular conversation I am struck by the similarities in female body image. Who would have thought?
1 comment:
The influence of Western notions of beauty in other parts of the world shows (in a more macro level) that power shapes perceptions of beauty. We'll actually be talking about that later in the semester as well! Really interesting and thanks for including that Maxim cover along with your other images!
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