Pitch Perfect’s barely audible Lilly Onakuramara played by Hana Mae Lee
While I usually find myself rolling my eyes at most of the stereotypes concerning Asians, some of them puzzle me instead. In particular, there’s the myth that as Asians we are all naturally quiet people. But then there’s also the myth that as Asians we’re all naturally loud people. Confused? Yeah, we are too.
“All Asians look alike.”
Its a phrase that I have personally disliked for as long as I can remember. In fact, many of us are upset by this. We believe that this statement is simply ignorant. We believe that this sort of stereotype comes from the same people who don’t realize that there are various types of Asians. But before we get too angry, it may be a good idea to step back and give this another look.
A beauty pageant held in Daegu, South Korea has 21 contestants competing for the title. The problem? The pageant’s slogan “One Dream, One Face” has a bit too much truth in it. The native judges literally have difficulty telling the girls apart. They claim that they constantly need to check the contestant ID numbers and choosing a winner will be difficult if the girls have such similar faces. While we cannot assume that this plays a factor for these particular contestants, it is important to note that Daegu is known for having amazing plastic surgeons who, apparently, have one set idea of what is beautiful.
This leads us to consider the bigger issue: we are upset that people think all Asians look alike, but do Asian women and Asian plastic surgeons all strive for the same “beautiful face”? Have we created one ideal type of beauty which results in such similar looks? Have we taken part in perpetuating a myth that we hate?
Tell us what you think and click on for some close up pictures of the pageant contestants:
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Word on the block is that the multi-talented Jenny is now sporting conical hats, paper parasols, chopsticks and other very, very stereotypically “Oriental” knick-knacks in a new campaign for TOUS.
The American Idol judge recently replaced Australian singer Kylie Minogue as the new face of the 90-year-old Spanish jewelry line.
… than marry an Egyptian man if this article is accurate in depicting what they think of Chinese women!
According to this article here in China’s People’s Daily, an alarming number of Egyptian men, mainly at the DOM age of over 35, just called in — to the Chinese Embassy in Cairo, that is! The only problems they are reporting are their bachelor issues, though, and I’m not talking about their college degrees! No, these Egyptian men are calling the embassy in hopes of landing a Chinese bride.
It seems that the people who built the great pyramids are now seeking to build great bilateral relations that will eventually result in a family.
Asian women are stereotyped as being full of “obedience and loyalty,” and apparently more and more Egyptian men like this distorted view. I blame the media for this.
We do get cheap products manufactured in China because labor is cheaper overseas. However, the Egyptian men make it seem as if Chinese women themselves are a cheap product because they don’t require the lavish dowry that their Egyptian counterparts demand. It’s the “financial situation of Egyptian youths” that “is the major reason behind their preference for Chinese brides,” according to the article.
It seems as if the few, and less rich Egyptian men are being stereotypical and using the easy way out because they think all Chinese women don’t require as much as their Egyptian counterparts. I understand their financial hardships, but ignoring traditions like a dowry doesn’t necessarily mean respecting it.
Perhaps people need an education from Puerto Rican Jennifer Lopez and realize that “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.”
