Never said it was. Of course other cultures have their own repressive beauty standards, but I don't think that they account for everything and I definitely don't like seeing white people claim that skin lightening and eyelid surgery is okay because toplel ancient oppressive Chinese beauty standards!! Then they don't…

Could be. Doesn't change the fact that there is a white, Western beauty ideal that reaches all corners of the globe and that skin lightening and eyelid surgery are a natural consequence of it.

Is it at all possible that these ancient beauty standards are being reinforced by the Western beauty ideals present in our media? Also, what do you have to say about the prevalence of Asians using colored circle-lenses and lightening their hair? Is there some ancient Chinese poem about colored contacts and bleach that…

I wouldn't say that a black woman straightening her hair is trying to look more "American". I would say that she's at least partially trying to appeal to the white beauty standard and that the white beauty standard is problematic. And I would say that Chen was trying to do the same thing, seeing as she SAID THAT SHE…

Thanks for articulating this. I think the privileged that's gained by altering our appearance to emulate the European beauty ideal is part of the reason we WOC are so reluctant to admit that that's what it really boils down too. I don't blame any WOC for trying to appeal to that standard because it's actually…

I know. Obviously. Of course they still prefer light skin, I was disputing the purported reason for it (ancient socioeconomic hierarchies).

She deff got a nose job with the eyelid surgery. And I think the whole "women looking better now then they did in they did as young women" phenomenon has to do with the general lack of horrible 80s hair/horrible 90s makeup. Also, photoshop.

Well, yeah I've seen that as well. But the prevalence of fake tan creams and tanning beds etc. makes me think that that most people aren't tanning because they want people to think they've been on vacation in the middle of spring semester. I don't know though, I don't tan either.

Yeah, I'm aware that fair complexions were desirable prior to about 1950. I think pretty much everyone is. Why tanning was originally popular really doesn't have any bearing on why it's still popular. Likewise, I don't buy that Asians prefer light skin NOW because way back when, poor people who worked in the fields…

It doesn't specifically have to do with tanning, it has to do with the topic at hand. You know, the idea that certain beauty ideas are not tied to wanting to look white. Someone up thread made the argument that white people tanning weren't accused of trying to look black, which is an absurd equivalency.

Stop being so critical of others beliefs. I thought we were supposed to respect religious folk or something.

Ugh, sick of these over thought pseudo-scientific explanations of why people do/don't tan. I don't think anyone is like "oh I will appear to have more leisure time than my house servants if I have a tan. To the tanning bed!". No, people tan because they think it looks good, plain and simple. And none of this changes…

Definitely did and I think that's what made the most difference. I think it was a good decision, her nose looks great in the after picture.

So sick of this stupid argument. False fucking equivalency. You would never assume a white person was changing their appearance to appear not white because there's no "not white" privilege to be gained from that. There is privilege to be gained by a person of color who tries to emulate the physical characteristics of…

Eh, the eye surgery doesn't seem to have made that much of a difference. She's wearing so much eye makeup in the after picture, so it's hard to tell. But boy, that nose job made a world of difference. I know some people will claim that she looked "better" before, but come on. The nose job definitely worked.

Ugh, you should write an article for i09 or something. I think you've pretty much nailed the distinctions between sci-fi and fantasy in addition to demonstrating why sci-fi is more flexible and often more enjoyable. I've always disliked that the two are lumped together when they're usually utilized in very different…

I feel like I see this a lot. Instead of black man/"white" (blond, blue eyed) woman, it'll be a black man and a latina woman. Or black man/racially ambiguous woman. Like "oh we're progressive! But not that progressive!".

Seconding this as a mixed race person. This is something I've noticed white people doing. Another thing I've noticed is that the white half of a white/nonwhite relationship will kind of think that they are honorary members of whatever race their spouse is. Or that they suddenly understand the experience of being "not…

I don't think I've ever been able to articulate why I prefer sci-fi over fantasy (like wayyyyy prefer). So, thanks for doing that brain thinking thing for me.

Fage all the way.