ATS1206 - The Illusionists Reflection

As discussed in the Illusionists, big industries depend on the self loathing of women for survival. They condition us into hating our natural selves, and then offer us a solution. If you buy this makeup, fancy clothes or skin care then you can achieve true beauty! However, it isn’t that simple, because the standard is not naturally attainable. This is becoming an issue for women around the world, but I see it most prevalently across east and southeast Asia.

The Ideal Asian idol is fair and white, she is extremely skinny with double eyelids and a small nose. This look is the standard for public figures, be that in advertisements, television or films. While Asia encompasses many diverse cultures, this idol reigns supreme as the standard for every woman. It doesn’t matter that southeast Asians typically have darker skin, or that east Asians generally have monolid eyes, regardless of these biological realities the westernised idol remains the ideal beauty. This has massive effects on the way these Asian women view their worth, leading to believe that their natural appearances are sub-par.

Korea is the plastic surgery capital of the world, and appearance is key to your success both career wise and socially. In a similar situation to Lebanon, for women to be successful they have to be beautiful. We can see this with the case of K-pop Idols. Many K-pop idols have plastic surgery before debut, with surgeries often kept a secret from the public. It has come to a point in K-pop where you stand out if you don’t have plastic surgery, with celebrities such as AKMU and Hwasa being shamed for their natural faces. Young women grow up watching and idolising these celebrities. Subsequently, these celebrities are used in ad campaigns to promote skin care and makeup to their impressionable audiences. But even if they buy these products, which they certainly do, they will still never be able to look like their idols, because their idols have had plastic surgery. Thus plastic surgery becomes the only option for girls to be beautiful, and a vicious mindset of hating natural faces and bodies is born.

Virtual idols have also been developed in Asia. While this could be seen in Japan with the success of virtual pop singer Hatsune Miku, it has gone further in Korea. Aespa is a K-pop group that has a combination of both real idols and virtual animated ones. The virtual idols appear alongside their real life counterparts in music videos and promos. Their beauty is eternal, while the real idols' looks will fluctuate. Such developments mean that women will never be satisfied in their own skin, for no living woman can compare to a perfectly animated one.

ATS1206 - The Illusionists Reflection This page is part of the collection 'Media Assessments '.

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