Chinese Epidemic: The Thin Ideal

“I can’t believe you’re an XL in China. That’s crazy!”

Growing up my mom used to buy all my clothes from China, and every clothing item she bought for me seemed to be a size XL that would sometimes be too tight for me. I couldn’t bring myself to comprehend why an XL shirt fit even smaller than a medium-sized shirt obtained from an American brand on my average 12-year-old body. Of course, the 12-year-old me, upset by the unflattering clothes, decided to go in-store to try on the clothes first, rather than just trusting my mom’s instinct of choosing my clothing size. To my surprise, trying on clothes firsthand was equally as bad as trying them on after purchasing them already. Nothing seemed to fit, and most times clothing brands only offered one size and sometimes maybe sizes Small, Medium, and Large (or from my perspective, Smaller, Small, and … Medium?). So… was I really just considered fat in China or are Chinese bodies simply meant to be smaller?

When it comes to East Asian bodies, people tend to believe East Asians are simply born to maintain smaller frames due to some sort of magical genetics or diet. However, it is neither the magical genetics nor the diet that allow East Asians, specifically Chinese women, to always remain skinny. It is rather psychological importance that is attached to the idealization of being skinny. Although for us women being skinny has always been a beauty standard, as advertised by the multiple celebrities’ diet secrets on magazines, Victoria’s Secret fashion show models, and our mainstream fashion, China takes this beauty standard to a completely different level. This thin ideal isn’t simply an ingrained beauty standard in China, but rather it has become an obsession that is continually growing due to China’s inherent consumer society, catered towards promoting goods and services that will force women to attempt to reach unattainable beauty standards. Through media, such as television, magazines, and social media, and the fashion industry, Chinese women are called to grow up dissatisfied with their bodies, as they are inundated with constant promotion of the skinny body as an ideal. Of course, when social media, clothing business, and Chinese society as a whole continue to perpetuate the idea that women’s bodies should only look one specific way, it appears practically difficult for China to leave behind this obsession and idealization of being skinny.

Before we dive into the current perpetrators of this body image obsession in China, we should look at the origins. Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC — 220 AD), femininity has been a trait that is favored in women, and this is ultimately associated with a slender and petite figure. For a long time, small feet were admired, and women even went so far as to bind their feet to obtain this “delicate” image (Pompeii et al). While skinny has been the beauty standard since ancient times in China, the debut of the “thin ideal” is what has kept this beauty standard so intact among Chinese women. Undoubtedly, this world's “thin ideal” did not just pop out of thin air — it is a concept that developed over time. Around ten to 100,000 years, the ideal female figure was round and sturdy. However, as the millenniums, centuries, and decades went by, things began to change, and society began shifting towards an idealized idea of slender female frames. By the late 19th century in North America and Western Europe, an idealized picture of a woman with a tiny body and a small, corseted waist, sloped shoulders, tapering fingers, and delicate feet began to emerge (Swami). Since then, small and drastic changes have been incorporated into the female beauty standard — from flatter chests to once again larger chests, from slender legs to muscular thighs, from narrow hips to wide hips, and all kinds of paradoxical idealizations. Nevertheless, a skinny built with a noticeable waist remained a beauty standard for women, influencing China’s obsession with the thin ideal.

As noted, this desire of wanting to be thinner and thinner has persisted over time, but who is to blame for this idealization in China? As suggested, Chinese culture focuses greatly on femininity and beauty, and since the very beginning, China has made beauty and thinness go hand in hand. There is even a popular saying that asserts that “a good woman can’t weigh over 50 kgs (110 lbs)”. Objectively speaking, 50 kilograms (or 110 pounds) is not even nearly considered fat or overweight, and for a tall woman, it would be considered even underweight. However, it seems as though Chinese culture neglects the importance of health and focuses rather on the aesthetics of having a slender and feminine figure. Undoubtedly, such infatuation with the thin aesthetic has allowed for the media, such as television, magazines, and social media, and the fashion industry to continue featuring skinny women in a favorable light while denigrating overweight women. The positive portrayal of slender female frames and major attention that is given to body image create in Chinese women a constant desire to look skinnier in order to feel more appreciated and overall, more attractive and in alignment with Chinese beauty standards.

While it is true that Chinese women are obsessed with appearing skinny in order to meet the strict Chinese beauty standards, their obsession is heightened with the promotion of thinness within media. According to Jaehee Jung in her article “Young Women’s Perceptions of Traditional and Contemporary Female Beauty Ideals in China,” China’s market-driven economy in post-socialist society, along with a consumer culture that encourages commercialization of consumer goods and Western lifestyles, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of international women’s magazines in China. Not to mention Western media and the entertainment industries of other Asian countries, such as South Korea and Japan, have had a significant influence on contemporary Chinese media. In simpler words, China’s capitalist economy has allowed for the rise of women’s magazines, which are greatly influenced by Western and Asian media and entertainment industries. As such, Western and Asian media communicate standards for the ideal beauty through the advertisement of products and services, feeding into China’s consumer society (Jung). The contemporary Chinese media, featuring Western and other Asian countries’ influence, draws special attention to skinny bodies, adding to Chinese culture’s already ingrained idealization of thinness. Through media, women are called to purchase goods and services that will allow them to attain almost impossible beauty standards, boosting their obsession even more. Chinese women are growing dissatisfied with their bodies not only through inherent Chinese beauty standards but also through Chinese contemporary media that continues to feed Chinese women with more Westernized content that focuses on the idealization of being skinny.

Certainly, when China is such a big market, there must be a big fashion market, and it is no surprise that it caters mainly towards skinny women, and non-skinny women seeking to become, well, skinny. Paolo Volonté in his article “The thin ideal and the practice of fashion” argues that “[i]t is not the thin ideal, appearing out of nowhere, that induced the fashion industry to limit itself to slim sizes. On the contrary, the thin ideal grew up together with a fashion industry that was technologically discouraged from producing fat sizes, and consequently developed appropriate practices” (Volonté). Put succinctly, the fashion industry developed alongside the thin ideal, which influenced the lack of sizes, allowing our current fashion industry to have limited clothing sizes, ultimately catering fashion to only people with skinny people. As such, insufficient clothing sizes have become very common in the fashion industry, leading to popular brands carrying less than three sizes, and in some cases, only one. In China, the Italian retail brand Brandy Melville, or better known as BM in China, has become incredibly popular among young Chinese women. The clothing brand is recognized for its “one size fits small” motto, which has sparked a lot of controversy among Western women who cannot fit into BM’s singular size. However, China’s idealization of thin bodies has allowed BM to continue to thrive with its tiny crop tops, tank tops, and skirts. In fact, the popularization of the brand and its size motto has even created more promotion of the thin ideal. The hashtag #TestIfYouCanRockTheBMStyle, along with a picture named “BM Girls’ Ideal Weight Chart” took over the Chinese Internet. Undoubtedly, such a chart promotes an unattainable weight standard for women, as it advertises the idea that to wear the BM style, women have to be almost underweight. It is unnecessary to mention how fatphobic it is for Brandy Melville to only carry a single size, catering towards skinny women, however promoting the idea that women have to be almost underweight to fit into a certain clothing brand simply creates greater body dissatisfaction, leading to greater health issues, whether it be mentally or physically.

Speaking from a larger context, the thin ideal not only affects China but the world as a whole. China, being such a large market, has allowed for goods and services catered towards attaining beauty standards to thrive, leading to a constant idealization of thin bodies. However, not only does China consume, but it produces as well. The popularization of Chinese culture will lead to a greater obsession with thin bodies [ADD MORE].

So, what has China done about this? While Chinese beauty standards were heightened by the Western idealization of skinny women, Western standards are slowly changing, influencing China as well. For instance, body positivity has prompted an open dialogue in China, influenced by altering Western views that are gradually becoming more inclusive (Zhuang). (………) Despite these efforts, the thin ideal continues to dominate Chinese women and Chinese society’s mindsets as a whole.

But what else can China do to combat this epidemic? Chinese people could perhaps start challenges that are focused more on body positivity rather than comparing and fitting into Chinese beauty standards. Also, Chinese people could stop supporting brands that do not carry larger sizes, as well as forcing companies to start making clothes that will fit the population. If more brands start to endorse body positivity, even more brands and the media will follow. [ADD MORE]

While women as a community continue to battle against unattainable beauty standards in our own brains, having media and fashion brands stop the promotion of these beauty standards would help with the fight against the thin ideal. [add more but this is the idea]