The Black and White Nature of Beauty in China

In a male-dominated society, a woman’s beauty is often her only social currency. In China, beauty is inextricably linked with the whiteness of her skin. The desire to have fair skin is historically tied to classism and privilege because only wealthy families could afford to stay indoors and buy skin whitening products. In recent years, whitening products have become incredibly popular throughout the country. The industrialization of the cosmetic industry has created the illusion of agency by “giving” all women access to whitening. The cost of women gaining access to these whitening products is their participation in an oppressive system. Women perpetuate an oppressive system by choosing to become oppressors themselves. Wealthy women who can afford more expensive products discriminate against those with less financial means by holding their skin tone against them. However, by becoming oppressors themselves, they have reinforced the system that discriminates against them. By purchasing whitening products and participating in this oppressive system, women are sold the illusion of control, but they are just funding their own subjugation.

Preference for pale skin in China predates the influence of Euro-centric beauty standards from the West. The desire to have pale skin can be traced as far back as the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) where women of the court used their complexion to signify their stature (Jablonski, 2014). For thousands of years, darker skin has been associated with the working class and long hours in the fields, while lighter skin has been associated with a comfortable life indoors and thus higher socioeconomic status.

In a 2015 journal article, historian Evelyn Yeung examined the relationship between skin whitening practices and female empowerment in China. Through her research, she found that “Skin tone became a signifier of class, with pale skin dominating the top of the hierarchy. Just as clothing and jewelry could differentiate individuals’ economic standing, the shade of one’s skin also became an essential aspect of one’s identity” (Yueng, 2015).” Just as in Western culture how you dress or what car you drive determines your status, for women, skin tone came to become synonymous with your greater identity.

One remark I often heard growing up was that I did not look like my parents’ daughter. These comments were separate from whether or not I inherited my parents’ features. Instead, it was a critique of my darker skin tone and how out I did not fit in with the socioeconomic status I was born into. Whenever my mom hears this, she would tell them that I was born a pretty child with skin as white as snow but that I had “lost” it after a trip to the beach when I was younger. They would joke about how I could easily be mistaken for an “average” girl and not the daughter of a wealthy family. This always made me feel that I was shamefully representing my family. That because of the color of my skin I was not the daughter my family deserved. It was also implied that because of my skin tone that I would miss out on opportunities because I would not be recognized as the child of a “respectable” family.

This perception has been deeply ingrained in the national memory of China, including in much of its history and literature. In classic literature, a female character’s beauty is frequently attributed to their “snowy”, “jade-like”, or “icy” complexion. For example, The Four Great Beauties of China were four women who lived throughout different eras of Chinese history. They shared a mythological beauty said to have brought kingdoms to their knees and overshadowed the gods. In many ways, they are seen as the embodiment of beauty in Chinese society. While the Four Great Beauties of China lived through different dynasties, their portraits show one feature they all shared — fair skin. Regardless of the social status they were born into, they ended up as the emperors’ favorites and gained power through their beauty (Mingbai, 2018). This is important to recognize as myths and legends like these can completely alter the national perspective on things like skin tone and beauty. These stories are the ones that are told to children growing up which creates their sense of self and how they see the world around them.

This further reinforces the notion that having pale skin is synonymous with the upper class and it inherently speaks to a woman’s worth. This ancient perception of lighter skin was used to maintain the distance between the nobility and the commoners. The more physical differences that could be pointed out, the easier it was to insist that nobility was something that aristocrats deserved because they were born superior. By propagating these stories and myths the upper class of China was able to convince the commoners that this was just the natural order that had always been. This has been perpetuated into the modern world, maintaining the separation between those who have means and those who do not. The literary connections and historical texts associating whiteness with beauty illustrate the role fair skin has played in Chinese society.

The notion that whiteness is associated with beauty and privilege is reinforced by the Chinese language. When describing the perfect woman, the phrase “bai fu mei” [白富美] which directly translates to “white, rich, beauty” is always used. Another common phrase that links whiteness and beauty is, “yi lian zhe san chou” [一白遮三丑] which translates to “one white covers up three flaws.” This phrase describes the belief that even if a person does not have desirable features, as long as they have “white” skin, they are beautiful. These expressions promote fair skin as the ideal aesthetic and are almost exclusively used by women, to discuss women. If the perfect woman is one who is white, then women with darker skin tones are inherently inferior. This deepens the sense of inferiority that is felt by women with darker skin.

However, the influence that language has does not stop with proverbs and expressions. Individual characters can also have connotations that reinforce these notions. The character bai [白], meaning “white”, is used to describe lighter skin tones. Once someone’s complexion is darker than the cultural norm, the character hei [黑] meaning “black” is used. In fact, when describing skin, there is no equivalent for “dark” or “tan” in Chinese. If you were not bai (white), you were hei (black).

While the character bai (white) is often associated with beauty and used in positive expressions, the character hei (black) is not. For example, the expression “hei bu liu qiu” [黑不溜秋] is used to describe someone or something dark and ugly. Another expression, wu mei hei zui [乌眉黑嘴], is most famously used to describe a “dark (hei) and dirty” child in the literary classic Dream of the Red Chamber. While oftentimes these expressions are used without a second thought, the language we use and how we talk about the institutions in our society can shape and alter our perception of the world.

We as humans use language to differentiate and organize our society’s hierarchy. Pierre Bourdeiu, a French sociologist and anthropologist argues that language is more than how we communicate — it is also a mechanism of power (Bourdeiu, 1991). We often try to justify these hierarchies by using language that communicates this is the way things are meant to be, but they are artificial. These associations between darkness of skin tone and negative qualities have strong effects on how society views skin color and are likely manufactured for power and control (Bourdieu, 1991).

By proclaiming stark differences between those who are hei (black) and those who are bai (white) those at the top of society create justifications for their position of power. If darkness is inherently dirty, poor, unsuccessful, and ugly then the women who are dark must inherently embody those traits as well. Given the black and white nature of how Chinese classifies skin tone, these phrases and colloquialisms create negative beliefs associated with darker skin. These characterizations in turn strengthen the discrimination that people with darker skin tones can face in China, keeping them at the bottom of society — especially if they are women.

While many of these characterizations are hundreds of years old, the associations are still prevalent in modern-day China and have implications in daily life. Women who are tan are still perceived as having lower socioeconomic status, less education, and to be less attractive. Women with fair skin are given access to more employment opportunities and potential romantic partners. According to a study published in the Chinese Journal of Communication by communication researcher Meng Zhang, physical beauty, including pale skin, is “essential and advantageous when meeting employers and potential dating partners” (Zhang, 2012) The cultural fixation on a woman’s skin inevitably links their worth with the melanin in their skin.

This practice of valuing women based on the tone of their skin upholds discriminatory practices that limit social mobility and unfairly disadvantage people with darker skin tones. For female professionals, who already face workplace discrimination, negative perceptions of skin tone can limit opportunities even further. This discrimination begins early on in life, so by the time adulthood is reached it is deeply ingrained in a woman’s perception of self.

Growing up, I loved being outdoors so I was always tanner than most of my peers. My skin was the subject of teasing and ridicule from friends and family. I was often called a “village girl” because of how dark I was. This descriptor is associated with being from a poor rural area, and implies that the person is not very educated. Because of these descriptions, I learned to hate my skin. I was willing to try any cream, lotion, or home remedy that it took to lighten it. I was often gifted pearl powder to ingest and expensive skin lightening creams from sympathetic family friends to use. For most of my life, I bought into the myth that my worth was tied to the color of my skin and that my tan complexion was an aberration that needed to be “purified.” This is something I still struggle to come to terms with today.

Like myself, many women are willing to go to great lengths to lighten their skin. Traditional practices include rubbing chalk onto the skin, drinking herbal concoctions, and even applying lead mercuride, a poisonous compound that can be lethal over time. In ancient China, these skin whitening processes were only accessible to the rich and powerful which reinforced the relationship between the elite and fair skin.

While the preference for pale skin has remained largely unchanged, globalization, industrialization, and consumerism have transformed the skin whitening industry. After China joined the World Trade Organization and opened up its economy to outside investors, many western cosmetic companies poured money into the budding market (Shira, 2015). As the Chinese industry expanded, the cost of creating and selling whitening products has drastically decreased, expanding access to skin whitening products for women with less disposable income.

Despite these products becoming more affordable and accessible, there are still many skin whitening procedures solely available to the elite few. Salons and spas market expensive sessions with their laser-operated machines that they claim lighten the client’s entire body in under an hour (Schwartz, 2011). Another costly treatment involves getting an IV drip twice a week for ten weeks that costs around $190 USD per session (SCMP, 2007). The efficacy of some of these extravagant whitening treatments are dubious at best, but many people are still willing to pay the cost for the exclusivity of the experience with the latest technology (Pattani, 2017). These more expensive treatments help to maintain a semblance of stratification within the whitening industry. While there are cheaper products available, these expensive treatments maintain the illusion of exclusivity and superiority that only wealth can buy.

With the growing influence of western cosmetic companies, euro-centric beauty aesthetics have strengthened the preference for pale skin. White hegemonic ideals have intertwined themselves with traditional Chinese concepts of beauty to form a powerful oppressive combination. Whitening companies frequently use models of mixed Asian-Caucasian descent to manipulate the consumer. These mixed-race models provide enough familiar features for Asian consumers to feel they are attainable, while still having the “desirable” features of someone more western (Yeung, 2015). Reinforcing these western beauty standards of skin tone feeds into white power and manipulates racial minorities to fight against each other to compete for white approval (Li, 2008). Women who have the ability to achieve this desired intersection of race have used this power to create a structure they benefit from, at the expense of women with darker skin tones.

In a male-dominated society, where women are oftentimes shunted to the side, rich women have found a way to oppress other women. By gatekeeping beauty and success behind opulent whitening treatments and expensive products, wealthy women of Chinese society have themselves become the oppressors — using the very criteria that was arbitrarily created for them by men. As Brazillian philosopher Paulo Freire wrote in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, “during the initial stage of the struggle, the oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors, or “sub-oppressors” (Freire, 1972). This is evident in modern-day China, where the wealthy have created a system of oppression based on historical influences.

The vast majority of these whitening products are targeted towards women because it is the societal expectation that women will be pale and this is reflected in all aspects of life. Many women in China wear sleeves or walk around with parasols to avoid getting even the slightest exposure to the sun. A diet with less soy sauce as an ingredient is preferred because soy sauce is believed to help dark spots grow.

In a male-centric society, one of the few ways that Chinese women have to distinguish themselves is through their appearance (Kim &Capri, 2017). This is especially problematic as the only value that women are permitted to create in Chinese society is with their looks, which reduces them to just a pretty face for others to enjoy. The decreased cost of whitening products is seen by some as a form of empowerment as it means that more women can achieve the societal beauty standard.

Since women are able to purchase these products, that means that they have the financial independence to buy luxury items for themselves. The increased access to these products and treatments also promotes the idea that access alone gives women the ability to change their skin tone — and thus their status. If a woman has a darker skin tone, it must be by choice and their inability to climb up the social ladder is of their own doing. But do they really have agency? A CHOICE to change the color of their skin?

The notion that a woman can take their destiny into their own hands just by lightening their skin tone is problematic because it reinforces the idea that a woman’s worth is inherently based on her beauty. This beauty standard is in large part based on the whiteness of a woman’s skin. While women still participate in a system that only values them for their appearance they will still not be treated as full members of society. The idea that women being able to purchase their own beauty products grants true freedom is just an illusion meant to make women feel as though they have true agency.

In China, beauty for women is capital that can influence your opportunities in life. Historically, beauty is synonymous with having pale skin since the elites were the ones who were provided shade and they used this as a signifier of their social status. While in today’s China women are given the illusion of control over their appearance, they are still burdened by an artificial standard that does not value them. This standard of whiteness has become more influential since whitening products are accessible to most people. This system of oppression is perpetuated by wealthy women, who benefit from their ability to whiten their skin, at the expense of women with darker skin. However, the women who support this system are also perpetuating their own oppression at the hands of the patriarchal system.

Works Cited

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Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

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Li, E. P. H., Min, H. J., Belk, R. W., Kimura, J., and Bahl, S. (2008). Skin lightening and

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