DOUBLE
EYELID SURGERY
"Westernizing" the Asian Eye
by Geolani Dy
Annie*
was raised in a Northern California suburb with a distinctly split
demographic makeup—five to ten percent Asian and otherwise almost
entirely Caucasian. American-born and of Chinese descent, Annie was
teased throughout childhood for having “small eyes”. At home, her
mother and family friends would repeatedly suggest a permanent fix:
not the “Sticks and stones may break my bones” idiom, but double
eyelid surgery, or Asian blepharoplasty.
Controversial and extreme to
some, but simple and obvious for others, the procedure to create
“double eyelids” on Asian faces has emerged as a very visible and
debate-sparking trend, a new option for Asian Americans seeking to
change their appearances. Eyelid surgery is the cosmetic surgical
procedure most commonly requested by Asian patients in the U.S.,
according to recent literature in aesthetic surgery.
“Growing up in a place that was mostly Caucasian, the perception of
beauty was definitely that bigger eyes were more beautiful,” Annie
said.
As someone who does not have double eyelids herself, but instead,
the “epicanthic folds” prevalent among people of Asian descent,
Annie can understand why young women in her position find the
surgical procedure appealing. When asked why she thinks people
choose to undergo the operation, Annie responded, “It has a lot to
do with self-esteem. Having larger eyes is prettier, it changes the
entire way your face looks and the perception is that you are much
more beautiful.”
I conducted a survey about perceptions of double eyelid surgery
among college-aged students. A Chinese American female commented
among her responses that Asian people, not only Caucasians, view
larger eyes as an element of beauty. “Asians believe beauty =
bigger eyes, and it's a relatively safe and easy procedure, so it's
a quick and painless way to become more beautiful. Double eyelids
are coveted.” This anonymous female knows several people who have
gotten double eyelid surgery.
Just as any other cosmetic procedure might, Asian blepharoplasty
draws a number of critics. Yet their objections carry a unique
edge—it is not uncommon for people to view the surgery is a means
of “looking less Asian,” or of assimilating to a “Western” or
“Caucasian” standard of beauty.
“I feel like the fact that double eyelid surgery even exists is
indicative of both an individual's misguided perception of beauty
and of an entire society's reinforcement/perpetuation of these
skewed values,” said an anonymous Chinese American male. “Asians
and Asian-Americans should embrace the way they look and work to
better themselves in more meaningful and less superficial
ways.”
Popularity of the procedure is reflected in the abundance of
“Double Eyelid Specialists” advertising on the Internet, the
increased coverage by mainstream American media, as well as the
sheer number of college-aged Asian American students who know a
peer with surgically-altered eyelids.
Here I present a look at perceptions and realities of Asian
blepharoplasty.
*Annie's name has been changed.
Photo source: www.marieclaire.com...
Takayanagi, Susumu M.D. “Asian upper blepharoplasty double-fold procedure.” Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 27(6): 656-663.
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