Julie Chen reveals workplace racism led her to get plastic surgery for ‘Asian eyes’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, TONS of women in China get surgeries like this, as well as nose jobs etc, to look more Euro. It does help them get jobs. Not racist at all.

Surely you understand the correlation between altering one's features to look more Euro and get a job and the issue that looking more Euro is the desired quality that would help one net a job...
You do understand that this is a form of self hatred born of internalized racism...the idea that in order to be beautiful and acceptable a person must look European, right? And you do get that it is not okay for those in positions of power to pressure people to alter their ethnic features to fit some homogenized, Euro-centric standard of acceptable beauty?
Please, please tell me you've at least read something at some point of your on the impact of colonialism.

Would looking more European make her less Asian? No. Which is not to say that the pressures that women feel to change their appearances to match some "other" ideal aren't relevant or important, but I don't see how surgically altering her appearance would address workplace racism. If someone hates a particular group, I don't think changing one's appearance is going to fix the other person's bigotry.

[Anonymous]

The issue is that having less Asian-looking eyes shouldn't be equated with prettiness. Many Asian people have negative feelings about their eyelids because the European standard of beauty is so pervasive. There is pressure to get your eyes "fixed" or to at least do your eye make-up to round out your eye shspe. It's sad.

[Anonymous]

Those pictures were taken many years apart. Some of the changes could be attributed to her face aging/maturing. So many women from college looked a lot better in the face at our 5 year reunion.

[Anonymous]

Male here.... I don't see her looking less Asian as Asians have a wide range of features. She most definitely looks more attractive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those pictures were taken many years apart. Some of the changes could be attributed to her face aging/maturing. So many women from college looked a lot better in the face at our 5 year reunion.

Sorry but the difference in her nose is nothing to do with aging ...... and it made a big difference to her appearance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Male here.... I don't see her looking less Asian as Asians have a wide range of features. She most definitely looks more attractive.

+1

[Anonymous]

I actually looked up other images of her online and that after image has to be air brushed. She doesn't look that good anywhere else!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue is that having less Asian-looking eyes shouldn't be equated with prettiness. Many Asian people have negative feelings about their eyelids because the European standard of beauty is so pervasive. There is pressure to get your eyes "fixed" or to at least do your eye make-up to round out your eye shspe. It's sad.

Agree. In her case her eyes still look almond shaped. Her eyelids look more hooded originally, and the surgery helped bring them out but she still looks distinctly Asian.

In her case though, the nose job and losing weight probably helped more her than anything in an industry that prizes personal appearance. I agree with other PPs she's trying to mask doing what she did for vanity into something more nobel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, TONS of women in China get surgeries like this, as well as nose jobs etc, to look more Euro. It does help them get jobs. Not racist at all.

Surely you understand the correlation between altering one's features to look more Euro and get a job and the issue that looking more Euro is the desired quality that would help one net a job...
You do understand that this is a form of self hatred born of internalized racism...the idea that in order to be beautiful and acceptable a person must look European, right? And you do get that it is not okay for those in positions of power to pressure people to alter their ethnic features to fit some homogenized, Euro-centric standard of acceptable beauty?
Please, please tell me you've at least read something at some point of your on the impact of colonialism.

Would looking more European make her less Asian? No. Which is not to say that the pressures that women feel to change their appearances to match some "other" ideal aren't relevant or important, but I don't see how surgically altering her appearance would address workplace racism. If someone hates a particular group, I don't think changing one's appearance is going to fix the other person's bigotry.

You are stupid. People like you should not discuss these issues because you lack the intellect required.

I am not PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, TONS of women in China get surgeries like this, as well as nose jobs etc, to look more Euro. It does help them get jobs. Not racist at all.

Surely you understand the correlation between altering one's features to look more Euro and get a job and the issue that looking more Euro is the desired quality that would help one net a job...
You do understand that this is a form of self hatred born of internalized racism...the idea that in order to be beautiful and acceptable a person must look European, right? And you do get that it is not okay for those in positions of power to pressure people to alter their ethnic features to fit some homogenized, Euro-centric standard of acceptable beauty?
Please, please tell me you've at least read something at some point of your on the impact of colonialism.

Would looking more European make her less Asian? No. Which is not to say that the pressures that women feel to change their appearances to match some "other" ideal aren't relevant or important, but I don't see how surgically altering her appearance would address workplace racism. If someone hates a particular group, I don't think changing one's appearance is going to fix the other person's bigotry.

You are stupid. People like you should not discuss these issues because you lack the intellect required.

I am not PP.

Not at all, actually. But fun insult, classic DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue is that having less Asian-looking eyes shouldn't be equated with prettiness. Many Asian people have negative feelings about their eyelids because the European standard of beauty is so pervasive. There is pressure to get your eyes "fixed" or to at least do your eye make-up to round out your eye shspe. It's sad.

Agree. In her case her eyes still look almond shaped. Her eyelids look more hooded originally, and the surgery helped bring them out but she still looks distinctly Asian.

In her case though, the nose job and losing weight probably helped more her than anything in an industry that prizes personal appearance. I agree with other PPs she's trying to mask doing what she did for vanity into something more nobel.

Agree, if she could have a do over, I doubt she'd choose to return to her old look. The situation isn't racist, but it is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, TONS of women in China get surgeries like this, as well as nose jobs etc, to look more Euro. It does help them get jobs. Not racist at all.

Surely you understand the correlation between altering one's features to look more Euro and get a job and the issue that looking more Euro is the desired quality that would help one net a job...
You do understand that this is a form of self hatred born of internalized racism...the idea that in order to be beautiful and acceptable a person must look European, right? And you do get that it is not okay for those in positions of power to pressure people to alter their ethnic features to fit some homogenized, Euro-centric standard of acceptable beauty?
Please, please tell me you've at least read something at some point of your on the impact of colonialism.

Would looking more European make her less Asian? No. Which is not to say that the pressures that women feel to change their appearances to match some "other" ideal aren't relevant or important, but I don't see how surgically altering her appearance would address workplace racism. If someone hates a particular group, I don't think changing one's appearance is going to fix the other person's bigotry.

The connection to workplace racism here is that her non Asian manager and and agent told her that her distinctly ethnic looking Asian eyes were hampering her ability to appeal to broader, non Asian audiences.
Of course she can't erase her ethnicity by altering her features (and I would argue that her nose job fits this category as well. She went from a broader nose to a more Euro looking one). However, her attempts to broaden her appeal by looking less like a minority are a direct result of working in an environment where a European standard is held up as the gold standard.
That is part of the insidious nature of workplace racism.

[Anonymous]

The basic issue is that many visible positions whether on TV or in the movies emphasizes looks. This includes how telegenic the person is, their weight, attractiveness, etc. These factors play a big role in how people in those media formats are viewed.

Chen was quite unattractive before she had work done. Yes, that made her more marketable but the crucial point is that it did not make her appearance any less Asian. If her ethnicity were the issue including her still Asian appearance, she would never have achieved the success that she has done.

[Anonymous]

She still looks pretty Asian to me. Halle Berry's nose job can fall into the same category.

[Anonymous]

Oh please. She still looks Asian. Only difference is she looked ugly before and now she looks good.