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Sijia Huang

CA178

Victoria Rue

05/18/2020

Plus Size Girls in China

Ideals of fashion and beauty have changed and evolved throughout the course of

history, and what might have been deemed desirable at a particular time period in a particular

geographical location might not have the same impact in a different place at a different time.

Ideals of beauty also extend towards body image and how a person perceives his or her own

body, and the way that we think about our body has a huge impact on how we think about

ourselves. Moreover, body image has a lot to do with the size and the weight one possesses,

and most societies prefer a specific kind of body image. The world of fashion is changing

significantly.

However, there are still major challenges, especially the acceptance of plus size women

in the fashion industry. Both the western and Asian cultures should not sideline plus-size

women in the fashion and modeling industry. This essay hence will be exploring the treatment

of plus size girls in China by retracing female body image in the country, studying the discourse

involving it and its impact on both society and the individual.

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Research Problem:

The research will study the specificities of treatment of plus size girls in China.

We will need to explore what exactly does being plus size means and why does it have such a

negative connotation attached to it.

Importance of Research:

Moreover, looking into the various implications of labeling and defining someone

as pull sized, it makes sense to actually go to China’s long history and actually try to learn the

origins of beauty ideals that are prevalent today. The research will determine the further

evolution of women in China.

Chinese ideals of female beauty have historically evolved a lot around the years.

Using the Taoist and Confucian ideas of beauty, a lot of emphases has been placed on the

relationship between inner and outer beauty, which in tandem created the ideal type of female

beauty that represented virtue and talent. There was an emphasis on creating women that

displayed very feminine characteristics, which is why women who displaced stereotypically

masculine behaviors were often shunned or ridiculed (Man).

Furthermore, these ideals were also greatly influenced by Western standards of

beauty as well as the Marxist capitalist thought, which meant that beauty ideals were

constructed in a way that would benefit the western capitalist society (Man).

Methodology:
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The chosen methodology to evaluate the impact of women’s size on Chinese society

uses secondary sources and literature review. The methodology will determine the concept of

plus size clothing which is essentially designed for people who have bodies larger or bigger than

the average, normal-sized persons. Even this definition alone presents the idea that plus-size is

something bad or abnormal because it highlights the idea that plus-size people have something

extra or excessive that is not needed or necessary. The research will use literature available

from recognizable sources and authors.

In addition to this, this has the impact of “otherizing” plus-sized people and

creating them as something that exists beyond the realm of normalcy. The definition and

categorization are also very problematic and damaging because it presents the construction of

one normative size or a single ideal body image which excludes anyone who does not fit into it.

This is especially important because most people rarely fit into the ideal body image.

Findings:

Going even further back into China’s history, initial constructs of beauty were

created within a predominantly male-centric or patriarchal society that supported the

construction of feminist ideals that only strengthened the role of patriarchy in society.

However, due to the emancipation of women and increased globalization in the twenty-first

century, these beauty ideals have greatly changed.

In the Han dynasty, the emphasis was placed on having an agile and energetic

body type in which beauty was seen as a weapon and then later in the Lienuzhuan, the idea of
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inner or internal beauty was greatly explored with the idea that physical beauty was just a

manifestation of internal beauty hence efforts were made to honor the idea of inner beauty.

In the T’ang dynasty, however, plump women were seen as symbols of wealth and

privilege, which is why the ideal body type was a plump or plus-sized woman; however, delicate

features and white skin was still preferred (Man).

In the 1900s, however, with new economic, political, and social changes greatly

influenced by the West, western beauty ideals seeped into Chinese culture when the ideal

Chinese female being modeled on western ideals.

Moving forward, now that we have kind of exploring the history of beauty

standards in China, we will be looking at the major challenges or issues faced by Chinese

women who do not fall into conventional beauty ideals by focusing on plus-sized women and

how they are treated in contemporary china. Through this, we will also be looking at the

damaging impact of these ideals and what they can do to a woman.

When discussing the negative impact of body image ideals, it is worthwhile to

think about the 2018 Graphic novel that depicts a girl suffering from an eating disorder (He).

This eating disorder is the result of the body ideals imposed on the girl throughout her life and

the discrimination she faced when she failed to live up to these standards. This sheds light on

the damaging emotional and physical impacts of such strict ideals and implores us to rethink

everything we have been taught to believe (He).

On a similar note, Puhl’s article also explored the correlation between obesity

and adolescents by exploring the different ways girls and boys deal with it. What was

particularly interesting about this article was the fact that while boys were okay being referred
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to as overweight, girls felt very embarrassed and ashamed and would rather be labeled as curvy

rather than overweight (Puhl). This comments on how society has conditioned women into

automatically feeling shame if they fail to live up to society’s impossible body ideals.

In addition to this, body image ideals are also sustained and advocated through

the mass media that helps in the construction of impossible body types by parading the perfect

bodies of social media influencers, models, and actors.

A classic example of this is Fashion shows such as Victoria's Secret Fashion show and the

various runaways of Paris Fashion week. The models exhibiting the new fashion trends are

almost always impossibly thin, tethering on the verge of malnourished however this thinness is

applauded as being the norm which excludes the majority of body shaded outside this ideal.

This also leads to various eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa (Hulten).

Moreover, not just fashion ideals but also exposure from other kinds of mass

media creates messed up ideals that can be damaging to the psyche. Forestall, and Plummer

explored this when they tried to establish a link between the media and the response of people

towards food. This basically talked about how people prefer looking at thin-bodied women on

the television, and any other body type almost always receives backlash (A.Forestell).

Furthermore, a similar story was told by Janowski when discussing the creation

of a standardized girl in the fashion and beauty community that leaves little in the way of

diversity. This urges us for a need to include different bodied people and actually improve their

representation (Jankowski).

Moving forward, we need to look at present-day beauty ideals and body image

in China and how it might potentially change in the future. The western ideals of today aren’t as
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strict as they used to be in the past, which is why there is push from the West to China to allow

plus-sized women a voice and stop pressurizing them to get skinny.

Around two and a half years ago, Chinese women compared their tiny waist to

an A4 size paper, and even though things have improved today, it is still very hard for plus-sized

women to be fully accepted into Chinese society.

This struggle is amplified because it is very hard for them to find body-positive

role models they can actually relate to. However Chinese fashion brands are increasingly

embracing diversity and trying to create clothes actually created to fit plus size body types, and

this has largely been possible through the influence of internet influencers who have used their

platform to advocate plus size fashion (Rapp)

There is also the creation of this new understanding that losing weight is not a

fashion tip even though even today, Chinese women aspire to be thin and not healthy.

However, even though plus size fashion has been introduced in recent times, the market is still

very small. This is because clothing brands largely target their products to the upper class;

however, whoever has the means is more likely to first lose weight and then shop for clothes,

which ends up eliminating the need for plus-sized clothing (Rapp).

Similarly, even clothing manufacturers have practiced resistance against creating

clothes for plus-sized women because standards of beauty and body image have been

historically ingrained in their minds.

So, concluding, due to western influences and China's own history, China had

very strict body image ideals that supported the idea that thin is beautiful. This idea, however,

can be very damaging because it creates unrealistic standards that are impossible to uphold,
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and this realization has led to an evolution in beauty standards with a slow acceptance towards

plus-sized women in China (Jackson, 8).

Asian Society being biased against Plus-Sized girls:

Living in a world where there are unique ideas and opinions on different things, it is

expected to be judged and have certain standards set up regarding various topics. Similarly,

there are opinions and ideals designed for beauty. According to Asian culture, there are

different types of vision for a perfect body and looks. This act affects the people that have

different sizes and shapes of the body. Society sets the other population aside and aims to work

according to their ideal. Some of the issues that take growth are discussed below, which makes

a great impact.

Body Image:

In an Asian society, socio-cultural impact on families is very high. Major attention to

looks, body, and apparel is given, which makes every other person more conscious to focus

more on these attributes so as to be accepted by society.

It has been quite normal to hear judgments and ideas of how one's body should be.

More toxicity is spread when brands through commercials set up a perfect body image by

advertising their products. Television, by advertising various appearance-related commercials

that portray a specific body size, has disturbed many lives (Heinberg, 325). Many people start
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comparing themselves with the models and influencers that possess slim and thin bodies.

Society’s concept makes them view themselves through other eyes. People tend to believe that

their face is a reflection of their inner self. Depending on how joyful, pretty, or colorful, their

face looks, their inner self is shown according to the society.

According to Van Vonderen, another channel that influences and impacts the current

concept of women’s size in China is how media and television promote it. Media influences

women on how to look (Van Vonderen, 42).This raises many mental health issues among the

youngsters and especially women as they are showcased as unacceptable. This mentality does

save them from obesity but puts pressure on their mental health that results in major disorders

(Featherstone, 1). People try to shape themselves as the perfect body a society praises by doing

all sorts of surgeries. These surgeries artificially enhance a person's body and features. The

majority of youngsters are using cosmetics to define their facial features, which is one of the

main roots of mental health problems.

More focus on being thin is paid in China and many other countries. China has people

that have extreme opinions on body size and shape that resulted in major health issues and low

self-esteem in the young generation. This whole issue starts from the society that judges others

and pushes them to reach up to their standards of perfection. Especially the industries that

show biases towards slim bodies (Cafri, 4). Preferences and showing liking towards slim bodies

are made normal. Treating people with different body shapes unjustly, many job opportunities

are taken away due to their body weight and size. This issue is experienced all over the world

due to which many people fail to move forward due to injustice in every field.
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Fashion Industry- Everything Look Good:

With a biased society that has a mindset of judging people, especially women, based on

their looks and figure, it is expected that everyone is not treated equally. When a woman is

judged by her looks and is considered attractive depending on her body figure, then injustice in

every field is faced by her. People define what looks and body shape and size is suitable for a

particular job. This mentality has shattered many dreams and aims of young people due to their

looks (Rudd, 35).

It is also observed that people start judging others when they are forced by the

hierarchy, and their mindset is designed according to it (Christel, 170). This shows the

increasing toxicity in Asian society.

Plus-sized models are not preferred in the fashion industry and are rejected right away.

This does not only take away opportunities from them but also takes away hope from other

overweight people. In this type of society, stigmas take over destroying precious lives just with

their words and so-called standards (Puhl, 9).

Many brands in the fashion industry, as discussed above, only design standard sizes of

dresses. Even though now things are taking a positive step that has changed the thinking of the

people towards overweight people. Some brands have started designing plus-sized clothes that

have attracted appreciation from overweight people. The fashion industry must not stigmatize

a standard body type and size of their models and introduce diversity. This way, everyone will

feel encouraged and be treated equally. According to Christel’s research, youngsters

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appreciated this step towards being less bias that showed an increase in self-esteem and

confidence (Christel, 44).

Experience in China:

Living in an Asian country, it is quite normal to get judged and receive suggestions on

how to lose weight and look attractive. The majority of the people have experienced being told

to be fat and not attractive. According to the experiences in China, many clothing brands do not

have sizes for a plus size girl. Standard size is placed on the shelves that are designed only for

slim people. This shows the bias behavior of brands towards their customers, where they only

target specific types of body shapes. This certain concept causes people to refrain from body

positivity, which is a concept famous in the US. People of China are quite against the use of

body positivity to spread happiness and peace.

The main cause of fat bodies and women’s obesity in china lacks research and literature.

This literature gap causes a hole in the flow of this research. It can be assumed that China’s

obesity problem is less important and crucial than the western problem of the same issue (Min,

8). China has other issues to deal with; hence the body image of women does not seem to be

an issue for them.

Research in China signifies the impact of such judgments from society on the young

generations that is in college. The research was regarding the factors that had a psychological

influence on them. Where there were other factors mentioned, body image issues were also

noticed. Every college student was observed being concerned about their bodies and their
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shapes (Tao, 5). Certain issues can arise due to obesity, which is understandable, but the

definition of beauty only revolving around slim and thin bodies is completely wrong.

These beauty issues affect people and standardizes beauty. It also affects people to an

extent where they get depressed and isolate themselves from the world due to a lack of

confidence and acceptance. Forcing a judgment on a person may affect not only his mental

health but also the person's functioning ability. It affects the environment of the person that is

going through the phase of a victim. It destroys the person's life to an extent where they are

left with zero motivation. Chinese people prefer slim women that have perfect facial features

and reach the standards of perfection according to their mentality. Being overweight has

become a taboo in Chinese society where women not reaching the standards of slim are looked

down upon.

Being a plus-sized girl myself, it is hard to practice aiming for becoming a stylist in a

society that rejects a plus-size woman. With a vision of changing this trend and introducing new

ideas of beauty, it will be an achievement to make sure people change their perceptions about

beauty and that it comes in all shapes and sizes.

Concept of beauty in China:

Almost every Asian country has a socio-cultural standard for beauty. The idea of the

beauty of a woman is through her looks and her body, whether its shape is good or the size is

thin or bulky. These attributes define the word women according to society. Even society has

different opinions on how a woman should dress up, sit, act, look, eat, and many more. There is
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a standard size and look that people define as a perfect face and body. Similarly, China consists

of such people that define beauty with their perception. Such people are not only men, but

women too criticize and judge other women's beauty. This has caused every young woman to

aim for perfection that, at times, is toxic for their own health (Jung, 58).

Women nowadays are getting into plastic or cosmetic surgeries that enhance their looks

and meet the perfect standard of beauty. Most of the girls look up to actresses and models for

how they look and what body part they want to have the same look to (Lott, 94). Moreover, the

skin tone of a woman is also looked deeply into. Many women apply whitening creams to get

clear white skin. The ideal women are considered to have thin figures, fair skin, oval face with a

pointed chin, and big eyes. Obesity in any person is looked down at, rarely because of health

issues but mostly because it does not match the perfect body type everyone prefers to.

Body images have changed during the past years. Many definitions of beauty have

changed people's minds, but each and every definition was based on others' opinions. This act

has also affected badly on several lives causing mental health issues and many other problems.

Not only by looks are people judged but also due to their class. Wealth is also

considered a part of beauty. A wealthy person is highly expected to have reached out for

affording multiple beauty essentials and also can afford to get surgeries. On the other hand, the

internet, magazines, and fashion shows advertise such a body image that is idealized. Putting

ideas in a box and pushing it in everyone’s mind will always result in dissatisfaction. Women try

to turn into models by every means so that they are liked and appreciated for their appearance.
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Conclusion:

There was once a time where women would compare their waists with an A4 size paper.

This represents how seriously the impact of looking and being culturally acceptable was. It was

a common mindset of being slim and perfect. These issues resulted in many problems in

society.

The ideal body type in a society gets toxic to people that are overweight. Obese people

are frowned upon for not being a perfect size. These issues resulted in many suicides and

mental health issues. Many dreams are torn apart due to their appearance. Many remain

unemployed and face constant judgments due to their body. Unjust treatment is done based on

their looks, even if the person has high qualifications.

On the other hand, not having plus-size apparel in the stores is unfair and a way of

showing disgust towards the people who do not rise to the standard levels of body size. This act

discourages people and fills society with toxic air.

What one wears, looks, and eats are judged by every single person, and there can never

be happiness and humanity among the people. Stores that only sell a standard sized product

are the root of building up more fire. People, even after getting injections and plastic surgeries,

are dissatisfied with their looks. So treating every person equally with regard to their

qualifications must be practiced.

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