Home > Bibliographies > AAST298J (Spring 2004)

Asian American Cosmetic Surgery by Jessica Lee

Books

• McCurdy, John. Cosmetic Surgery of the Asian Face. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers, 1990.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles

• Arato, Risa and Toshiya Handa. "Cosmetic Surgery Remaking the Face of Japan." Guelph Mercury 9 Oct. 2003: B14.
• Chen, Joanne. "For Asian Americans, the Issues Underlying Cosmetic Surgery Are Not Just Skin Deep." A. Magazine. 30 Apr. 1993.
• Gee, Allison Dakota. "The Price of Beauty." Asiaweek 2 Aug. 1996: 38-42.
• Gupta, Sanjay. "Ethnic Makeovers." Time 6 Oct. 2003: 88.
• Kaw, Eugenia. "When 'Sleepy Eyes' Won't Do" Psychology Today Sept/Oct. 2003: 11.
• Kennedy, David. "Going under the knife can be risky business" Jakarta Post 12 Oct. 2003: M25
• Krall, Jay. "The Ethnically Correct Nose Job; As More Minorities Seek Plastic Surgery, Doctors Aim to Preserve Racial Features" Wall Street Journal 29 July 2003, D1.

  Surgeons in the U.S. have more and more ethnic patients each year. To meet their requests, doctors are performing surgeries to enhance, instead of change natural features. Asian American patients are famous for requesting double eyelid surgery, but now only about "one in twenty wants to look more Western." Many are asking for more subtle changes to preserve the shape of their natural eye. Besides the usual procedures of performing eye surgery, most doctors are saying that Asian Americans are just as conscious of their wrinkles as other women. As minority groups become more affluent, they are increasingly requesting procedures that are popular amongst Caucasian women such as Botox.

• Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "Ethnic Ideals: Rethinking Plastic Surgery." New York Times 25 Sept. 1991: C1.
• Walker, Kylie. "Fed: Botched Jobs, Asians Fuel Nose Surgery Boom" AAP Newsfeed 29 Mar. 2004: Domestic News.
• "Plastic Surgery Gains Increasing Popularity." Business Daily Update. 2 Dec. 2003: 2.

Newspaper or Magazine Articles on the Internet

• Cullen, Lisa Takeuchi. "Changing Faces." TimeAsia 5 Aug. 2002. Date Accessed: 23 May 2006 <http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/1101020805/story.html>.

  The plastic surgery industry in Asia is booming because of the obsession with appearance. People from all over the world travel great distances to access the services of leading surgeons in Asia. Not only are these physicians rumored to be better, but also cheaper. This wide acceptance of plastic surgery in Asia, or more specifically, eyelid surgery, has carried over to the United States. Many Asian Americans travel to Asia and undergo procedures for a much cheaper price. Plastic surgery can be dangerous in Asian countries due to an increase in underground beauty clinics and unlicensed practitioners. With promises of discounted surgery, students and poor people are lured in. Botched surgeries are also more common, but lawsuits do not receive as much as attention as in Western countries. In Asia, surgery is seen as necessary to further one's career. While women are the majority of those participating in this trend, men are also receiving plastic surgery such as eyelid reconstruction and nose shaping. They cite career advancement as a motivation to undergoing these operations. Many link plastic surgery to finding a spouse, better careers, and enhancing self esteem.

• Inoue, Todd S. "Roundabout Looks." MetroActive 27 Jun. 1996. Date Accessed: 29 May 2006 http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.27.96/asian-eyes-9626.html>.

  When Asian American women are asked why they choose eye surgery, they simply reply that it makes them look better. But what about rounder eyes make women look better? Is it because of the Western ideal of beauty or have their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers told them over and over that rounder eyes will benefit them in the future? Many Asian American women have a nonchalant attitude about plastic surgery, stating that it is no different from perming their hair or putting on make up. However, some disagree, saying that surgery is a form of ethnic cleansing. A Korean movie director searched for months and months to find an Asian actress without creases to be in a movie. He ended up using an amateur. One Asian American woman said that it had to do with the culture. When visiting South Korea, she saw the enormous popularity of eye lid surgery and related it to culture. Like mini skirts, the author suggests that cosmetic surgery can be understood as a cultural trend.

• Scheidnes, Jean Lee. "Asian Community Has Double Vision of Eyelid Surgery." Columbia News Service March 2000. Date Accessed: 24 May 2006. <http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=740>.

  Described as "internalized racism" and "conforming to mainstream ideals," eyelid surgery has gone from total acceptance in Asia to garnering criticism in the U.S. However, Asian American women defend the procedure saying it is a way to make them look better, but not necessarily more Caucasian. Supporters of the surgery feel that undergoing the procedure does not hinder a woman's ties to her ethnic culture. Doctors were quoted in the article stating that no Asian American woman has ever gone through surgery requesting to look more Western. During the 1950s, women generally asked to look more Caucasian, but as times changed and women worked towards self acceptance, a "Caucasian" eye was no longer requested. Asking to make their eyes more Caucasian resulted in unnatural creases and unusually big eyes. In fact, most women ask that the surgery be natural and stress the importance of looking Asian.

• Zhang, A. "Double Duty." Audrey Magazine. Dec 2003. Date Accessed: 30 May 2006. <http://www.audreymagazine.com/dec2003/Mailbox.asp>.

Films

• "Super Americans." My Life (Translated). Narr. SuChin Pak. MTV. 25 Oct. 2003.

  This documentary is about the lives of multicultural teens and their struggles balancing identities as Asian Americans and assimilating into American culture. MTV news correspondent, SuChin Pak uses her own experiences as a Korean American teen and the confusion that comes with being multicultural. She addresses the issue of double eyelid surgery attempting to identify why this surgery is accepted practice. SuChin also interviews a young Asian American teen who goes through eyelid surgery on the show. When asked why she was getting the surgery, the teen replied that she thought it would make her look better. She stressed that it wasn't to look more Caucasian. It was a very striking documentary because the viewer could tell how interested SuChin was in the topic, probably because she was in a similar position years ago. Although SuChin never went through with the surgery, to this day she questions that decision. The documentary closes with one of SuChin's aunts telling her that she would look better with the surgery, while another aunt tells her that she looks very pretty without it.

Websites

• Chen, William. "Frequently Asked Questions." Asian Eyelid Surgery Center. 2005. Date Accessed: 24 May 2006 <http://www.asianbleph.com/faq.html>.
• Orr, Anissa Anderson. "Cosmetic Surgery for Asians Breaks From the Caucasian Mold." Baylor College of Medicine. 13 June 2002. Date Accessed: 24 May 2006 <http://www.bcm.edu/pa/asiancosmeticsurgery.htm>.
• "Charming Orientals...? Pardon me while I drive my fist through my computer monitor." Online posting. LiveJournal. 20 Mar. 2002. Date Accessed: 24 May 2006. <http://pjammer.livejournal.com/55703.html>.
• Honrado, Carlo. "Facial Plastic Surgery in Asian Patients." eMedicine. 5 Aug. 2005. Date Accessed: 31 May 2006 <http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic680.htm>.
• Lin, Shirley. "In the Eye of the Beholder? Eyelid Surgery and Asian American Women." Wiretap 6 Mar. 2001. Date Accessed: 30 May 2006 <http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/10557/>.
• Middleton, William. "Asian Eyes." Middleton Cosmetic. 2004. 19 Apr. 2004. Date Accessed: 31 May 2006 <http://middletoncosmetic.com/asian.html>.

  Dr. William Middleton answers frequently asked questions posed by prospective Asian patients. He describes the Asian eye as heavy, with loose skin and bags. He also comments that heavy eye lids can create an "unfriendly" appearance. Conveniently, he comments that having surgery will make Asian Americans appear more youthful. Although this section of the website was probably a way to garner more patients, I felt that his usage of words and labeling the Asian eye as something undesirable is the epitome of the attitude that many Asians have when it comes to their eyes. This belief that Asian eyes are not as youthful or alive as other eyes influences the decisions of Asians to receive the surgery.

• Pak, SuChin. "SuChin's Journal." MTV.com: My Life (Translated). 17 Nov. 2004. MTV. Date Accessed: 29 May 2006 <http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mylifetranslated/index2.jhtml>.
• Romano, James. "Ethnic Rhinoplasty." Cosmetic Surgery of the Face and Body. 2004. Date Accessed: 31 May 2006 <http://www.jromano.com/text/ethnicrhino.html>.
• Valhouli, Christina. "'Fixing the Asian Eye Racist or No Big Deal?" Talk Surgery, Inc. 9 Nov. 2001. Date Accessed: 29 May 2006 <http://canoe.talksurgery.com/consumer/new/new00000085_1.html>.

  The most popular form of plastic surgery among Asians Americans is called blepharoplasty, which means to shape your eyelid. Asians have been known to get this surgery to make their eyelids appear rounder, and some would say, more Caucasian. Some argue that this is not a racial thing. Plastic surgeons say that no Asian has ever come to appointment asking to look whiter. Many feel that it makes them look more awake and helps with applying eye makeup. Carrie Chang who edits the magazine Monolid feels that eyelid surgery is a way to erase a characteristic that is distinctly ethnic. The argument about whether blepharoplasty is racist is an ongoing debate. Some feel that the procedure is encouraged by the media's negative portrayal of "Asian eyes." Overall, many who receive the surgery seem happy with the results and state that "everyone thinks it looks better."

• Lee, Charles. "Blespharoplasty, Asian." eMedicine. 6 Apr. 2006. Date Accessed: 28 May 2006 <http://www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic425.htm>.
• Meronk, Frank. "Asian Eyelid Surgery: An Overview." Meronk Eyelid Plastic Surgery. 2006. Date Accessed: 28 May 2006 <http://www.drmeronk.com/asian/asian-overview.html>.
• "Rethinking Surgery on Epicanthic Fold." Goldensea. 12 Aug. 2001. Date Accessed: 30 May 2006 <http://goldsea.com/Air/True/0801/surgery.html>.
• Sabbagh, Leslie. "Redefining Asian Nose Using Implants an Art in Itself." lenhance. 2006. Date Accessed: 29 May 2006 <http://www.ienhance.com/article/Detail.asp?ArtID=193>.

  This article describes the challenges that doctors in the U.S. have with nose surgery (rhinoplasty). In addition to these challenges, their unfamiliarity with Asian noses makes it very risky for Asian Americans to receive nose surgery. However, Dr. Nazih Haddad describes special types of techniques to treat and shape Asian noses. He notes certain differences between Asian and Caucasian noses such as skin depth, bone structure, and cartilage. He uses many words that relate the surgery to art such as sculpting, shaping and remodeling.