Cosmetic Surgery Ethnic Cosmetic Surgery

Is White Right? Ethnic Cosmetic Procedures

By Janice Fitch

Published on August 09, 2007

The iconic American beauty has porcelain skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. For centuries, many women of color have striven to fit into this narrow ideal by using skin-whitening creams and an arsenal of other products designed to beautify – that is, anglicize – their faces and bodies. Now, cosmetic surgery gives ethnic men and women the option to change their appearance far more dramatically and permanently than was possible with hair dye or colored contact lenses. Despite this, many of today’s men and women of color are eschewing the “classic” beauty of whiteness, opting instead to pursue a look which alters, but ultimately maintains, their distinct ethnic features.

The New Face of Plastic Surgery

Minority patients are going under the knife in increasing numbers. According to a study by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the number of plastic surgery patients of color quadrupled between 1997 and 2002. Minorities composed 17 percent of all cosmetic surgery patients in 2001.

More telling than these raw statistics, however, are the types of procedures racial and ethnic minorities are choosing to undergo. More than any other type of plastic surgery treatment, people of color are opting for nose reshaping and eyelid surgery. Many African-Americans are seeking to change the size and shape of their noses, while eyelid surgery which adds an eyelid crease is popular among Asian-Americans.

At first glance, this may seem to indicate that patients with identifiable ethnic features are denying their heritage, literally buying into racist beauty standards by nipping and tucking their way to an anglicized ideal. Certainly, ethnic insecurity does contribute to the desire of some minority patients to alter their appearances. Many plastic surgeons, however, are noticing a different, more pervasive trend. Though cosmetic surgery patients of color want some changes made, they are also deeply concerned with maintaining their ethnic identity.

Not All Beauty Standards Translate

According to Dr. Renato Saltz, the chair of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Public Education Committee, “Being aware of cultural differences is more than just speaking the language.” When it comes to plastic surgery, cultural awareness entails “understanding how patients want to enhance their natural beauty. For example, South American women typically want smaller breasts and larger buttocks than the average white American female.”

A decade ago, cosmetic surgeons were taught and trained according to a single standard of beauty; now they’re adapting and expanding their expertise to accommodate a diversity of ideal looks. For example, most African-American patients prefer a longer, wider nose and more prominent jawbones and cheekbones, while Asian-American patients overwhelmingly wish to achieve a softer appearance rather than a sculpted one.

Moving Toward Ethnic Beauty

The demand for aesthetic enhancement which still looks natural has led to a new emphasis on “ethnic correctness” in the cosmetic surgery industry. Advanced techniques now allow surgeons to preserve the ethnic character of features such as the African nose and the Asian eye. Dr. Kristoffer Ning Chang finds that “[Asian patients] are seeking doctors of a similar ethnic background because they don’t want a Westernized look.”

Minority patients have learned to steer clear of plastic surgeons who subscribe to an outdated school of thought in which whiteness is equated with beauty. Doctors who study the subtle but important differences between what Caucasian and minority patients consider attractive are reaping the benefits of the plastic surgery boom among people of color.

Of course, many will still argue that minorities who undergo plastic surgery are submitting to standards of beauty that disrespect the natural physical features of people of color. Others claim that, as Caucasian patients have been attempting for years to lend a more “exotic” appearance to their features through such procedures as lip augmentation and rhinoplasty, it is unfair to brand minorities with the ethnic-sellout stigma. After all, African-, Asian-, and Hispanic-Americans are simply taking advantage of the opportunity to feel more attractive that cosmetic surgery provides.

In any case, wittingly or not, the plastic surgery industry may be contributing to the creation of a more diverse, inclusive definition of “beautiful.”

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Keyword Tags: plastic surgery, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, lip augmentation

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Comments

1

I’m very interested with what this article is stating. I’m of West Indies decent and always been insecure with the size and shape of my nose. I've been searching for awhile with a doctor who I feel secure with but every doctor that only concentrate in nose, ears, and throat surgery mainly does work on Caucasian patients, yes they may perform on a couple of Black descent but I would like a natural look and I need help with the search of a reliable doctor who works with patients of different descents.

Sean
about 1 year ago

2

Hi, i've wanted to undergo the rhinoplasty procedure for quite some time now. im waiting a few more years and until i find the right doctor/money. Im of black decent and i've have major insecurities about my nose since i was a young girl. Don't get me wrong I love my nose...sort of.. but a few things NEED to be changed. Im deathly scared of coming out lookin like Micheal Jackson or any of the Jacksons i want a natural slimmer look. Possibly a more defined tip of my nose. Help with an experience ethnic doctor would be appreciated!

Lynn
about 1 year ago

3

I'm interested in rhinoplasty as well. I'm of black descent and like the people in the other two posts I'm quite insecure about the shape of my nose, like in the mirror it just looks completely wrong and out of place. I am afraid to get it changed though, because I know that rhinoplasty is generally irreversible and I don't want to come out of surgery looking like an alien or having the work be painfully obvious. I feel like having an ethnic doctor is a good idea. If I were to undergo the surgery, it would be my first choice, but I feel as though the entire procedure is a double edged sword. On one hand my nose will look the way I wish it looked, but on the other hand it is like giving up a part of my cultural identity.

Bree
about 1 year ago

4

I am of mixed descent, my mother is japanese and my father is native american. I've always been uncomfortable with the shape of my eyes. I want my eyelid crease to look more exclusively asian instead of looking "mixed", but most surgical procedures like that are implied to be for just asians. Also, because my skin has tanned severely i am mistakenly identified ethnically, and it really bothers me. I don't want to change my skin color, so I am hoping that if my eyes look more asian, people will stop labeling me as something i'm not.

Yayoi
11 months ago

5

Is there a procedure that can make eyes look more "asian" instead of more "western"?

Yayoi
11 months ago

6

What about the cheekbones? like if you want them to be more prominent?

Yayoi
11 months ago

7

I am looking for a plastic surgeon that can make my nose smaller all the way. My nose is too wide, to high, too long and has a meaty tip. I just want it to be reduced but keeping the same shape, meaning I would like a smaller version of my nose. In that way the change is rather subtle. I have a mix of races in me however I am more hispanic than anything else. Any recommendations?

elsie
6 months ago

8

and all of you think that after these proceedures you're all gonna be happy with yourselves right?......wrong! can you imagine the insult you're giving to your ancestors that they looked very horrible. that means you're indirectly saying that your parents were the ugliest couples that ever lived on planet earth and they gave birth to a monster that wants to re-write history. you guys are jokers! so after you do your whatever proceedure and look absolutely FAKEABULOUS then are you kids going to enjoy the benefits from the plastic surgery. looking for the right plastic surgeon? hum, you better go get yourself a very good psychatrist to take care of your body image issues and like the knife the hell alone.

lindsay
6 months ago

9

Don't do it. Don't buy into the white hype that "beauty", on their terms, is what defines us. If we use their measuring stick, we'll always fall short. Be proud of who you are and how you look. Stop focusing on the external and look at the internal!

Liz
4 months ago

10

I am African-American and have a beautiful brown complexion. I actually love the shape of my nose. However, I feel it is a bit wide, fat and meaty. I want to keep the shape of my nose just a bit smaller. Black is beautiful. Actually when I look at other noses in my family, friends and co-workers mines is bigger then all of them although the shape is beautiful and actually goes woth my face. However it is a prominent feature, I want it to be less noticeable.

Bea
2 months ago

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