Why can't EAST beat WEST?
They're hot, exotic and beautiful, so why are Asian girls wallowing at the bottom of beauty polls? By Caravan Miriah
September 10, 2006
THEY say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And one woman has wooed voters with her pillow lips, sultry looks and curvaceous figure. It put her in the top five in beauty polls in the last two years.
Nope, it's not Chinese actress Gong Li. Nor is it Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai.
--AP, Reuters
The crown goes to Hollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie aka Mrs Brad Pitt.
Granted, she is a yummy mummy.
But is she, as surveys from Evian, Askmen.com and magazines like People, Harpers & Queen, Eve and FHM have suggested, the world's most beautiful/sexiest woman?
Well, that depends on who's voting, say those in the local fashion industry.
It could possibly explain why Asian beauties like Zhang Ziyi and Lucy Liu are tailing - at No 86 and No 79 respectively - way behind even skanky socialite Paris Hilton at No 11 in this year's US FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.
Whether she is hot or not, those in the local fashion industry told The New Paper that such polls are rarely a true reflection of who is really beautiful.
Voters, said fashion show director Daniel Boey, are swayed by many factors.
They include red carpet appearances, movie credits, modelling careers, relationships, motherhood and even scandals reported in the media.
All these provide visibility and mileage for the actresses.
And Asian girls just don't make good tabloid material.
Unlike their foreign counterparts, who are more likely to air their dirty linen in public (like Hilton and her sex tape, for example), Asians are less willing to discuss their private lives.
As a result, they get considerably less media exposure.
Even when Asian babes do break into the listings, it's the usual suspects.
Said creative director Theseus Chan, 45, who is behind the cult Japanese fashion label Comme des Garcons' Guerilla Store: 'You see the same (Asian) faces in the polls like Lucy Liu, Aishwrya, Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi because there is little room for Asian actresses in Hollywood.
'So one can't really judge an Asian beauty objectively here.'
It's double standard, summed up Mr Alphonsus Chung, vice-president of marketing and communications of The Link Group.
The reason: the surveys are conducted in the West.
'So naturally, you get to see more Caucasian faces,' Mr Chung explained. 'Only a minority will remember the Asian girls.'
It was an exception for Aishwarya who was voted Most Attractive Woman by Hello Magazine in 2003.
Was it luck, or just plain old demographics?
After all, there is a massive immigrant Indian population in the UK, pointed out fashion stylist Trey Wong, 29.
Still, Aishwarya slipped to the ninth position last year in the Harpers & Queen magazine poll compiled by 1,000 fashion and media experts.
This year, she was nowhere in sight in the US FHM poll which saw 15 million votes from 27 countries.
But beyond respondent demographics, the conventional beauty has always been a Caucasian woman.
Think about the average fashion ad. Put an Asian woman next to a blue-eyed blond and the latter is likely to outshine her.
Said StyleAsia's regional creative director Hideki Akiyoshi, 38: 'If you flip through the magazines, you see mostly Caucasian girls being featured in the ads. They are perceived as the ideal beauty.
'Generally, they have sharper facial features and a well-endowed figure.
'So it will take some time before Asian stars gain international recognition.'
Asian beauties may stand a better chance in beauty pageants which tend to be more balanced.
Miss Japan Kurara Chibana, for example, was the first runner-up in the recent Miss Universe pageant.
Locally conducted polls also up the chances of Asian women.
In a local poll, local actress Fiona Xie beat Jolie to the No 1 spot.
Still, some felt Asia's Sexiest Woman, model/actress Ase Wang, voted by FHM Thailand, wouldn't stand a chance in a foreign poll.
'It's not fair to compare the Asian and Caucasian women,' said fashion photographer Wee Khim.
'They are built differently and both have their allure. Let's face it, the Westerners have their ideal woman. We do too.
'For me, the Asian beauty is Gong Li. She is Asia's Monica Belluci... Some Caucasian women can't match up.'
The 40-year-old Memoirs Of A Geisha actress was voted China's Most Beautiful Person in a recent poll by The Beijing News.
She beat fellow actresses Li Yuchun and Zhang Ziyi.
But even Gong Li didn't make it to any top five placing in the foreign surveys despite the success of Memoirs last year.
The same goes for Hong Kong actress Maggie Q who had more screen time than Keri Russell in Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible III earlier this year.
So, is there a classic/natural Asian beauty in the vein of Cate Blanchett who came in tops in an Evian 2004 poll?
The equivalent is Hong Kong actress Rosamund Kwan, said Ms Tjin Lee, 32, managing director of Mercury MC consultancy which handles brands like Tiffany & Co.
'She is beautiful and has an inner beauty that radiates. She has never looked better,' she said.
And look out for rising starlet Zhou Xun, said Wee Khim.
The 30-year-old Chinese actress has more than 15 films under her belt, including the upcoming The Banquet with Zhang Ziyi, and was picked to be the face of Miu Miu's ad campaign.
'Zhou Xun is beautiful and talented. She can act and is also a versatile model,' said Wee Khim.
But until she breaks into the Hollywood circuit, she'll need to hawk the headlines before she garners votes.
Look out, Hollywood.
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