I know that some Asian-American people (usually young Korean-American women, UIMMG) have surgery on their eyes to appear more Caucasian.
Is this ever done in reverse? As exotic and fetishized as Asian eyes are here in the U.S., I would think there would be a demand for such a service, whether or not any cosmetic surgeons are willing to do it.
Are any other procedures commonly done in the U.S. (or elsewhere) to make persons of one race look more like they belong to a different race?
In Thailand nose jobs, to make the nose more aquiline, instead of sort of buttony, is very common. Probably the most common form of plastic surgery on women there. This one is lost on all of us who appreciate their noses just as they are. Here are a couple of pictures.
Skin whitening products are also common there, although I don’t know whether it’s also surgically done.
But what race are they trying more to resemble?
The French.
There was a case a few years ago where a plastic surgeon was murdered by a white supremicist who said the doctor was “making Jews look like Aryans by making their noses smaller.”
Insane, of course, but his point was that “Eastern Europeans” were trying to look more “Western European.”
I think the first girl looks better in the “before” picture. I don’t even see much of a difference in the second girl.
How odd! I don’t see much of a difference in the first girl!
So has no one heard of a surgery to make someone look MORE Asian?
Actor/Comedian Steve Martin underwent this process. Born a poor, black child he made a decision in his early twenties to become white.
If I had unlimited money to fritter away on things like plastic surgery, I’d want them to make my features slightly more slavic. Make my eyes more almond-shaped and my cheekbones more pronounced. Most importantly, if there were some way to do it I would absolutely love to have golden brown skin (weren’t they supposed to have invented a pill for that?).
Now, if they could do really drastic stuff, I’d take the entire Jennifer Lopez package.
But this isn’t IMHO, so sorry to have hijacked your thread.
Oh, please no. There aren’t enough of us men in the world to make up enough ex-husbands for two J-Lo’s.
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I recall a Law and Order: Criminal Intent episode centered around this…
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In both of those pictures the bridge of the nose was raised. The Koreans do that A LOT, especially the celebrities, which almost seems like a pre-requisite now. And it’s not just Asian-Americans, Asians in Asia do it even more so. The industry in Korea has gotten so big the price has dropped that I think the majority of the population has had some type of facial surgery now. I’ll try to find the link, but I remember something along the lines of: only about 33% of Koreans are born with double eyelids, but there are currently over 66% of them now in Korea. A lot are given the surgery as babies I heard, so they never even know.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but no, I’ve never heard of surgery the other way around. Some people like point out a lot of White Americans are constantly trying to get a tan if that counts for anything.
Oh, misread that. If you just mean any type of surgery to look like any other race, sure. Michael Jackson is the obvious extreme example. A lot of Blacks seem to straighten their hair (Condoleeza Rice?). Some bleach their skin. Dunno if you would really count that, but in some cases it seems kind of obvious.
And even though I consider most Indians to be Caucasians, a lot don’t feel they look Western European enough, I guess. Check out some of their Bollywood stars. Lightening cream is also the best selling make-up in that region (mostly illegal in the US). You can make the case that lighter skin is more preferred in just about any culture, but start coupling lightening cream with double eyelid surgery, hair straightening and bleaching, rhinoplasty, etc., and then it gets easier to call.
I once saw a Chinese woman in Beijing who had natural looking blonde hair, blue contacts, about 2 pounds of lightening makeup, heavy mascara, and obvious nose and eye surgery. It was disturbing. I actually thought she was Caucasion until she started speaking Mandarin and I did a double take. And yes, I’m sure she was actually Chinese.
sob This makes me want to cry. I think brown-skinned women look fantastic.
There are “tanning pills,” but they’re mainly just concentrated carotene, like in carrots, and they make the skin more orange than anything else.
When I saw Charlize Theron at the Golden Globes this year I wondered if she might be abusing tanning pills.
You’re not the only one. Van Morrison’s “Brown-eyed Girl” was originally “Brown-skinned Girl”. Some exec suggested the new title would be less controversial (remember, this was still the 60s) and would get more airplay.
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Are there ways to permanently darken the skin at all?
I’m Cree Indian/Caucasian. Unfortunately my Caucasian side shows all in my skin, and my Native side all in my hair. I look unintentionally Goth. I am so pale people have always made fun of me. I can’t tan, I only burn; I’m sick of looking like a ghost. Are there safe methods available to darken skin? (I hate self-tanning lotions, I’m talking about a permanent option).
Also see Chuck Berry’s Brown-Eyed Handsome Man. It’s pretty obvious what’s meant when one hears the lyrics.
What are “double eylids”? I’ve never heard this term.
And I don’t think tanning is the same as trying to look ethnically different – I believe the tan look is associated with health and fitness.
He’s (probably) referring to an epicanthic fold (or epicanthus or epicanthical fold). This is the difference in the way the skin presents on the inner corner of the eye on many people from Asia, as well as in people with Down’s Syndrome. Or else he’s referring to people who are half-human/half-camel.
The surgery to change this is called blepharoplasty, if you want to try and find a pic somewhere.