Are Black features considered ugly when white people adopt them - e.g lip filler, backside enhancers alongside black hairstyles such as canerows ....
Traditional Indonesians prefer the
generic white girl look—thin lips, blonde hair, pale skin, pointy nose, etc.
Modern Indonesians who grew up with Pop Culture see lip fillers, acrylic nails, etc. as
'Cool things that white Americans do' while also associating those with rap.
Rap is also considered as a
'Cool American thing'. Yes, my country loves America thanks to our former dictator Soeharto's alliance with The States officials during the Cold War. I don't want to get political so I'll stop here.
I'm Indonesian so i'll talk mostly about Indonesian beauty standards here, but these standards generally apply to other South East Asian countries too.
The beauty standards in Indonesia and most SEA countries include:
1. Fair skin
Even if you have an under-average facial structures, if you have a fair skin, you'll be 'pardoned' and be perceived as attractive. Have always been this way historically, it's part of our culture at some point. Most Indonesians love white people so much even though everyone knows that the Dutch exploited our lands and we fought bloody war for independence.
2. Straight hair.
Even better if it's brown, blonde, or red. Wavy hair is okay, you might get a rep as the adventurous/rebellious type. But extremely curly hair is a flaw. My cousin had natural extremely curly hair, she started to straighten it at the age of 10. My 5 year old little sister has loose curls, she said that she wants to have straight hair like mine because
"Curly hair is not pretty". I always try to educate her that it is simply isn't true, her hair is beautiful whether it's straight, curly, zig-zag or whatever. But the reality is as she grows up, there is little choice left if she wants to fit in to the Asian beauty standards.
3. Tall nose.
The ideal nose is a pointy nose with small nostrils and high nose bridge, but not too long, big, or tall. If we draw a hypothetical line from the nose tip in side view and then another line from nose tip to the face, the angle created must be between 30 up to 45 degrees. A big, bumped, and pointy nose is still preferred rather than a big, round, and almost-flat nose.
4. Double eyelids.
Most SEA people have double eyelids. Too big or too small, you'll get made fun of unless you have a fair skin, then you're basically a cute Korean model like Kim Woo Bin. K-pop is big in Indonesia, because most K-idols have fair skin. Again, fair skin is the most important element of Asian beauty standards.
