It’s no secret that we are living in a globalized world. It’s also no secret that many Asian countries like China are still pretty homogenous (despite the growing number of foreigners living there). But even within relatively homogenous societies, social constructs like beauty standards and social mobility often correlate with race and skin color. Well, it turns out that China is no exception to this trend.
To be fair, homogenous might not be the best word to describe the demographics of China. After all, China is the most populous country in the world and is home to over 50 ethnicities. Despite this degree of diversity among the Chinese, however, skin whitening beauty products remain extremely popular in China, especially among Chinese women. So, we’ve been wanting to get to the bottom of what the Chinese really think of white people and white skin.
Do the Chinese really think white skin is more beautiful? Is it true that white people have better job prospects in China than the Chinese? We could do a few quick Google searches and speculate about the answers to these questions. But we don’t believe in making assumptions, because these are important questions whose answers impact both how foreigners experience China and how Chinese people perceive themselves.
So instead, we took to the the streets of Shanghai, a Chinese city with no shortage of white foreigners, to get real insight from Chinese people themselves.
Check out this video for a deep dive into this issue. And once you’ve watched the video, let us know this: Do you agree that whiteness continues to be the standard of beauty in many parts of the world, and do you see this trend disappearing any time soon? Let us know what you think below!
