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Cassidy Pham

Professor Broadbent

Writing 39C

23 May 2018

China’s Issue of Colorism: An Obsession With White Skin

Fig 1. Women in China using ‘facekinis,’ a new form of skin protection.

Abstract

Underneath layers of skin creams and sun visors, Chinese women hide their skin in

order to maintain the cultural ideal of beauty. Slathering on products with no care of the

dangers that lurk within the ingredients, the ideal of white skin is that much closer.

China’s adoration of white skin is taking a turn for the worse, as white skin ideals go

past discrimination of others, but also a rejection of one’s self. White skin has been

veneered in China for centuries, as it is an indication of status and wealth: a part of

one’s identity, much like nice clothes and jewelry. This paper will dive into the topic of

white skin adoration and focus on: the causes, the consequences, and the possible

solutions.
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The Presence of Colorism in China: Making Its Way to Mainstream Media

A Qiaobi laundry detergent advertisement depicts a Chinese woman who is approached

by a black man covered in paint; the

Chinese woman sticks the detergent in the

man’s mouth, and shoves him head first

into the washing machine. As the man

sticks his head out, after the wash, he is

now a light-skinned Asian man (Bromwich).

Fig 2. Detergent Ad that sparked controversy of racism. The controversial scene of the man being

shoved head-first into the washing machine caused uproar, as many believed the

advertisement to be discriminatory. Once the ad caught mainstream media attention,

people took notice of the ideals held behind the ad: that light skin was ‘better’ than

darker skin. As people saw the connections between the ad and the ideals of colorism,

many began to notice the connotations that underlie the roles of both the black man and

the Asian man. The roles of the males were polarized, as the black male held

connotations like ‘dirty’ or ‘unclean’ whereas the Asian male held connotations like

‘clean’ or ‘pure.’ This advertisement allowed the world to look into the problem that has

held root in China for centuries. The problem of white skin adoration, the ideal that splits

the country to this day, causes colorism in China, the discrimination of people in regards

to their skin color. White skin adoration also creates a society where people are

rejecting their own identities, to fit into the ideals set out for them.

The Origins of White Skin Adoration in China

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White skin adoration has been a part of Chinese culture for centuries, dating back to the

times where China was mainly an agrarian society. Since China was an agrarian

society, that meant most of their people were darker skinned (from working in the fields

all day); the connotation of ‘laborer’ was then attached to the darker skinned people, a

sign of low socioeconomic status. For those who were deemed ‘light skinned,’ they were

typically of higher socioeconomic status; as they conducted business and spent their

leisure time indoors, they prevented their skin from tanning as they hid away from the

sun’s rays (Pan). It was then, that the distinct

differences between the skin tones took shape, as

light skin was deemed to be ‘more favorable’ by the

Chinese and dark skin to be deemed ‘less favorable.’

As these distinctions took shape, skin tone became

connected to the identify of a person, just like clothes

and jewelry, it was a connotation for the status of a

person (Yeung). Fig 3. Portrait of

Empress Wu 690-705 A.D Other than the cultural factors within that created white skin

adoration, Western influences also created a different version of white skin adoration in

China. The Chinese, separated from Western society, were introduced to Western

society and culture after the Open Door Policy was passed in 1978 (Yeung). Flooded

with fashion, beauty, and mainstream media from Western countries, China began to

adopt some of the ideas that were brought over. With mainstream media, like Western

movies, the Chinese were shown darker skinned people in the connotations of ‘dirty’ or

‘savage,’ and Li, “Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures,” believes is a big
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reason why the unfavorable connotations with dark skin are still so prevalent in the

minds of the Chinese. Li also addresses the beauty standards Western advertisements

and companies brought to China, as they show mainly Caucasian or light skinned Asian

models in their advertisements, further idolizing white skin as the ideal.

However, other scholars don’t believe it was because of Western mainstream

media that brought outside influences in regards to white skin adoration, as

Pan, “Beautiful White: An Illumination of Asian Skin-Whitening Culture,”

explains how China’s intrigue with white skin began when China first

witnessed the ‘Western conquerors.’ The image of the light skinned warriors

that attempted to take down the 中国 (“ZhongGuo” or Middle Kingdom,

otherwise known as China) were always fascinating to Chinese people;

traders and colonizers from Europe, as well as Mongols and other light

skinned conquerors, China was interested in the very people that tried to

conquer over them.

The Effects of White Skin Adoration in China

White skin adoration creates an opportunity for colorism, the discrimination of a person

by their skin color. As white skin is more venerated, dark skin is less desired; the fact

that Chinese associate beauty, wealth, and high social status with white skin makes

dark skin associated with the opposites of those characteristics. Colorism can be seen

in many places around China, one specifically being the marriage markets. Marriage

markets, otherwise known as BaiFaXiangQin, are popular places where parents literally

market their children off for marriage, as they meet potential suitors and look through
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hundreds of posters that line the walls (Wong).

White skin adoration comes to play as many

suitors look at appearance first: posture, way of

dress, jewelry, and skin color. Trying to

maximize their chances, women pursue the milk

white skin to “stand out in a competitive job and

Fig 4. Ad for Skin Whitening Cream in China. marriage market (Pan).”

White skin adoration in China draws consequences way farther than just colorism, as

the ideal is so prevalent in lives of Chinese women, it causes them to reject their own

identities in order for them to conform to the expectations that are set for them. Before

modern cosmetic products, women took drastic measures to achieve the pale white

pallor, as they “swallowed crushed pearls (Naidoo)” or

“appl[ied] chalk onto their skin (Yeung).” Though drastic

women of that time only had the pressures of others and

themselves to worry about, whereas with modern-day

women, they have to constantly compare themselves with

the models on the billboards as well. Beauty companies

that specialize in skin whitening create a new pressure for

women, as they make profit off of the ideal that has

women reject their own identities. Striving to be light ,

Fig 5. Chart of Skin-Care Sales in China skinned, most women around China pull products off the

shelves, buying into the ads of ‘pearl white,’ or ‘milk white,’ skin.
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Although most of the consequences of white skin adoration affect women in China, the

ideal can even affect their male counterparts in more subtle ways in the same

categories.

How Should Colorism Be Solved?:The Approaches of Others

There are many different ways to try and fight the problem of colorism in China: fighting

the cause (adoration of white skin), fighting the pressures (Chinese society as a whole,

and the beauty industry), or fighting the discrimination itself (the mistreatment of people

because of their skin color).

In 1956, the International Labor Organization (ILO) proposed a convention, Convention

No. 111, where jobs would not be able to discriminate based on race, sex, skin color,

and religion. Although China has passed this convention since 2006, it hasn’t stopped

everyday colorism and discrimination that occurs in China, a problem that can’t be dealt

with using just legislation. Although this solution has an easy way of being able to cover

all citizens of China, it is not feasible as a solution given that it can’t be maintained in

everyday life. If it were to be maintained, it would require a lot of people to enforce and

would be very expensive. This solution, although great theoretically, is not capable of

maintaining its laws in everyday life in a country with other a billion citizens.

Dove, through their international campaign “Campaign for Real Beauty,” hit the

billboards across China with pictures of real women of differing shades and body

shapes. Dove wanted to implement their body positivity statement across all of their

consumer bases, as they first implemented them in the US and Europe. Although their

campaign succeeded in different countries in the West, China didn’t mesh as well with
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the advertisements, with surveys that asked, “Fat or Fabulous,” coming back with

answers ‘fat,’ along with the extra added effort to put ‘and ugly’ (Pan).

Dove tried to rebrand the campaign, believing the issue was that they didn’t have a

Chinese model, and republished ads around China with real Chinese women, neither

photoshopped or airbrushed. This tactic also failed, as the Chinese women surveyed

believed they could achieve the look of a model (who is typically airbrushed and

photoshopped) through hard work. “You are your own enemy (Pan),” are words that run

through the heads of Chinese women, who have just as many internal pressures, as

they do external pressures, to look a certain way.

Dove Takes One Final Try to Break Through China’s Ideals: My Solution

My proposed solution is one of Dove’s campaign directions: to advertise their

“Campaign for Real Beauty” through the popular television show “Ugly Wudi,” the

Chinese version of “Ugly Betty.” Reaching out to “Ugly Wudi,” Dove worked with the

producers to implement and advertise their campaign message; through proper

placement and coordination, Dove’s one storyline spanned two episodes and “was able

double the value of their original investment,” stated Bush, “Dove Finds Perfect Match in

China’s ‘Ugly Betty’”. Through this method, they reached millions of viewers and spread

their message of ‘real beauty’ for more than two weeks on one of China’s most popular

television channels, Hunan. Through their coordination with “Ugly Wudi,” they managed

to find a way to mesh both their consumers’ interests, as well as further their campaign

in the expression of real beauty.

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The reason I believe this solution is the best is because of the feasibility of this solution,

although it is against many big beauty brands in the direction it is going in, it has had

great reactions with the Chinese audience (the first from many different tries). Dove had

success in more than one category, as their profits from advertising through “Ugly Wudi”

allowed them to make four times the value compared to the same amount of traditional

ads (Bush). It also reached a larger audience, as the message of Dove’s real beauty

campaign increased by 40% generally (Fowler); it does have its drawbacks though, as

“Ugly Wudi” is a television show, some of the more rural areas in China wouldn’t even

know about the campaign. It addresses the white skin adoration problem as it

counteracts the obstacle of big beauty companies taking advantage of the white skin

ideal, as they aren’t advertising for white skin, but against it. It also addresses a

consequence of the white skin ideal, how women are rejecting their self identities in

order to achieve the ideal, by creating a campaign that embraces all types of beauty:

real beauty.

The problem of white skin adoration is much too large to get rid of, as it has many

different layers that are incorporated into Chinese culture. It is a hugely historical part of

Chinese culture, and cannot be changed or removed so easily by awareness

campaigns or simple solutions of the like; however, I do believe through breaking the

mold that China has left itself in for centuries, one can find different ways to break free

from the ideals and expectations made in a time so unlike the present.

Although Dove’s campaign works in order to spread the message of self-acceptance,

and that there are different forms of beauty that don’t necessarily fall within the ideal of

the Chinese, it is just a temporary solution. This solution is meant to spread awareness
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to women around China who struggle through the ideals and expectations set out

before them, and also a great way to challenge the message sent out by beauty

companies throughout China: that white skin is the ideal skin color. This solution marries

both: a part of a solution to an obstacle, and also a part of a solution to a consequence.

My solution, though it may not reach everyone or affect everyone, its creative way of

advertisement will captivate those that watch it, hopefully also affecting the thoughts of

those around them as well.

Works Cited
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Bromwich, Jonah. “Chinese Detergent Ad Draws Charges of Racism.” The New

York Times, 27 May 2016,

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/world/asia/chinese-detergent-ad-race-

qiaobi.html.

Bush, Michael. “Dove Finds Perfect Match In China’s ‘Ugly Betty’.” AdAge, 28

May 2009, http://adage.com/article/media/festival-media-case-study-dove-china-

s-ugly-betty/136902/

“Equality and non-Discrimination at Work in East Asia and Southeast Asia.”

International Labor Organization, 2015.

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@asia/@ro-bangkok/@sro-

bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_178415.pdf

Fowler, Geoffrey. “Unilever Gives ‘Ugly Betty’ A Product-Plug Makeover in China.”

The Wall Street Journal, 29 Dec 2008,

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123051038411338387.

Fuller, Thomas. “A Vision of Pale Beauty Carries Risks for Asia’s Women.” The

New York Times, 14 May 2016,

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/world/asia/14thailand.html.

Jones, Trina. “The Significance of Skin Color in Asian and Asian-American

Communities: Initial Reflections.” UC Irvine Law Review, 2013,

https://scholarship.law.uci.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=ucilr.

Li, Eric, et al. “Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures.” Association

for Consumer Research, Jan 2008,

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283857701_Skin_lightening_and_beaut

y_in_four_Asian_cultures.

Naidoo, Levashni, et al. “A Fairer Face, a Fairer Tomorrow? A Review of Skin

Lighteners.” Cosmetics, vol. 3, iss. 3, Sep 2016, http://www.mdpi.com/2079-

9284/3/3/33/htm.

Pan, Elysia. “Beautiful White: An Illumination of Asian Skin-Whitening Culture.”

Duke University, Apr 2013,

https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/7559/Elysia

%20Pan%2C%20Beautiful%20White.pdf?sequence=1.

Wong, Wei Mei. "Finding 'Love' in China: An Overview of Chinese Marriage

Markets (BaiFaXiangQin) ." Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 12 Jun 2014.

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=946

Yeung, Evelyn. “White and Beautiful: An Examination of Skin Whitening Practices

and Female Empowerment in China.” On Our Terms: The Undergraduate

Journal of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College Vol. 3,

Iss. 1, 2015, Pp. 35-47 https://onourterms.barnard.edu/article/white-and-

beautiful/