Women's Views on Cosmetic Surgery | Asian American Poll

PLASTIC SURGERY
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:39:10 AM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Assuming you are an Asian American woman, what is your attitude toward cosmetic surgery?
I would never consider undergoing it. | 42%
I might consider it in the future. | 27%
I am considering it. | 21%
I have had it performed. | 10%

Assuming you are an Asian woman willing to consider cosmetic surgery, which of the following procedures would you be most likely to consider?
Hip/thigh reduction | 4%
Breast augmentation | 33%
Reshaping the nose | 18%
Thinning the eyelids | 17%
Facelift | 8%
Removing skin irregularities | 20%

What is your attitude toward people who have had cosmetic surgery?
I have no particular feeling toward them. | 45%
I scorn them for being so vain and/or insecure. | 24%
I pity them for having the need to undergo it. | 23%
I envy them for being able to afford it. | 8%

This poll is closed to new input.
Comments posted during the past year remain available for browsing.

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WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

I am a filipino man, 27yo, and I wanted to know what other Asians consider “Ideal Beauty“. Last year Miss America was of Filipino descent and I watched the show where she was crowned as the first Asian women to be Miss America. I followed a link to the Miss Philippines website and there they had a statement about Asian beauty. They had two pictures of past Miss Philippines and the first was from 1970’s with a full-blooded Filipina, underneath her was a footnote saying “the Filipino Beauty of past years”. Then there was a picture of Miss Philippines 1990’s who was a mestiza and underneath this picture was a footnote saying “the Beauty of the present”. Then they had a computer-generated picture of a woman who was obviously and unmistakably had 95% Caucasian looking features light skin, no Asian eyes, the longest an narrowest nose with a very high bridge and 5% Filipino features, and under that picture was a footnote saying “The Filipino beauty of the future”.
This was nauseating to read and see. How can Asians themselves think the “whiter” we become the prettier we look. It is disgusting to see Asians brainwashing other Asians to think in this fuc*ed-up way.
To all Filipinos I ask you, when you watch Filipino television how many non-mestizo-looking “artistas” do you see on television? Answer: None. 80% of all television stars in the Philippines are Filipino-mestizos. 15% are Mexican soap-stars from imported Mexican telenovelas or caucasians from US series, and the rest are pure Filipinos who are the rejects and are there to fool the public. Why do we welcome these Mexican soapie-stars to our country and our Government Palaces with red carpet, army salutes, government sponsored dinners in their honour, with the presence of the President to welcome them into the country. Such things are commonplace when actresses and actors like Eduardo Capetillo, Thalia, etc, etc arrive to see visit the Philippines and their “devote, faithful and loyal Filipino fans“. Another thing that gives me stomach cramps is that almost all Filipinos in America “claim” to be Filipino-mestizos, when they are not. Mestizos in the Philippines today constitute between 1.8% and 2% or less of the population, and this percentage accounts for both half-Spanish and half-Chinese type mestizos. Its just that most some Filipinos have Spanish surnames because they were imposed on us during the colonial era. At most 2% of the Philippines is mestizo, and yet they constitute over 80% of television stars.
Why don’t we wake up and see the way we just keep quiet and are told to think we look ugly because we are Malay and not Filipino-mestizos, or Latinos or whites. Why should we aspire to look whiter? What sickens me most is to see our Filipina women marrying white men in the thousands and travelling to marry Caucasians as postal-brides to have mestizo children, they think to better the Filipino race. You people are a disgrace to our race.

Concerned Filipino Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 09:40:55 (PDT)

hey hello kitty:

"usually of those asians who wish to change their facial features by surgery a lot are those from southeast Asia like Vietnam, Philippines, Malay...what have you, who as a group, tend to have LOW nose bridge and somewhat flared nostrils."

What?! And N. Asians don't get surgery to change THEIR faces. Everyone knows N. Asians are more like to get eyelid surgery. Why? You want that desired crease that is typical of s. Asians/Caucasians, what have you.

"I agree that us Northern Asians have much better looks."

SAY WHAT?! So, only N.Asians have overall monopoly in being better looking. I don't think so. N. Asians have their ugly people as well as S. Asians. So, don't even go there.

"low-bridge noses take A LOT of racial mixing to be rescued." *snicker*

Oh, that's nice! Laughing at someone else's expense. As if low-bridge, flat noses don't occur in N. Asians. Whatever.

michelle kwan(low-bridge, flat nose N. Asian) Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 14:56:40 (PDT)

I feel some people might read too much into getting "double eye lids"
as an ethnic subject
people probably do it for personal and individual reasons but I highly doubt that all want to look caucasian.
honestly, most of my asian friends made up of chinese-americans, japanese-americans, etc...have naturally "big" eyes so I don't believe the eyelids are a caucasian versus asian thing because you can just as easily say that people want to look like their other asian friends. my own sister and father have natural double eyelids and alot of people have said my sister looks mixed.
I have the single lids and never felt I wanted to have my eyelids done until recently. my mom always encouraged it but I didn't want to precisely because I feel proud to be Chinese with small cute eyes. but i also hated people asking me if i'm tired or sad all the time when i feel perfectly happy and alert. so i try to "lift" my eyes resulting in very deep forehead creases which makes me look 10 years older than I am.
So in my situation, I would get my eyes done to look more awake without having huge forehead wrinkles. Yes, if you want to call it vain, it is. But so is wearing make-up, wearing high heels, getting braces (also painful and permanent).
it's just cosmetic and not a retaliation against my asian heritage.
And I hope "Proud to have been an Asian
woman" is still proud to be just that.
you can pass much deeper asian values in your child than just genetic appearances. don't let your guilt prevent other asian girls from doing this if they so choose or let them feel they are shameful of their heritage
it's totally irrelevant
lighten up Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 13:58:04 (PDT)

Vietnamese Beauty,

That was the most pathetic rant i've ever heard. Do you not realize the absurdity of your statements? Read them over closely and you'll see that they are filled with denial, self-hatred, insecurity, and white-washed ideals of beauty. I don't say this too often because frankly, i've never met too many people like yourself. Most Asians i know like being Asian and like their culture. But YOU are a total sellout!!!
Valley Chinese Dude Monday, October 22, 2001 at 23:37:16 (PDT)

Asian Dominatrix:

I hear you. Usually of those asians who wish to change their facial features by surgery a lot are those from southeast Asia like Vietnam, philipines, Malay... what have you, who as a group, tend to have LOW nose bridge and somewhat flared nostrils. I agree that us Northern Asians have much better looks ;)

Also I agree that these two girls can never truly be happy about themselves. You know what I think her daughter should do? She should start saving up for the surgery money should her kid comes out looking, uhm, anything less than Caucasian, which is extremely likely, considering those low-bridged noses take A LOT of racial mixing to be rescued. *snicker*
Hello Kitty Monday, October 22, 2001 at 23:13:03 (PDT)

Judy. It seems as though the people on these boards have gotten to your sensitivity :) hahaha. Maybe someone here said a truth and you didn't like what you heard. I totally agree with "Asian who....Great Yellow Race" guy or girl who posted that looooong comment. You know what. i think in his words he put up a literary mirror, and in it you saw yourself, and you idn't like what you saw, so you lashed out at everyone. hahahahaha. I pitty you. And i feel better to know that you feel so bad about yourself. that way we the asians proud of our feautres can get on with our lives.
Agree totally with Great Yellow Race Guy Sunday, October 21, 2001 at 15:08:41 (PDT)

Vietnamese Beauty:

I don't know if you realise the absurdity of your statement that your daughter's new features are prettier 'not because they look white, they just happen to occur in Caucasians and not Asians.' Honey, if these features occur only in Caucasians, well, then they are Caucasian features. White, in other words.

FYI, defined features are not unique to Caucasians. Quite a few northern Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans have chiselled features--high nose bridges and perfect cheekbones--which could rival any Nordic features.

You and your daughter are obviously consumed by self-hatred and I would suggest you both get some serious counselling. Before either commits suicide because she realises she isn't white--despite thousands of dollars of plastic surgery. Frankly, I think the only surgery the two of you need is a good frontal lobotomy: sometimes it helps to have a functioning brain.

P.S. On second thought, maybe hynosis should be sufficient since both of you obviously take easily to brain-washing.
Asian Dominatrix Saturday, October 20, 2001 at 08:11:43 (PDT)

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