Week 10: Time For a Change

Sidney Siu
ASA 141
Institutions, Networks, and the Future of Asian (American) Fashion

Being that this class is about the cultural, political, and socio-economic impacts of fashion, I'm glad that this week's reading brings up the Western dominance in the fashion industry. It is not that the West dominates in every fashion industry in the world, but that there is much influence due to colonization, therefore creating a worldwide phenomenon of all beauty standards being like that of the West. As an Asian American girl, I have been basically punched in the face by these beauty standards my whole life. Though my mom never cared about making my face and skin look Eurocentric, societal pressure was engrained into my conscious to the point where I sometimes forget that many people around the world don't care if you have a slim nose or contoured cheeks.
While many people around the globe actually do look to the West as a standard of beauty, I find it almost liberating to travel and see people who are defined as beautiful without having to portray themselves as such to fit in. Thankfully, as I have "grown into my skin," I have become more comfortable with the way I look before I put on makeup (that can be categorized as Western makeup). I don't believe I am intentionally trying to look like I have Eurocentric facial features, but that I do my makeup like it because I was born surrounded by these trends-- it's all I knew for a while. Fashion is not defined as one thing, it is many things that come together to create something "uncomfortable," as Sandra Niessen says. Though I can create many makeup looks outside of basic Western style makeup, such as trendy Asian style makeup, I often choose to do what is comfortable and routine to me. As I am writing this and reflect on what is processing in my brain, I think I'm going to make it a goal to try to gradually get out of my comfort zone this year.