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‘Am I not Chinese?’: model pushes back against barrage of criticism for her perceived ‘slanted eyes’
- The model said China had a ‘morbid obsession’ for creating big issues out of normal situations
- The Chinese internet said the advertisements had fallen into the trap of stereotyping Asian beauty
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A Chinese model defended herself on Sunday against a “morbid obsession” after people launched a barrage of criticism towards her for her perceived “slanted eyes”.
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The controversy surrounded a 2019 advertisement for the Three Squirrels snack brand featuring Cai Niang Niang, the model’s professional pseudonym. Many people in China pushed back against her “overly slanted eyes” in the advertisements because they believe they fell into the trap of following a common stereotype about Asian faces.
But Cai Niang Niang said the abuse had transformed into “online violence”. She asked if people who looked like her have “humiliated China since the day we were born?”
“With small eyes, am I not Chinese?” she wrote on Weibo on Sunday. “I totally agree with patriotism. However, creating big problems out of normal matters has become a morbid obsession. I hope everybody can have a healthy mindset.”
Three Squirrels responded to the online controversy on Sunday by saying the make-up was chosen based on Cai Niang Niang’s facial features. But the company also apologised in a statement that read:
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“Regarding the opinion that the model does not fit the mainstream’s aesthetic taste and makes the public feel uncomfortable, we are sincerely sorry.”
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