Cosmetic Surgery in China
The market for plastic surgery in China is growing by 20% annually. In fact, there are currently an estimated 10,000 clinics in china offering surgical cosmetic procedures . The most interesting aspect of cosmetic surgery in China, however, is the way it has evolved since it was introduced in Beijing in 1994 .
With the fastest growing economy in the world, China is a country that has been developing (economically, politically, and culturally) at a previously unheard of pace. Throughout history, the Chinese considered their nation and culture to be the centre of the human world and the most civilized of societies. Being Chinese had less to do with ethnicity than the individual’s level of sophistication. This way of thinking can still be seen in modern day China. However, when Deng Xiaoping opened the Chinese economy in 1978 he also opened the eyes of the Chinese people. The people of the West had the highest standards of living, and in accordance with the view that being the most civilized was paramount, the Chinese now looked up to the West and their ways.
When cosmetic surgery was introduced in 1994, almost all clients were entertainers and people in show business wanting to westernize their features. They were convinced that operating on their eyes, noses and jaw lines to look more western would give them an advantage in life. The reasons for getting cosmetic surgery were basically the same as in the western world: consumers wanted to be more beautiful in a way dictated by the modern ideal.
What is intriguing about the development of cosmetic plastic surgery in China is that surveys have shown that today it is no longer fashionable to westernize yourself. The beauty ideal has changed. Today the trend is to enhance one’s own beauty without changing one’s ethnical appearance or to change one’s features to look more like the movie stars in Hong Kong.
The Chinese culture is evolving and the population seem to have higher thoughts of their own civilization. The remarkable confidence seen in the economic phenomenon that is modern China can now also be seen in the culture. Unlike the west – where many still oppose cosmetic surgery on moral grounds- the Chinese culture seems to have no ethical issues with cosmetic surgery; It has been likened to going to the gym to get larger muscles. Therefore, cosmetic surgery is also an example of a western concept that the Chinese have not only adopted but embraced.
For being politically far from what the Western world deems developed, China is a highly versatile nation that surely will keep surprising and astounding the rest of the world.
