See also "squinting"? Anti-facial discrimination should also be vigilant against overcorrection

Recently, several promotional posters of the snack brand "Three Squirrels" in 2019 have been pushed to the cusp of public opinion. In the poster, makeup elements such as the model's "squinting eyes" and "thick lips" were interpreted by some netizens as deliberately ugly Chinese. In the voice of doubt, the "three squirrels" issued an apology statement, saying that "there is no deliberate ugliness, and similar situations will be eliminated." The model herself @ Cai Xiaoxiao hit back on Weibo: "My eyes are like this, and even smaller than this in life."

It should be said that the sensitivity and rejection of netizens to the "squinting" painting style has its own historical and practical background. In the 1970s, the supervillain "Fu Manchu" created by the United States was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people with the image of "squinting eyes" and "sagging beard", and became the stereotype of some Westerners for Chinese. Deliberately "squinting" has become an insult to discriminate against Chinese and even Asians. From a realistic point of view, from "Dolce & Gabbana" to "Dior", and then to this year's World Women's Volleyball League, a Serbian player made a "pulling the corner of his eye" action against the Thai team, which deeply stimulated the nerves of Chinese netizens and even Asian netizens. Against the background of the "insulting China" incident, the "three squirrels" just crashed into the muzzle of the gun. But whether the advertisement three years ago was "inadvertently lost" or "deliberate", only the "three squirrels" knew it in their hearts. No matter how many war of words there is now, I am afraid that I will not be able to fight a reason.

However, this storm can give enterprises a wake-up call: advertising is aimed at the public, and the use of any symbol or element cannot be hastily and needs to be carefully considered. Adapting to the local cultural background and avoiding cultural forbidden areas as much as possible should become the basic quality of relevant practitioners. In the final analysis, "the customer is God", only companies that learn to respect customers can gain a good reputation and remain competitive in the industry. Fearful in heart, cautious in words, and stopped in deeds is the way for a responsible enterprise to establish the world.

Of course, having said that, what the model involved said is not unreasonable. Big eyes and small eyes, originally born. In makeup, what is deliberately prominent, what is natural, I am afraid it is difficult to have a standard at a glance. In dealing with many ambiguous things, we still need to be more cautious and cannot easily raise them to the height of "insulting China." Insulting each other at one point is an emotional consumption and also intensifies the hostility of public opinion.

Further, of course, we should take a clear stand against "cultural violence" in the West, but we should be wary of overcorrection. Appearance should not be called "high" and "low", and should not be divided only by "beauty" and "ugly". Whether it is big eyes or small eyes, thin lips or thick lips, Chinese can be beautiful and diverse, but there is no need to reject everything because of opposition to the Western definition, so that the image of squinting eyes disappears.

A truly confident citizen should maintain a humble attitude towards external disturbances – opposing any form of discrimination and cultural violence, while also having the courage to tolerate diverse voices and reason enough to discern right from wrong. This may be the lesson we can draw from the "squinting" storm.

Source Beijing Daily Client | Author High Source

Edited by Cui Wenjia

Process Editor Wu Yue