Middle-aged makeovers

By Xie Wenting Source:Global Times Published: 2014-10-13 18:38:02

China’s thriving consumer culture is leading older women to turn to cosmetic surgery


A 59-year-old woman receives a consultation for cosmetic surgery in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Photo: CFP



Over the past four years, 63-year-old Wang Qin has undergone major plastic surgery seven times.

"I used to have quite a square face, which isn't very attractive. After the surgeries, I have an oval face, which is more beautiful," she said.

Wang is the poster child for the growing number of older Chinese women who have turned to cosmetic surgery to remodel their looks or preserve their fading youth. In 2009, she won a nationwide competition organized by the Wuhan She Beauty Cosmetic Hospital to have 300,000 yuan ($48,929) worth of plastic surgery done, beating out around 1,000 other entrants, most of whom were in their early 20s. In return, the hospital would have the right to use her face for its promotional and marketing campaigns.

"The only thing I knew about plastic surgery was that it could magically transform one person into another," Wang recalls.

For her first surgery, in May 2010, Wang had the bone structure of her entire face reconfigured, from her chin to her cheekbones to her jaw line. She wanted to look more like Angie Chiu, a Hong Kong television actress who was the third runner-up in the 1973 Miss Hong Kong pageant, and who Wang names as her idol.

Wang's six subsequent surgeries have continued to alter her face in the pursuit of this end. To maintain her surgically youthful complexion, Wang has to receive injections of botox in different parts of her face regularly.

 "In other people's eyes, I look beautiful. But I'm not satisfied. I think I can be more perfect," she said.

More and more middle-aged Chinese women are looking at cosmetic surgery as a way to preserve their youth. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Elikeme Medical Cosmetology Hospital



The pursuit of beauty

The uptake of cosmetic surgery among middle-aged and older women in China appears to be part of a global trend. In August last year, ABC News reported a growing number of middle-aged women seeking out plastic surgery in order to remain competitive in the job market, so they would not be perceived as being too old.

Li Xiangyuan, the director of a cosmetic surgery clinic called Shanghai Elikeme Medical Cosmetology Hospital, said that the trend of older women in China turning to plastic surgery started about four years ago. He said that middle-aged and older women now accounted for around 20 percent of his clinic's total client base.

"Society is becoming more open," he said. "Middle-aged and older women who have economic means are now willing and able to pursue their desire to look beautiful in a way they weren't able to in the past."

Unlike women overseas however, the older Chinese women who sought cosmetic surgery most often weren't doing it for professional reasons, according to Li. Rather, they tended to be retired or full-time housewives who wanted to improve their looks through plastic surgery in order to show off in their range of recreational and leisure activities they participate in, such as singing, dancing, and guangchangwu (the phenomenon of middle-aged and older Chinese women dancing in public parks and squares). 

"There are also a number of women who undergo plastic surgery to improve marital relations," said Li. "Another recent trend is mothers and daughters coming to the clinic have cosmetic surgery together, or the mothers come to the clinic after they've seen the results of their daughter's cosmetic surgery."

One such woman who fits Li's profile is Tao Li (pseudonym), a 58-year-old retired nurse who frequently participates in guangchangwu.

Tao underwent cosmetic surgery to remove her wrinkles and to enhance her lips.

"I'm 160 centimeters tall and weigh around 62.5 kilograms. I have a good figure. But I was unsatisfied with the aging lines on my face," said Tao. "I didn't want to look like an actress or pop idol but to look younger than my age."

Together, the two surgeries cost around 50,000 yuan, but Tao said they were worth every cent. The changes in her appearance have been well-received by her friends and family.

"You only live once," said Tao. "Besides staying young at heart, one's external beauty is also important."

Cosmetic surgery tourism 

Sun Ting, a manager at KB Medical Service, a company that organizes trips to South Korea for the purpose of undergoing cosmetic surgery, said that most of her clients sought out cosmetic surgery to maintain a youthful complexion.

"Middle and older women usually prefer the smaller surgeries rather than major operations," said Sun.

She added that the most common operations were removing wrinkles and pulling up the upper eyelid.

It is reported that a large number of Chinese flock to South Korea for plastic surgery each year, where they believe they will get better results.

According to the Dongfang Daily, Chinese people account for about 60 percent of the cosmetic surgery tourism industry in South Korea, and Chinanews.com reported that over the National Day holidays, a large number of clinics stayed open late to deal with the large number of Chinese tourists who had arrived in the country for cosmetic surgery.

"Of the 55 clients who traveled to South Korea for plastic surgery over the National Day holidays this year, four were women aged 55 and above. The number is ever increasing," said Sun.

Beauty you can buy
 

Zhao Sile, a women's rights activist and the editor of the Media Monitor for Women Network, attributed the increase in the number of middle-aged Chinese women seeking out cosmetic surgery to the rise of consumerism in China.

"Before, it was mostly young women who sought out cosmetic surgery in order to fulfill a certain ideal of feminine beauty," said Zhao. "But as consumer culture has become ubiquitous in everyday life, companies have come to target middle-aged women, who often have greater spending power."

"Consumer culture has placed a greater expectation on middle-aged women to also fulfill an ideal of feminine beauty, in spite of the age. So some of them resort to cosmetic surgery," said Zhao.

Zhao added that the trend of middle-aged seeking cosmetic surgery revealed the inequalities and hypocrisy that still exists in gender relations.

"Men still occupy the dominant position in society," said Zhao. "Middle-aged men with social status are seen as sexually appealing [regardless of their looks]. But women who reach middle-age have the pressure to change their appearance in order to please their husbands."

A beautiful soul

One of the factors that might put older women off from seeking out cosmetic surgery are the risks it carries.

Wang said that she has suffered from toothaches and other dental problems because of the reconfiguring of her chin and jaw line, which damaged some of the nerves in her gums. In addition, she complained that her eyebrows were now asymmetric, and that the position of the cleft above her lip had become oddly positioned.

"I went through too many operations in [a short period of time]," said Wang. "The hospital was too anxious to make me into Angie Chiu as quickly as possible."

Despite having suffered such undesirable side effects of cosmetic surgery, Wang does not regret having gone under the knife.

Since her surgeries, she has made multiple media appearances and become a published novelist. She credits her marketability as a writer to her cosmetic surgeries, and is frequently referred to in the media as a lizhi popo - an "inspirational grandma."  

"When I first tried plastic surgery, there were very few women in my age group who were willing to try it," said Wang. "But now there are lots of women who come to me seeking advice."

Wang said that on the whole, the surgeries have improved her life for the better, but she is quick to note that cosmetic surgery is not a panacea for life's problems. 

"The inside is as important as the outside," said Wang. "There are divorced women who come to me seeking advice about cosmetic surgery who think their husbands are cheating on them because their mistresses are more beautiful. But I don't think external beauty is the only reason. It's important for women to have a beautiful soul as well as a beautiful appearance. Plastic surgery isn't the solution for all problems." 



Posted in: Metro Beijing

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