Breaking the Mould: Redefining Asian-American Beauty Standards in Selected Digital Short Stories

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the discourse surrounding the Asian-Americans’ struggle has gained more prominence. Notably, the Asian-American diasporas in the United States confront multifaceted challenges, including stereotypes, discrimination, racism, and prejudice towards their physical appearance, contributing to a complex identity negotiation. Despite these multifaceted challenges, the researcher will focus on one central issue: the intricate dynamics of beauty standards in a white-dominated space. Western beauty standards are constantly idolized, fostering feelings of insecurity among Asian-American women. Media platforms, including television, entertainment, and online social media, play important roles in shaping these beauty standards. Additionally, cultural factors also contribute to the fluctuations in the perception and self-acceptance of Asian-American women. Motivated by the situation described above, this research aims to investigate how Asian-American women navigate their cultural identities and challenge mainstream beauty standards. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher will collect the data from selected digital short stories taken from the dearasianyouth.org website. The selected works are authentic data penned by Asian-American young adult female writers who represent how the main characters define beauty standards. The Asian-American characters find themselves trapped in a predicament and a process of identity negotiation. Through a postcolonial lens, the researcher scrutinizes how Western cultural beauty standards influence how the Asian-American characters define themselves and illustrate the pains of facing “standard” images of beauty. The first result of this study dismantles the aspects that shape beauty standards within the Asian-American characters, such as cultural hegemony, socio-historical context, and media influences. The second result highlights the impact of beauty standards on the characters’ lives, such as body image and self-esteem, social and cultural alienation, identity crisis, and cultural disconnection. Finally, the study scrutinizes the struggle of Asian-American characters in dealing with the impacts of cultural representation and their identity formation, manifesting resistance to Western standards, negotiation of dual identities, redefinition of beauty, and empowerment through cultural pride. Furthermore, future studies may explore how the main characters pinpoint the difference between Western beauty standards and Asian beauty standards and the effects on their lives.