Body shape weighs heavily on women

Sellout hit

Women themselves are also starting to embrace the diversity of beauty.

Kelli Jean Drinkwater, who describes herself as a "radical fat activist", co-directed a dance show, Nothing to Lose, with Kate Champion from the dance theater company Force Majeure. The show, which was an award-winning sellout hit at the 2015 Sydney Film Festival in Australia, focuses on overweight bodies in an artistic way, attempting to challenge stereotypes and reshape expectations.

In a speech posted online, Drinkwater said, "I've lost count of how many times people of all sizes have told me that the show has changed their lives, how it has helped them shift their relationship to their own and other people's bodies."

In China, a new trend embracing the diversity of beauty has also emerged recently.

Wang Ju, 25, a contestant on the popular singing show Produce 101, has become the country's latest female icon to reset beauty standards in an industry that has long praised women who are, for the most part, thin and white.

When Wang made her stage debut, she weighed 60 kg, which was considered too heavy for her 1.65-meter height. But she quickly gained popularity among young people, encouraging better self-acceptance among women and reversing a long-held traditional standard.

"The standard of being beautiful is to be yourself," Wang said in an interview with The Guardian. "I control my own life. Having an independent spirit is too important to compromise."

It looks as though Chinese women will continue to redefine beauty and try to be independent in today's ever-changing world.

According to a survey published by Dove in 2017, 80 percent of adult women and 70 percent of young girls in China want the media to highlight women's charm from more angles, not just by focusing on body shape.

Paying less attention to the appearance of women in advertising, movies and TV shows, and more attention to their words and deeds, is cited as the ultimate objective by the survey.