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Dark lips, debauchery
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08/02/2002
During fashion shows, the so-called models - spindly-legged, bony, expressionless, indifferent, pallid - mechanically strut, mince and twist their bodies on the catwalk like puppets manipulated by someone behind the curtain.Gauntness suggests inappropriateness for labour and barrenness. Indifference gives an impression of haughtiness, an inclination to isolate oneself from others. Dark lips and blue eye shadow hint at nightlife debauchery, exhaustion, drug abuse, psychopathy. They are tormented by starvation. A gust of wind would be enough to blow them away. In the West, a surplus of food supply has made obesity the main concern of adults, and slimness has been regarded as a symbol of health and beauty. In the East, where the twin brothers of paucity and poverty still dominate, corpulent women are the object of pursuit, while slightly fat men are considered to possess masculine prowess. It seems that while China is well on the path to affluence, our taste for beauty has tilted towards the West. It is the cars, sedentary lifestyles and elevators that make us put on weight. Beer and banquets help build a pot-belly. Therefore, when some people have got hold of everything that can be envisioned by a VIP, including capital, newspapers, television and high-priced admission tickets, they are eager to see slender figures to compensate for the extra fat weighing them down. Being well aware of the void experienced by their male customers, the models willingly do everything possible to fill in the blank, even to the point of exaggeration. But nourishment has not been so plentiful as to make every one of us scared of obesity. As a rule, obesity is a phenomenon characteristic of the upper crust of society. Take the bound feet of ancient China. It was a trend set by the upper, leisured class while the majority of pragmatic labouring people would regard natural feet as good-looking. Aesthetics should first of all harmonize with nature, and steers clear of the kind of self-destruction evinced by the images of bound feet and supermodels that are undergoing rigorous training to abandon their true selves.
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