Blasian Photoshopped Across the Globe

The Before & After project was release by Esther Honig in June of 2014.  In this original project, Honig asked the world to define beauty by sending an un-retouched photo of her head and shoulders to 25 countries with the simple instruction - "Make me beautiful."  The results were a peek into the idea of beauty through different cultures.  Fellow journalist Priscilla Yuki Wilson followed up on Honig's project, replicating it with her own photo, While Honig is of European descent, Wilson is biracial with a Japanese mother and an African American father.  Wilson received edited photos from 18 countries.  The alterations varied from lightening her skin to emphasising different aspects of her features.

Original Photo by Che Landon.

Below is the description of Before & After Part Two from Priscilla Yuki Wilson's personal website.

The question of "what are you?" regularly influences how I experience the world.  It serves as a reminder that I am living in a  culture that's still adjusting to my kind of face.  Growing up my Japanese mother would often tell me to wear sunblock and to stay out of the sun to avoid getting "too dark".  Being that my father is black, this paradox always troubled me because I was clearly a product of a radical racial union.  In these subtle ways I was taught that my natural self did not comply with conventional standards set forth by society, saying fairer skin is better, straighter hair is more attractive, and that skinny tastes good.  For that reason I decided to carry out a reproduction of the project Before & After because I wanted to see how a face like mine would be transformed on the digital surgical table. 

As in the original project I approached each photoshop aficionado with the request to "make me beautiful."  Similarly I utilised the international freelancing platform, which has allowed me to contract nearly 30 individuals from more than 25 countries. 

In contrast to Honig's results, where her face became a canvas to express more than a dozen contrasting beauty standards, I found that my face actually challenged the application of photoshop in this instance.  As a biracial woman there is no standard of beauty or mild that can easily fit my face.

This photoshop experiment, like Honig's, revealed the different views of beauty around the world, verifying that a universal concept of beauty does not exist.

View all of Wilson's altered photos on her website.  For more information about the original "Before & After" project, go to Esther Honig's personal website.

Blasian Finalist for Miss Universe Singapore

Miss Universe Singapore is an annual contest held in Singapore to select the country's representative to the Miss Universe pageant.  The 12 finalists of Miss Universe Singapore 2014 were unveiled on August 2.  The pageant was held on August 22 and was broadcast on cable channel, Fashion TV.

This year's contest included Ijechi Nazirah Nwaozuzu, a Singaporean of African and Malaysian heritage.  Born to a Nigerian father and a Malay mother, the 21-year-old is currently studying law at the National University of Singapore.  Raised in Bukit Panjang, she also claims Chinese, Indian, and Portuguese heritage.

Regarding her unique circumstances, Ijechi states, "My sister and I were raised to be Singaporean in identity and values, but global in our outlook and perspective."  One of the more challenging issues for her as a child was being identified as "Other" in the school register.  She felt it was harder to fit in, as she did not belong to any of the major racial groups.  While Singapore is multicultural, ethnic Asians predominate.  Seventy-five percent of the population is Chinese, with significant minorities of Malays, Indians, and Eurasians.  "Part of why I joined this competition is to show the world that we're cosmopolitan.  We always talk about Singapore being multiracial, but I don't think we show enough of that on the international stage," said Ijechi. 

Ijechi competed well, finishing second runner-up and also selected for the Best Legs award.  Now, she can refocus on her studies.  She is interested in international law, human rights, women's rights, and family law.  As she says, "the most important thing now is to survive law school and graduate."

BONUS:  Cecelia Chng - makeup stylist to blasians Kimora Lee Simmons and Naomi Campbell - served as the makeup artist for Miss Universe Singapore 2014!

Selected Sources:

* Asia One News, "Some Miss Universe Singapore finalists asked: Are you Singaporean?", July 26, 2014.

* Yahoo Entertainment, "Exotic mix of Miss Universe Singapore 2014 finalists unveiled", August 3, 2014.

First Blasian Contestant on AsNTM2

Marie Nakagawa with the flags of Senegal & Japan

Season 2 of Asia's Next Top Model featured blasian contestant, Marie Nakagawa, of Japan.  Born to a Senegalese father and a Japanese mother, Marie has often been mistaken for a non-Japanese due to her mixed heritage.  She was often bullied by her peers during her childhood in Tokyo.  In her Intro video for AsNTM, Marie discusses the difficulties she experienced as a blasian child in Japan.

Filmed in Malaysia, Asia's Next Top Model (cycle 2) premiered on January 8, 2014 on STAR World Asia and Fox Asia.  Sixteen women from across the Asia-Pacific region participated in the televised contest.  prior to her elimination.  Marie was in the bottom 3 in Episode 2 and was the first to be given a second chance.  She was the first call out, selected for best photo in Episode 4, Episode 7, and Episode 8.

Episode 4: The Girl That Embraces Change

Episode 7: The Girl Who is in the Spotlight

Episode 8: The Girl Who Makes a Splash

Marie posted the following on her Facebook page on January 22, 2014, discussing her desire to help Japan recognize the diversity of beauty.

"Japan really needs to realize that FASHION should be equal to any races and I'm hoping that Japanese fashion industry will be more open mind to those colored race as well. Trust me, I am giving my all to change Japan for all those young girls looking up to Japanese Fashion Industry Which They only Have Either white or light Skin tone Damn too skinny and cute Eyes Big Girls That says and Represent and Being told as the definition of World's Standard BEAUTY" Which IS Totally not. Their only to BE Admire.
We Live in Japan, but we ALSO Live in the World.
non of US in the World IS Same. We all Have Different skin color, we all have different eye color hair colors and everything and WE ALL DIFFERENT that's exactly why we should accept the beauty each other and we NEVER EVER have to set the definition of beauty by skin color or the size of the eyes or big teeth Small teeth skinny or Chubby or whatever the reason Stupid Which we should Never Compared to and by Judges.
DIFFERENT AND WE ALL BEAUTIFUL IN OUR OWN WAYS."