One of the benefits of growing up in a multicultural society like Canada is that the lines of beauty have blurred. For many of us, when we see a good-looking person we don't think, "Wow, that person is hot for an Asian, or a white person, or whatever." We just think, "That person is hot."

We can see beauty in many different forms, shapes, colours and sizes. Individual physical and character traits determine whether we find a person beautiful or not. That's why I find it fascinating that many Chinese have such restrictive notions of beauty, especially for women.

The women in my office enjoy asking us foreigners which women we find attractive. Almost every male foreigner, regardless of origin, points to the same woman when they answer.

This woman is a Muslim Hui Zu Chinese — not Han Zu, like the vast majority of China's population. According to the latest census, there are just under 10 million Hui Zu in China. This woman is so exotic and lovely it's hard to concentrate when she is in the room. Once when a gay colleague and I were having a conversation in the hallway, he stopped in mid-sentence when he first saw her. "Who is that? She is gorgeous! She makes me wish I was straight."

When we tell the other women that we find her so attractive, the response is uniform. They can see why we find her sexy, but wonder why we would classify her as beautiful. We point out her lovely figure and pretty smile. She has a certain grace when she walks, and she holds herself with a quiet dignity that is irresistible. I suspect the other women are not being catty or jealous when they say, "But her eyes are not a perfect shape, and her face is not in the right proportion."

I continue to be amazed by how many Chinese men ask, "Why do so many of you foreigners date such ugly women?" I don't think my girlfriend is ugly. I think she is stunning. I have the advantage of knowing her heart and soul, but regardless, I think she is gorgeous. She tells me many of her Chinese male colleagues hit on her, but they don't always say she is beautiful. Sexy is the word they use the most. She has double eyelids and smooth clear skin, but apparently falls short in some perceptions of beauty.

The standards are so demanding that cosmetic surgery has become a massive growth industry in China. According to Time Out magazine in Beijing, over one million Chinese were surgically enhanced last year. That's double the previous year's total, according to the national Plastic Surgery Association. There are over 120 cosmetic surgery clinics in Beijing alone.

Apparently students make up a large portion of those seeking cosmetic surgery. Many feel potential employers will favour them if they adhere to modern standards of beauty in China. In a hyper-competitive job market, many students feel they need every advantage they can get.

Being a movie star is not an easy gig in any country, but it must be especially trying here. Countless magazines and publications document every move of the stars and changes in their appearance. Endless chatrooms are devoted to discussions of who is beautiful and worthy of adoration. These starlets may look soft and smooth, but they need skin thicker than an alligator's not to feel slighted by the critical eye of the netizens. If they find everyone so ugly, I can't help but wonder how China managed to reach a population of over 1.3 billion.

Perhaps Chinese perceptions of beauty will change as the country opens up and more of the population is exposed to people from across the globe. I don't necessarily think this is a Chinese phenomenon. A buddy was telling me about a survey quoted in the book Freakonomics about trends in online dating. He said that 50 per cent of males and something like 35 per cent of females claimed to have no preference for race when it comes to dating, but it turns out that 95 per cent of people actually respond or send messages only to people of their own race.

China's modern history developed with the ideals of equality and conformity for all. And yet, as 21st-century China pushes to modernize itself in almost every aspect, it appears that not everything was left behind with the Cultural Revolution. Because when it comes to beauty here in China, it appears the standards imposed on an individual's looks are still being created by the old collective.

Trevor Metz is is a radio journalist working in Beijing . He also writes columns for the Beijing Youth Daily and Prince George Citizen. Trevor is a Jack Webster Award winner for outstanding radio journalism in 2003. After a couple years working in radio and television he moved to the Middle Kingdom.

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