Senator
Barack Obama: Is He Handsome? Debate rages in China.
China Daily, People's Republic of China
Is Barack Obama Handsome?
Can Senator Barack Obama be categorized
as handsome? In an article that strongly demonstrates how much the debate on race differs in China, the burning question of Obama's physical attractiveness was recently touched upon by Raymond Zhou of
the state-controlled China Daily. According to Zhou:
"Chinese netizens have their own
standards of beauty when it comes to Black Americans. One reader said that it
took him a while to recognize 'Black beauty,' and that since Obama doesn't look
like a typical NBA player, it's hard for him to categorize the Senator as physically
appealing."
A while ago, when Barack
Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, I wrote a blog entry to
explain why it was unlikely that Obama would pick her as his running mate. I
used "handsome" to describe him, and one of the responses was "What?
Do you consider Obama handsome?"
Sure, I think he's a good looking
guy. But my views were quickly drowned out as more and more people joined my
challenger and questioned my aesthetic wisdom.
So I tried thinking of the
issue from the point of view of an ordinary Chinese netizen, with no knowledge
of Obama's eloquence, poise or insight on race relations. He may not be as eye-catching
as Denzel Washington, but he certainly scores pretty high on the question of
physical attractiveness.
In fact, so many readers
cited NBA as their biggest exposure that it's not a stretch to say that when it
comes to sizing up Black males, Kobe Bryant is become the benchmark for Chinese
youth. So where does that leave Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman,
not to mention Hollywood's efforts in shaping global perceptions of Black
Americans? Obviously as far as China's vast basketball fan base is concerned, their
efforts haven't been half as effective as the ubiquitous basketball player - to
say nothing of the magic of Michael Jordan.
Chinese and Black people seem
to occupy two ends of the aesthetic spectrum. Having reached China via
middlemen like White Americans and Korean singers, many trends that began with
Blacks, such as hip-hop, lose much of their authenticity in the process. And then it's somewhat jarring to see a Chinese youth with softly-toned skin and
smaller features, dress in XXL-sized clothing with the striking colors that
compliment Black teenagers so naturally.
Surprisingly, there were many
who disagreed with me - and their thinking process was quite interesting. For
example, I thought the fact that Obama is slim was helpful in this era when
body image is so important. However, it seems that Chinese netizens have their own
standards of beauty when it comes to Black Americans, which is derived mostly from
telecasts of NBA games. One reader said that it took him a while to recognize "Black
beauty," and that since Obama doesn't look like a typical NBA player, it's
hard for him to categorize the Senator as physically appealing.
On the other hand, martial
arts movies reach the Black demographic through mainstream vendors like
Blockbuster and mass-appeal films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
It's no exaggeration to say that the middle ground is firmly in the
hands of Middle America, whose aesthetic values serve as a filter of exchange
between non-White ethnicities and races. For example, unless it's a function of
displaying ethnic diversity, a Black person wouldn't wear African tribal dress,
nor would a Chinese put on a Tang-style costume. More likely, they would both
sport a business suit because this is the sartorial middle ground. If they appeared
wearing traditional garb, such an outfit would be unfavorably judged against
the suit.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
For a Chinese person without regular
contact with or exposure to Black Americans, Obama's look can only be accurately
extrapolated and evaluated by seeing him through the eyes of a White person. It
simply cannot be done. Recently I came upon a diary written by a young Chinese
journalist who compared Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright which was
condescendingly unfair. I guess the only Black women familiar to the man on a
Beijing street are Whitney Houston and Halle Berry.
It dawned on me that movie-star
beauty is often taken as an accurate barometer for an entire race - and that this may
distort public perceptions. The best way to expunge misunderstanding and
prejudice is to know as many people of every race and ethnicity unknown to you as
possible.
Then you would see Obama not
as another Denzel Washington or Kobe Bryant, but as the charismatic politician
that he is.
