U.S. Women Grapple with Ethnic Issue
But unlike their peers in Asia--where blepharoplasty is the No. 1 cosmetic procedure--young Asian-American women who consider the surgery are more likely to grapple with the idea that the procedure will also alter their ethnic identities, according to Dr. Charles Lee, a plastic surgeon in Los Angles who specializes in blepharoplasty.
"There is more resistance to the procedure here than in Asia," he told Women's eNews.
Lee said he has seen an increase in his practice for each of the past eight years. He noted that the surgery has long been popular for Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese women and this year the number of surgeries for Chinese-Americans have increased.
"In Asia, people don't see it as ethnically altering the same way they do
here . . . But we believe we are just trying to make them look prettier. Just a prettier Asian eye, not a Western eye."
Lee acknowledges, however, that the surgery's popularity has risen along with the advance of Western culture and fashion. "The increase is due to more exposure to Western goods, culture and makeup in China. It has been that way a long time in Korea and surgery there has been popular since the 1950s."
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