Japan's Beauty Queen Factory

[Seraphfire]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1631932,00.html

A group of beautiful young girls enter a studio, all sharing dreams of glamour and world stardom. A stern Frenchwoman enters the room, and to their horror, the first words out of her mouth are: "Okay girls, off with your clothes, I want you in your underwear. Right now." This is not a scene from a bordello in the sex trade, but an annual event in Japan's new beauty queen factory. For the last 10 years, Ines Ligron has been ordering young Japanese women to strip, walk tall, free their inner woman and wear lots and lots of makeup in an effort to seriously compete in the Miss Universe beauty pageant. And compete they have. The contest, long monopolized by Latin America's goddess industry, has now seen three of Ligron's frightened girls make it into the top five, including a first runner-up last year and, most spectacularly, 21-year-old dance student Riyo Mori, who two weeks ago won the title of Miss Universe 2007 and brought back the $250,000 crown to Japan for the first time in 48 years.

Ligron, 44, is the national director of Miss Universe Japan, and her job is to create world-class beauty queens out of young Japanese women in a country that favors smallness over voluptuousness, reserve over unrestrained confidence, a demure smile over a sparkling grin. A former promoter at the IMG modeling agency, Ligron was handpicked by Donald Trump (who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization with NBC) to ramp up Japan's waning interest in the pageant. "When I came in 1997, Miss Japan was run by a broadcaster, and had turned into a show by men, for men," says Ligron. With the backing of the Trump Foundation, Ligron hired an all-female staff to refashion the tacky swimsuit contest into a lucrative entertainment business — which aimed at nothing less than winning the title.

But Ligron set out to do more than increase NBC airtime for Japan and make Trump a richer man. As a schoolgirl Ligron saved her lunch money to buy fashion magazines, and she was appalled to find in Japan a country of young women hunched over and wobbling in untrendy shoes, avoiding the sun to keep pale, hiding under too many layers of stockings and Bridget Jones underwear. "The first thing that struck me was — I have to liberate these women!" she says. Ligron improvised a one-woman finishing school for Miss Japan contestants, which involves stripping in front of a triptych of mirrors to learn to be comfortable with their bodies. The women would also live with the beauty producer for months to learn "how to be a woman, a gaijin [foreigner] woman, from me."

Success in the global beauty market, however, is not necessarily embraced back home. Last year's Miss Universe runner-up Kurara Chibana has been a commercial hit back in Japan; and with her east Asian facial features she has snagged more than 100 magazine pages and was chosen to be the spokesperson for a popular shampoo Asience, which celebrates Asian beauty (other endorsers include the Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang). However, Miss Universe Mori fits the more statuesque, chiseled mold of Latin American and southeast Asian beauties. When a Japanese sports daily mistakenly published Miss Thailand's picture as Mori — and blundered in its apology by claiming the photo was of Miss Korea — local tabloids, instead of faulting the newspaper, criticized Ligron's crowning achievement for having a homogeneous beauty pageant look. Indeed, newspaper writers — reflecting the tastes of Japanese men — wondered if 5'9" Mori (who speaks English) embodies anything Japanese at all. Ligron, who has been approached to replicate her success in other countries, thinks it may be just as well. "Japanese men want infantile anorexic kawaii [cute] women in their 20s who act like they're 12. Now girls are beginning to find role models in women with real talent, careers, confidence." And who needs the Japanese market? Mori is now being considered for a role in the hit NBC series Heroes as the love interest of one of the show's superhero characters. She may well become Japan's new Wonder Woman.

Anyone else think Ms. Ligron and the reporter can go kiss my ass?

[Seraphfire]

If I were to parody her comments:
Indeed, newspaper writers — reflecting the tastes of American men — wondered if A-cup Paris Hilton embodies anything American at all. I think it may be just as well. "American men want silicone enhanced Barbie doll girls who don't want commitment and are sexually loose. Now girls are beginning to find role models in countries like Japan where women can walk alone at night without fear of being raped."

[popculturepooka]

I'll get to the rest of the article later but...

"American men want silicone enhanced Barbie doll girls who don't want commitment and are sexually loose. Now girls are beginning to find role models in countries like Japan where women can walk alone at night without fear of being raped."

Orly? You haven't to Japan much have you?

[Seraphfire]

I'll get to the rest of the article later but...

"American men want silicone enhanced Barbie doll girls who don't want commitment and are sexually loose. Now girls are beginning to find role models in countries like Japan where women can walk alone at night without fear of being raped."

Orly? You haven't to Japan much have you?
You have a point or do you just like to nitpick? I'm sure there's a better analogy, so sue me...

[kimpossible]

It's about what you can reasonably expect from beauty pageantry as an industry. They do go through a lot of processing... hairspraying asses, vaseline on teeth. Crazy shit. Personally I tend to file anything associated with it as ridiculous. I also think most of anything Trump touches these days turns to poo-poo. Yes, they're both stupid if it makes you feel better. But they did win. Hard to argue with that.

[BigLew]

It's about what you can reasonably expect from beauty pageantry as an industry. They do go through a lot of processing... hairspraying asses, vaseline on teeth. ....

Hairspraying asses!? Do they brush their ass hair before doing this?

[popculturepooka]

You have a point or do you just like to nitpick? I'm sure there's a better analogy, so sue me...

I actually meant that kind of as a joke, but it came out rushed and without the proper smileys, because I was in a rush.:biggrin:

My bad, I didn't mean to come off all antagonistic and stuff. :wink:

Your analogy was funny to me because japan is the complete opposite in my experience, becuase Japanese men are completely obessesed with big boobs.
And girls there get constantly groped and raped.:frown:

But on to the article....
Personally I think she went to far, with making them strip down and stare at themselves, but I don't think it's bad that she's trying to break tehm out of the "kawaii" mindset that permeates Japanese society.

[Seraphfire]

I actually meant that kind of as a joke, but it came out rushed and without the proper smileys, because I was in a rush.:biggrin:

My bad, I didn't mean to come off all antagonistic and stuff. :wink:

Your analogy was funny to me because japan is the complete opposite in my experience, becuase Japanese men are completely obessesed with big boobs.
And girls there get constantly groped and raped.:frown:

But on to the article....
Personally I think she went to far, with making them strip down and stare at themselves, but I don't think it's bad that she's trying to break tehm out of the "kawaii" mindset that permeates Japanese society.
OK bro, no worries then :wink: I was still kind of steamed by the arrogance of this French lady.

Yeah I know about those issues but I think in general it's a lot safer there than here.

[nameless]

OK bro, no worries then :wink: I was still kind of steamed by the arrogance of this French lady.

Yeah I know about those issues but I think in general it's a lot safer there than here.

Whatever the case, I also feel a condescending attitude coming from the woman and the author. But since it's only regarding the Japanese and not all Asians, I think I can let it slide hehe.

[AngryABCGirl]

OK bro, no worries then :wink: I was still kind of steamed by the arrogance of this French lady.

Yeah I know about those issues but I think in general it's a lot safer there than here.


There have been a lot of high profile sex crime cases in Japan lately that have made headlines in the papers here that are pretty freaky and insane- but no greater or less fucked up than what we see in the US. I do feel safer on average in Asia though- at least in Taiwan and Hong Kong, I haven't spent much time in Japan. There's less random violent street crime, in the US if I worked late I was always clutching keys and mace walking to my car at night and checking my back seat and ready to stab someone's eyes out. Here I walk at the small hours of the night back home buzzed from a night on the town and I'll see old ladies riding their bikes around with their puppies. I'll admit it does create a false sense of security and shit does happen, but it is a lot safer.

Commenting on beauty in East Asia in general, I think the young cute docile look (but sometimes with big titties) is the big sexual appeal. Personally I think it's gross, but that's what hits the spot for a lot, if not majority, of people and what girls compare each other with. There's a popular show in Taiwan called 黑澀會妹眉 (clip here be warned it's awful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs6zcZbA208) that figures a lot of early high schooled aged girls to early twenties (I don't think any of them are over 21) doing a lot of singing and dancing stuff and I swear to god that show is just as much for teenagers to giggle at and watch as it is for dirty perverted old men with the whole cute little girl/jail bait culture here. There is a growing market for more mature confident sexy girl types (Jolin Tsai or Elva Hsiao) that aren't just cute little girls- but their bodies are still not the volumptous type I think people would consider hot in America and I think most companies won't risk getting sexier. Most guys would consider the buxom "processed porn star" blond beach look you see everywhere in So Cal gross.

Lisbon can kiss my ass about the liberating women bullshit though, we can liberate ourselves in Asia, k thanks. I'll beat you down bitch. She's just trading in one form of objectifying womens' bodies for another. Dumbfuck.

The end.

[sageb1]

Hairspray adds shine to asses. It's like waxing a car. :P

The reason for the "harsh" treatment of Japanese wannabe Miss Universes is to not experience shame and embarassment at being almost naked.

Before they are groomed for competition, these girls are pretty and child-like.

[SunWuKong]

i don't know how it is in Japan in terms of gender balance and female empowerment, but it seems more like Ligron is just trying to teach these girls to value Western ideals of beauty as opposed to Asian or Japanese ideals of beauty more than she is trying to "liberate" them. i wonder what her opinion is on Japanese women who are naturally physically "smaller" and emotionally more reserved. i mean, just from the article, it doesn't seem like Ligron is trying to teach these women to be more comfortable with themselves. it seems like she's just trying to teach them to appreciate western beauty ideals.