4. Results
4.5 Contradicting Practice
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I am not pursuing it, but to me, it means to be clean and gives other people a kind of good impression" (P8).
P8 is Holko Taiwanese. She was born and raised in Yunlin, along with most of my family members. Growing up mother always told her to put on sunscreen, in case her skin color gets darker and it will not be good-looking if she had dark skin. Till date, her mother still wants her to wear long sleeves, hats, or caps so that she won’t get sunburnt and most importantly- will not get too brown. Some other quotations were illustrating the linkage of whiteness to being clean. “Now that I have a job, I think that I need to look beautiful and great to make customers believe that I am a clean and tidy person so they will trust me (P6).
“White skin gives more advantage socially. I think in general for people around when they are whiter, it gives others the First impression they are clean and honest” (P11).
4.5 Contradicting Practice
Another impressive result was the low number of participants that claimed they were not using any skin whitening products. Like previously mentioned, the sampling size is not big an adequate representation of the overall population of the island. Having said that it was interesting to see that only half of the participants claimed they owned any skin whitening product. Unlike most parts of the west, the urgency and awareness towards the dangers of the skin whitening phenomenon has not been adopted yet in Taiwan. All participants all are entirely ok with the use of skin whitening product. Some mentioned that even though they may not be trying to whiten their skin, there are endless skin whitening products in the stores or ordinary products advertised
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as a form of skin whitening or brightening products. Making it near impossible to avoid. When all participants were asked if they used or own any skin whitening products? The following statements are quotations of participant’s answers. ‘I stay out of the sun’ (P5).
(P5) is sixty-five years old retired financial investor. She is a mainlander Taiwanese.
Whiteness to her means beautiful and prettier. She believes that people with darker skin are usually blue-collar workers. She is very fair as she does not expose herself to sunlight. P5 stated that she doesn't precisely remember when she first heard about the skin whitening phenomenon, but it's something she has always been aware of as long as she can remember.
Participants that had used skin whitening products, pointed out that it was when they were much younger. They claimed that thier parents usually purchased it for a specific skin condition like acne but the products usually contains skin whitening ingredients in those products. “Yes, I did when I was younger, it was because I had acne, but I want to even that, but I think it's not really for whitening purposes" (P10).
"I do get some products from my mum, but we are not trying to be white the products happen to have whitening ingredients in them" (P6).
This was one of the reasons that make it interesting that a substantial number of participants claimed they had not or do not currently use a skin whitening product. My belief is that just like me when I first arrived in Taiwan. I was oblivious to the fact that most skin products in Taiwan contain some form of skin whiten/brighten feature.
4.6 Societal pressure
A participate honestly stated as she discussed her experience as a young child who faces criticism from a classmate about her slightly tanned skin. The participant talked about the different influencers and highlighted the people responsible who introduced her to this phenomenon and
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what first purchase of a skin whitening product. “Everyone wants to be white” (P11). Although the skin whitening phenomenon is a massive part of the Taiwanese society, interestingly very few of the participants discussed or referred to any male influence in any aspect of the interviews. Only one participant mentioned the phenomenon and context of the Taiwanese male expectation. When asked; “In what aspects of your daily life have you ever experienced the ideals and norms” the participant stated;
Yes! For jobs maybe not really but definitely for dating. Because they are saying for girls and guys. For guys, there’s a saying in Taiwan. They always say a guy needs to be handsome and rich, and for girls, they say she should be pretty white and rich. So white is one of those (P7).
P7 is Holko Taiwanese. With her ancestors and both parents all from Fujian, China dating back to long before 1949. She was born and raised in Taipei along with most of my relatives. P7 became aware of the skin whitening phenomenon in kindergarten. She heard her parents and other relatives jokingly said that “she was pretty, but would’ve been prettier if I had whiter skin.” P7 mother bought all kinds of products and supplements that claimed they could make the users’ skin whiter. However, those things seemed not to work on her. Has she grown older and made lots of international friends and saw on social media. It was not a bad thing to have darker skin. Nowadays, P7 preferences the tanned look. She loves to bathe in the sun to get a tanner look. Her mom was unimpressed but eventually gave up on making her skin look whiter.
Most participants stated that it was their mother, female friend, female colleagues who first introduced or suggested to the notion of this phenomenon. One hundred percent of the participant
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mentioned the influence of their mother, whether it was a warning, or she bought products to ensure they maintained a paler complexion. The mother figure appears to be the sole, most influential person in this study. The following quotation illustrates the influence of the participant mother. When I asked “when did you first become aware of this phenomenon,” a participant explained:
“I started to become aware of this phenomenon since high school because my mum told it. “My mum likes to use skin whitening products” stated on participate” (P6).
My mum will give me” 防曬乳”.” (Fángshài rǔ) (P4).
“防曬”, sunscreen, is a type of product that prevents the darkening of the skin. This participant was an aboriginal, so it was interesting to learn that aboriginals are influenced by the skin whitening phenomenon.
All the participants seemed to have been introduced to the skin whitening phenomenon at such an impressionable age. It appears that most participants were introduced to this phenomenon from a very young age impressionable age. Following their parents was their schoolmates or collages. Participants pointed out that it was mostly at high school or college when friends or colleagues would recommend a product to brighten up the skin or even being bullied for having a darker skin tone as a child. When were participants asked, “when did you first become aware of this phenomenon,” many stated they first became aware in high school or in college. Examples of this is as followed. “Since elementary school, because I was born with darker skin so since I was really, young people try to tell me about this” (P9).
P9 is a twenty -three years old student, who’s descendants from mainland China. Growing up in Taiwan, she was bullied at school for her darker skin tone. “Junior high school. My
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classmates would say well. You are so black. “I was really black, and that makes you not beautiful.”
(P9). She dealt with pressure from her parents and friends to have whiter skin as many of them used kind whitening products. She eventually purchased and started using whitening products in hopes she would start to fit in. When asked, “have you ever used any skin whitening products and why/why not,” a participant stated:
“Yes, I did, for being more beautiful. More reference of participants first introduction to this phenomenon. Since elementary school, because I was born with darker skin so since I was young people try to tell me about this” (P9).
“In high school, a lot of my friends put a lot of lotion to protect them a lot of my friends put a lot of creams to protect the skin and say so jealous because you are white.” (P3).
“The first time maybe it was in my college because my classmate she recommends a product and to be white and she thinks I should use this and I will be more attractive.”
(P11) Since elementary school, because I was born with darker skin” (P2). “Maybe junior high school’ (P5).
“The first time I became aware of this was when I was in college before college, and I did not know much about it. In the workplace, participants believed that while it may not affect you getting a job, it is important to look a certain way for the consumer to feel comfortable and trust you” (P6).
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“When I was in college I didn’t put on skin whitening products or makeup because I just go to and have class but now that I have a job I think that I need to look beautiful and great to make customers believe that I am a clean and tidy person to let them trust me” (P7).
When participants were asked “in what aspects of their daily lives have they ever experienced the ideals and norms of whiteness,” another participant stated:
“I did my internship in a luxury brand company and they actually, People there are for beauty. They will pay attention to what you wear and how you look and do your make up everything, not only skin color” (P4).
4.7 The role of cross-border cultural flows
Throughout the interviewing process, cultural context and social context both were common themes that emerged from all participants’ interviews. Participant, depict how traditional customs and influences from countries like Japan and China has greatly impacted the Taiwanese society. The following quotations demonstrate that participants are aware of this influence “Yes because I think we were influenced by Japan and the Korean culture” (P7). The literature highlighted that Taiwan had been greatly influenced by the Japanese, who colonized the country back in the 19th century (Glenn, 2008). Some of the ideology and practices from those times have lasted centuries, and the effects. “I think it goes back to the history of China because in our history it’s like there is some pretty princess they attract some emperor because they are whiter because they don’t need to work” (P1).
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Participants also highlighted that one of the main reasons they viewed the skin whitening phenomenon to be more of a social issue was due to the huge influence of social media. “I think it social, but right now I think they are changing because of Wealthy can go abroad and are affected by western culture and have lots of leisure time” (P10).
“I realized the younger generation with the effect of social media they see a lot of pictures on Instagram or Facebook they saw that there are different standards of beauty it’ not only like you are only beautiful when you have light skin, so I feel like the younger generations also like to have tanned skin they still feel beautiful with their dark skin or tanned skin” (P7).
The participant that leaned towards it being more of a cultural issue showcased the link with both cultural and social media. “I think it’s kind of a cultural issue in Taiwan cause many Taiwanese people to use it and social media spreads it. So, it’s kind of being a Taiwanese culture right now”
(P9). Which is relates to the literature findings (Glenn, 2008). With both cultural and social influences from China and Japan but also powers of the universal ideal of social media, brands like Vogue are continually portraying. A quotation that has been passed down for centuries and has stood the test of time with the Taiwanese society. A mass of the participants referred to this saying in the process of the interview. For many, it may be seen that this quotation would make people perceive the skin whitening phenomenon to be a cultural issue rather than social. But understandable if we review the current climate of the skincare and beauty industry, we would find the mass bombardment of skin whitening products, advertisement campaigns, and slogans.
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From the analysis of the data collected in the interviews, results showcased a drift away from the skin whitening phenomenon. With many of the participants calming, they have no desire to whitening their skin. One participant stated, “Personally, now I don’t really use any product but many products that I want you to get contains whitening agents. I like my skin color now, I am not bothered to look whiter. Right now, I don’t own any (P8). Here the participant is talking about how at an early age, she perceived whiteness as pretty, but as she grew older, she realized that skin doesn’t matter. It is important to note that this particular participant is a mainlander Chinese descent Taiwanese woman. Her skin color is quite whiter than others in this study. Participants discussed their preference for a tanner looking skin. “I prefer tanned skin” (P10).
Now in her late thirty, P10 is a Taiwanese woman who was born in Changhua City born and raised in Taipei. Her father is Hakka, born in Hualien city and my mother is Holko, her father side of the family tend to have darker skin tone, her siblings and herself inherited darker skin tone from my father. So, growing up, her parents didn’t talk about skin whitening, she heard it more from my classmates talking about her skin tone, and sometimes they teased her for being darker than the average Taiwanese. It frustrated her a lot growing. Somehow, P10 loves outdoor activities, so her skin tone got even more ominous from the suntan, and then some people will say to her that her skin looked beautiful and healthy, that when she realized it more relevant to embrace how God created me to be. “I like to be dark” (P5).
This participant was aboriginal and already had darker looking skin. She stated that she is happy and content with her dark skin tone: “I think differently, aboriginals as ls we just accept ourselves and others. Another participant stated:
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“No, because my preference was tanned look When I was young I was told that the whiter, the prettier. But as time went by and as I made more foreigner friends, I learned that having darker skin is also a kind of beauty” (P7).
“I think it’s changing now because more and more people around me are willing to get more tanned or want to have darker skin in our generation, but I think our mums are dad’s generation won't change them an opinion on this” (P7).
An overwhelming number of the younger participants all claimed that they accepted having darker skin. A considerable aspect of this is due to social media. Through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, people are learning and seeing the beauty in other cultures whatever the skin tone.
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This study explored the popular practices about skin color among Taiwanese woman. This chapter includes the salient findings of the study and the existing literature along with the suggestions, the implications for future research, the researcher/interviewer’s insights, reflections, and the limitations of the study. Ground theory was used to gather information and analyze the data from recurring coding patterns from the interviews. To determine and explore, the popular discourses and practices about skin color amount Taiwanese woman.
One of the most interesting results from the interviews conducted for this study was a possible changing curve in the way people perceived having fair/white skin. Five of the participants showcased a desire for darker, or a tanner looking skin. This result was unexpected as Japan and Korea beauty cosmetic industry still is very large and dominant one in Taiwan today.
Having said that more and more Taiwanese people are traveling across the globe, with a 7.30%
increase in the numbers of Taiwanese people going around the world in 2007 alone (Tourism Taiwan 2018).
Chung and Bissell (2009) compliment this perfectly, as they highlighted the Asian women's obsession with skin whitening via whitening cosmetics. Societies fall in the trap of multinational skin cosmetics company and buy their products. This is a colossal issue in Asian and the Taiwanese society. This imbalanced exposure has existed for centuries and has created a psychological coping mechanism, where people want to be associated with whiteness, perceived as brilliant and intellect in their society. Cosmetic companies have profited and capitalized for decays on setting the beauty standard and reinforcing negative portrayal of darker skin to sell whitening products. Time and
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overwhelming percentage of the participants discussed their mothers as the most influential factor when it comes to learning about this phenomenon. For many, this study was the first introduction to any awareness raised to this phenomenon. It was surprising to see that even though a few of the younger participants were not using the products, no one had an issue or perceived the use of the whitening products in a negative light. There seems to be an accepting attitude towards this phenomenon. It seems to not be an issue for people in Taiwan. Unlike the many other parts of the world, Taiwan may be the perfect place for these multinational skincare companies to continue to thrive.On a cultural aspect, it can be concluded that there are lots of aesthetic values engraved in this phenomenon. White skin is a model of white Caucasian definition of classic beauty model which signifies grace, elegance but most importantly, a royal or regal nature which was the same initial concept centuries ago. Interestingly, there was no indication of any male influence throughout the whole study. In the interviews, there was zero mention of any male figure in relations to this phenomenon. Even though technically, a huge factor of beauty is to attract male partners. Unfortunately, this research did not dig deeper into the male figure mindset. So, this aspect could be a suggestion for future research on the skin whitening phenomenon. This thesis can contribute to further studies on the skin whitening phenomenon in the future. It may be interesting to see if there will be a change as Taiwan continue to grow and develop.
Overall it appears that Taiwanese people do not perceive the skin whitening epidemic as an issue that could be damaging to society. It’s entirely accepted and has become such a social norm in Taiwanese culture, in contrast to other Asian countries, that have created campaigns to talk about the damages of skin whitening products. Taiwan, seemingly perceive it as an interesting
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topic to look at, but there is no sense of urgency as it is just not viewed as an issue. Participants
topic to look at, but there is no sense of urgency as it is just not viewed as an issue. Participants