March 28, 2024

Vogue recently spoke to Wu and Huang about the themes of this book and their experiences, both past and present, in navigating the beauty world. 

Vogue: Constance, what themes in Natural Beauty really grabbed you and made you want to option it?
Constance Wu: Of course, the themes of the beauty industry and beauty standards that we place upon women that are rooted in sexism, racism, classism, and all these other things. The themes are so current, but the book itself is so engrossing that you don’t notice that because you’re so caught up in the story. Any book that does that to you, especially if it’s so visual the way this one is, makes for great cinema or television. The female characters especially drew me in. I haven’t seen female characters very accurately portrayed, particularly when depicting their friendships. [There’s] either this patina of niceness or total bitchiness. It’s never what it is, which is complex. Some of the interactions reminded me of one of my favorite series of books, the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante. When I talked to Ling Ling, that was one of the first things I said. 

All women feel the pressure of these insane beauty standards, but women of color feel them more keenly because beauty standards are modeled on the Caucasian ideal. How has that played out in your lives?
Wu: Whenever I walk into a department store in any Asian country, they’re practically throwing whitening creams at me. In some countries, eyelid plastic surgery to look more Western is nearly the same as getting your driver’s license—almost everybody does it at 16. I was lucky to be raised by a mom who was anti-vanity. I know there’s a stereotype that Asian ladies do their nails and have perfect skin. My mom was always like, ‘You’re not allowed to wear nail polish or makeup’ or ‘Don’t worry about your skin.’ Which, as great as it was, was not effective because the culture was more effective. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where everyone’s blond and blue-eyed. But it was a good foundation for understanding that there are ways of existing where somebody can tell you that your worth is not based on your physical appearance. That said, I was a very vain young woman, so that definitely beat out what Mom was saying. I am less vain now that I’m 40, but I’m glad I had that foundation set by my mom. Which I don’t think is typical for a lot of Asian mothers, but my mom was not typical.
Ling Ling Huang: I definitely felt pressure. I always felt the odd one out growing up ‘cause most of my friends were Black or Latina. And everyone was blonde in Houston, everyone. I was pouring Sun In, lemon juice, and beer in my hair. I had a very severe eating disorder for a long time. I was like, Well, if I can’t be white, I can just be really thin. I never asked why I was obsessed with beauty, but if I had it would have made me realize that beauty was just whiteness in my eyes. 

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