There’s a profound track in the book on DNA and familial features. 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. I was like, Well, if I can’t be white, I can just be really thin. I had a very severe eating disorder for a long time. I was pouring Sun In, lemon juice, and beer in my hair. And everyone was blonde in Houston, everyone. I always felt the odd one out growing up ‘cause most of my friends were Black or Latina. Ling Ling Huang: I definitely felt pressure. Which I don’t think is typical for a lot of Asian mothers, but my mom was not typical. I am less vain now that I’m 40, but I’m glad I had that foundation set by my mom. That said, I was a very vain young woman, so that definitely beat out what Mom was saying. 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. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where everyone’s blond and blue-eyed. 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 know there’s a stereotype that Asian ladies do their nails and have perfect skin. I was lucky to be raised by a mom who was anti-vanity. 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. 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. When I talked to Ling Ling, that was one of the first things I said.Īll 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. Some of the interactions reminded me of one of my favorite series of books, the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante. either this patina of niceness or total bitchiness. I haven’t seen female characters very accurately portrayed, particularly when depicting their friendships. The female characters especially drew me in. 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 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. 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. “So much of our cutting-edge science is being used to subjugate women’s bodies, making sure that we adhere to societal values, which is very interesting,” Huang says. It quickly veers into subversive horror, turning into a cautionary tale on societal themes we’re currently seeing IRL: rigid beauty standards, cultural appropriation, surveillance culture, and the unending quest for physical perfection. Natural Beauty starts out frothy, offering an enticing dip into how tech could beautify and perfect our bodies and faces in the near future (whale-collagen injections, plumping gloss from Japanese pit viper venom, etc.). A television series based on the book is currently in the works, produced by actor Constance Wu along with Creative Engine and Entertainment One, producers of Yellowjackets. It’s set in Holistik, a luxe Goop-y mecca that peddles trailblazing beauty/wellness products. “Figuring out why I have visible pores and things that are totally normal started becoming exhausting, and that’s when I realized I should take a closer look at why I’ve just accepted all of this as work I need to do.” That awakening planted the seed that ultimately birthed Natural Beauty, her absorbing debut novel out today. However spending more time in that space eventually led to disillusionment. Ling Ling Huang, the Grammy-winning classical violinist, briefly worked in the wellness and clean-beauty industry, during which time she really “drank the Kool-Aid.” “I was using so many different things and found the research that goes into ingredients and products fascinating,” she says.
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