Freckled Tanned Chinese Pop Star is Challenging Beauty Standards

Source:scmp.com

Dubbed China’s Beyoncé, pop star Naomi Wang Ju boasts physical traits that are unusual for female pop stardom in Asia. Her tanned, freckled skin and stout legs are worlds apart from the cookie-cutter look of China pop princesses, with their slim, shapely thighs and porcelain white skin.

Her meteoric rise to pop stardom, following her appearance on the reality TV show Produce 101, was unexpected. Broadcast last year, the hit show selected 11 out of 101 girls to form the pop band Rocket Girls 101 after three months of gruelling practice. The 26-year-old stood out among the sea of younger girls with angelic faces and lithe frames.

At one point in the show she received the second highest number of votes from the audience and got the chance to perform in the final. But ultimately she was not among the 11 girls chosen for the band.

Following her first appearance on the show in April last year, she was calleddama, or “old auntie”, for being older than most of her rivals. She was mocked online for being “chunky” and “dark-skinned”. But despite failing to secure a place in the pop band, she managed to sway public opinion to her side and carve out a glittering showbiz career after the show.

Wang’s nickname at school was “Big Sister Ju”. Photo: Simon Song

Last year, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper called her “a cultural phenomenon worthy of attention”.

China’s LGBT community has also sung her praises; Lesdo, a WeChat account for lesbians, has actively shown their support for her, while Danlan, a sexual minority group, wrote: “Everything Wang Ju has been through, we gays have been through.”

Wang, an arts education graduate from Shanghai, says she disagrees with China’s uniform standards of female beauty.

“I think I am beautiful. I don’t agree only people with white skin, small faces and thin bodies are beautiful. Otherwise, everybody will have surgery to get the same face, which is meaningless,” she says.

“I have met many people of both sexes who have their own traits. They are more special and better-looking than uniform-looking people.”

Wang worked a number of jobs before betting into show business, including assistant at a talent agency. Photo: Simon Song

But her view is not shared by everyone in China. International fashion brandZara was recently attacked in the country for using top Chinese model Li Jingwen in a lipstick commercial and not covering up her freckles. People online accused the company of “uglifying China” by depicting Li with little make-up and her freckles clearly visible.

Wang says she loves her freckles.

“[Western people] see facial flaws like freckles as a manifestation of self. They won’t airbrush them out in pictures. It’s about how people see their so-called body flaws. In the West there are famous models afflicted with vitiligo [a chronic skin condition characterised by white patches on the skin]. The key is to treat your own [physical] flaws as traits, instead of flaws. Such an attitude is endearing. I think my freckles are lovely.”

She says at school her nickname was “Big Sister Ju” and that her classmates saw her as a towering figure with a loud voice and energetic spirit.

“I was not like ordinary [Chinese] schoolgirls who stay quiet in class. I expressed my opinions,” she says.

Besides redefining the traditional Chinese sense of female beauty, Wang has also become an icon of female independence and strength. Young Chinese girls look up to her as a role model who persevered in chasing her dreams against the odds.

Before joining Produce 101, I had already expected people’s negative reaction due to my image. I was [mentally] prepared for it    Naomi Wang Ju

Before getting into show business she worked a number of jobs, including fashion saleswoman, primary school teacher and dance instructor. It was while working as an assistant at a talent agency that she came across a notice recruiting contestants for Produce 101. She signed up for the contest together with several models from the agency and was accepted onto the show.

“The contestants lived together for three months, cut off from the outside world. Four people stayed in a room. We woke up and ate breakfast together and practised in the afternoon. It was like going back to school,” she says.

“I always love performing. I want to pursue acting. I need a stage to express myself. Before joining the competition, I had already expected people’s negative reaction due to my image. I was [mentally] prepared for it. I can’t control what others think. But I won’t be defined by what others say. As I know the online comments do not show the real me, I won’t take them to heart.”

She adds that before joining Produce 101 she also had to overcome her parents’ objections – both for their views on show business and because she had to take unpaid leave from her job for three months.

“They didn’t know what the show was about. When I was a child I took classes in dancing and entertainment and when directors came to the entertainment class looking for child actors, I was always selected. But my mom was afraid that making movies so young would adversely affect my development, so she didn’t let me pursue it. She thought that as our family did not have any connections, no one could help me pursue this path and it would be very difficult for me to do it on my own. She saw my goal as a pipe dream.”

Wang has released two singles so far. Photo: Simon Song

After her appearance on Produce 101 she was approached by a number of advertising agencies and variety show organisers for work. Last year, on the popular debate show Qipa Shuo and talk show Roast, she wowed audiences with her public speaking skills.

She says she loves her two singles so far – Work for Me and Te Quiero – for their “strong rhythm which makes people want to dance”

Having hit the show business jackpot, and with 2.2 million fans on Chinese social media platform Weibo, she bought a Givenchy bag last year to reward herself.

“When I worked at the talent agency, we brought models to the product launch of the bag where I saw and fell in love with it. I waited until Produce 101 finished to buy it,” she says.

“I have finally attained real financial independence now, which allows me to take care of myself and improve the lives of my family.”