A new kind of swimwear trend is sweeping the Chinese beaches in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province. As the weather get hotter, both men and women are seen appearing on the beaches wearing full body suits that cover from head to toe. The upper part of the swimsuit has a ski-mask with holes cut out at appropriate places to leave the eyes, nose and mouth exposed, giving the wearer an odd Lucha libre look. The Netizens are calling the swimwear "face-kinis”
The mask are a way for Chinese bathers to protect their skin from the sunburn, but it turns out that they are equally handy at repelling insects and jellyfish.
Unlike in western culture, women in Asian countries don’t like to get a tan particularly in the face. Tan is often seen as a connection to outdoor work and peasantry who toil in the sun. Fair skin, on the other hand, is associated with aristocracy and seen as a sign of feminine beauty unscathed by the indignities of manual labor. Preserving one's pale skin, which is an obsession across Asia, is encouraged in many Asian culture and cosmetic products that caters to this belief is a booming industry. Drugstore shelves across Asia bulge with rows of creams and cosmetic that promises natural-looking fair hue.
Facekinis started as a do-it-yourself garment that women made at home using scraps of fabric and a sewing machine, but now they can be found at swimwear shops for 15 to 25 yuan ($2.40 to $4.00) each.
[via NYTimes]
No need to worry about unwelcome male pursuit at these beaches!
ReplyDeleteWhy not just use sunblock or a hat and not look like a complete ass..
ReplyDeleteSunblock lotion only effective for about an hour. Don't last long. Too much trouble to put it on all the time. Sunblock lotion does not give a pleasant feeling to skin. I personally hate sunblock lotion. I go hiking a lot. I feel sticky to have sunblock on my face after I swear. I just wear UPF long sleeves shirts and long pants to go hiking. More effective than sunblock.
DeleteSunblock only blocks UV rays. You are still going to get a tan from sitting in the sun. I am Asian and I thought if I wore sunblock, I wouldn't get a tan. Nope, it turned out that I was wrong!
Deletei'm asian too, i would get a tan only if i use SPF under 30, anything higher, i won't get a tan. think chinese people don't like their skin getting dark.
DeleteSun tan is from UV rays. If you use sunscreen and you still get a tan, you either not using it properly (not reapplying) or not using the right suncreen. UV-A gives you the tan. Most sunscreen and the SPF number are for blocking UV-B only. You need a sunscreen that blocks both UV-A and UV-B.
DeleteYes...everyone knows how sunblock works......the point is this facekini thing looks incredibly stupid and is uneccesary. If you're so concerned about the face of this individual then why do they have the rest of their bodies exposed?? Know it all....
DeleteAnonymous 1: How many times can you use "I" in one paragraph?? Lame..
Delete:D dork
ReplyDeleteSo.....us Americans are the fatties? Looks like the asians are just as unhealthy lol
ReplyDeleteno just the Chinese
Deletepeople who cared about their looks won't put that mask on... common sense.
DeleteLol fat? Those asian women pictured are all in their 50-70s (except for the one mom who does not seem fat at all). A lot of Americans are STILL fatties in comparison...
Deletehow do you know how old they are? you cant see them -.-
DeleteThis article has nothing to do with body image. Why in the world would you feel the need to bring it up.
DeleteBecause that's all the world cares about these days.
DeleteNo one even come close to catching up w the americans, you have to buy mutiple seats to fly for the love of god,
DeleteThere are fat people all over the world. No need to bag on Asians.
DeleteAre they fatties? Then How about Americans? I have seen double size Americans everywhere..
DeleteAnd this thread is now completely off topic with "I hate fat people" comments... because there is nothing better to do on the internet for the people posting above.
DeleteCertainly beats sunglasses in the papparazzi nuisance dept...
ReplyDeleteMichael Jackson would have LOVED this!
ReplyDeleteGreat place for a wanted killer to hide!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Chinese are getting fatter now that they all have cars! But in Japan where most people use the subway & trains and walk in between, everybody is still fit. I went there in August 2001 with 2 heavy friends. I was considered normal (here at 5'6 & 106lbs everybody tells me to eat when I'm already downing food all day...), and my friends got stared at openly! Someone even told me to help them lose weight before they die of a heart attack! Needless to say, I didn't translate that... But it's interesting that the Japanese make no fun, they are actually concerned instead.
ReplyDelete'the Chinese are getting fatter now that they all have cars!'
DeleteYou think to think before you talk.
If what you say is true, then the pop of China is 1,344,130,000, let's be fair and say every 4 persons owns a car, that's 336 million cars JUST for private use(that's 5 times more than the TOTAL number of cars in the USA), excluding the public transport, company owned cars, trucks for delivering intermodal containers, etc.
So yes, you are a f---ing retard.
There are many factors that contribute to weight gain including the increasing number of North American fast food joints opening up in countries that have not been exposed to it in the past.
Deletedude, 5'6 and 106lbs is really really skinny.... if u were my gf I'd encourage you to eat tons of cake and shit(jk, healthy food). You might have problems having kids if you're underweight.
DeleteJust because she is 5'6 and 106lbs doesn't make her unhealthy. I am the same size only I weigh 110lbs and I am perfectly healthy with a perfectly fine menstrual cycle. Just because you are thin doesn't mean you will have problems conceiving, some people are just naturally thin :)
DeleteNot so much a car problem, but wealth related. Understand that historically, China's masses had a nutrition problem (among other challenges) in large part driven by wealth levels. The well-to-do were "normal" sized while the less fortunate were thin (and probably healthier). Increased wealth = increased consumption = increased size. My dad was teased by his older relatives for not doing well--my mom is tiny by nature. And those of us born in the US often chuckle about the standard phone greeting from our grandparents: "Did you eat yet?"
DeleteFunny G<><>ks
ReplyDeleteThat's Vietnamese retard...
DeleteActually Gooks comes from Korean. "Waygook" means Foreigner. Whats ironic is how it turned into a derogatory name given to Asians when the real "Gooks" are white people! haha
Deleteactually thats koreans.....
DeleteIf you ate bugs too, your skins will become like this.
ReplyDeleteThat's Thai retard....
DeleteActually Koreans and Chinese also eat bugs. Be careful that you know all your facts before you start calling people names.
DeleteReally hope they don't bring this into Hong Kong!!!!
ReplyDeleteObviously fake as no one in the background has got them on!
ReplyDeleteJust don't go to the beach. No sun stay at home.
ReplyDeleteagree! just stay out of the sun! what's the point of getting out.
DeleteOh man, those non-white people sure are wacky!!!11
ReplyDeleteI don't believe these pictures were taken on the earth. They must be brought from the outer space, they are obviously aliens!
ReplyDeleteThey will have tanned marks on the eyes, nose and mouth after removing the mask.....heee..looking more weird....
ReplyDeleteJust to avoid getting their brown paper bags wet.
ReplyDeleteI can't help laughing when I see this :-) :-)
ReplyDeleteIs that raw sewage they're swimming in?
ReplyDeleteWait until the mask comes off.....it will look like they have three ass holes on their face! Hahahhahahahha!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey guys, so yeah this article and everyone's talking about tanning/not tanning with respects to looks/beauty/etc, but lets look at it another way: tanning is retarded because it needlessly increases skin cancer risk. Want your vitamin D conversion? you don't need to tan to do that dumb dumb. Anyways, thats all.
ReplyDelete-a Chinese-ass mothaf**ka
http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/tanning/is-a-tan-ever-a-good-thing
ReplyDeletedid anyone else happen to notice the little kid with her chonies half way to the ground in the last pic?
ReplyDeleteTo each his own. Not sure what the big deal is.
ReplyDeleteHuh? Because it's so much more socially acceptable to look like a common, bank robbing, criminal or S&M slave than a bronzed goddess "peasant" with an awesome tan.
ReplyDeleteI mean.... bring out the gimp!
45+ sunblock, applied once every few hours. dermatologist checkups every 6 months or immediately if something looks odd. get it together people.
Garret, 45+ sunblock, right on, you've got life figured out brotha.
Deletehttp://www.skincancer.org/prevention/tanning/is-a-tan-ever-a-good-thing
Ok nvm, you're an idiot dumbo, hahahahah.
You guys made a mistake. This is the Super Hero Beach!
ReplyDeleteYou are idiots, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteI saw sth similar in Korea, was amazed...but true, many Asians still consider pale skin "beauty", Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, but a lot of the younger generation appreciate healthy tan so I say its a pretty gd balance
ReplyDelete"healthy tan", hahaha, you're such an idiot.
Deletehttp://www.skincancer.org/prevention/tanning/is-a-tan-ever-a-good-thing
does anyone notice the last picture with the woman with an animal print swim suit, why is the little girl in the back naked with her panties at her knees?
ReplyDeletejust be done with it and put a big bloody roof over the beaches
ReplyDeleteIn Asia a pale white skin indicates that one does not have to work in the fields under a broiling sun that tans your skin deep brown.It is a status symbol!
ReplyDeletePussy Riot invading Chinese beaches!
ReplyDeleteI said before that Chinese people were aliens but no one believed me :(
ReplyDeleteLooks like a pro wrestling tryout camp...
ReplyDeleteI see this in a variety of ways. From someone who burns because of being light-skinned, I see why this is being done. However, it's pointless of the entire body isn't protected. I wouldn't want to sweat to death. Additionally, with the horror in the world, I think this would be too scary to be around because you have no idea who's around at that point by being all covered up like that. I vote sunblock, hats amd sunglasses!
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with all the water wings?
ReplyDeleteWhy not just wear a hat?
ReplyDelete