From historical notions of beauty to the racial segregation at Woody's, colorful conversation flew last night at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center.
As part of the Office of Health Education's Body Image Week, Queer People of Color hosted an event last night called "Who's Sexy: Plastic Surgery & Race," which focused on how issues of body image vary across races and sexuality.
QPOC "deals with issues of mutual exclusivity of the LGBT community and people of color," explained co-chair and College junior Terrence Green. "We try to reach out to people of color who aren't queer and queer people who aren't of color."
During the event, students watched a clip of 200 Pounds Beauty, a South Korean movie about a heavy-set woman who seeks approval from her love interest by getting drastic plastic surgery.
The movie was a springboard to facilitate discussion about racial, sexual and social issues.
Students honed in on a scene where the protagonist asks for Kate-Moss-esque cheekbones and opts for "double-lid surgery," a popular cosmetic surgery among Asians.
A clip from The Tyra Banks Show was also shown to further demonstrate how Western-European aesthetic standards of beauty affect people all over the world.
The scene showed how the double eyelid surgery gives Asian men and women an eye-lid crease reminiscent of Caucasian features. Tapes and glues are also used as a temporary means to create the desired look.
Banks said the surgery is an act of "racial-tweaking," and students debated the point.
Students also talked about the effect of the spectrum of stereotypes placed on queers across the world.
They discussed how gay stereotypes differ from country to country. In America in particular, gays are typecast as white, buff and wealthy, but this standard doesn't apply in other parts of the world or among QPOC members.
Alex Kington, a sophomore in the College, said she enjoyed the event, and liked that QPOC used a film as the basis for discussion.
"Plastic surgery is an interesting way to show the female aesthetic of beauty," she said.
QPOC has bi-weekly discussions like "Who's Sexy." They also host lectures and events in collaboration with many student groups.
