Two recent obsessions of the Chinese media – plastic surgery and beauty pageants – have come together:
A young woman named Yang Yuan was thrown out of the Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant after the organizers discovered she had had cosmetic surgery. Media coverage ensued, and the organizers re-invited Yang Yuan to take part. She tore up the invitation resulting in more media buzz, (covered on Danwei here).
Now Yang Yuan is in the news again. On June 1, the Beijing Morning Post reported that the organizers of Miss Intercontinental are now considering arranging a beauty pageant especially for women who have had plastic surgery. In the article, Yang Yuan thanked the organizers (pictured). But yesterday’s Morning Post reported that Yang Yuan is planning to sue the Miss Intercontinental organizers for damage to her reputation.
For more on plastic surgery, have a look at this Danwei article on ‘artificial beauty’ Hao Lulu.
For more on beauty pageants, have a look at this Xinhua photo collection of Miss Australia, who was crowned Miss Universe on the first of June. It’s good to see Xinhua keeping up journalistic standards.