Are Singaporean Chinese the ‘least attractive’? Viral image ignites debate

A widely shared image on social media depicting colour sketches of men from different regions in China has ignited debate on the physical appearance of Singaporean Chinese based on their ancestry, with online users concluding they are the least attractive of the gene pool.

But psychotherapists say perceptions of beauty might be warped by media and celebrity culture, warning against the normalisation of conversations centred on physical appearance.

The discussion was prompted by drawings of male faces from China’s northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast and Xinjiang regions, which went viral on social media this week and racked up millions of views.

The original source of the image and its artist are still unknown.

In the depictions, the male face from southeastern China is shown to have a rounder nose, protruding jaw and a face less angular than his counterparts.

Some online users – many of whom claimed to be Singaporean – said the artist’s impression was representative of the unattractiveness of ethnic Chinese people in the city state, noting how the archetype paled in comparison with others of the same ethnicity in different regions.