為什么中國女性如此熱愛自拍修圖？
Why Chinese women are using 'plastic surgery' apps to whiten their skin
Chinese girls were taking selfies way before the West had even heard of them – and probably even before the word 'selfie' had been invented in English.
在西方國家的人們還沒聽說"自拍"這個詞的時候,中國女孩就已經開始玩自拍了,甚至在還不存在"自拍"（selfie）這個單詞的時候就已經開始了.
And so, while the world embraces the selfie revolution – young Chinese women are again one step ahead, editing their pictures in a way the rest of us can only imagine.
之后,當世界開始"自拍革命"的時候——中國年輕女性又領先一步,用我們只能靠想像的方式,開始編輯她們的自拍照.
We're not talking about adding a few flattering filters on Instagram here. The augmentation of facial features – using phone apps such as Meitu Xiu Xiu – is becoming so widespread and powerful in China that it's become fashionable to say online that they work better than plastic surgery.
這里所說的圖片編輯不只是在Instagram上添加一些好看的濾鏡那么簡單.調整面部特征——使用手機應用程序,如美圖秀秀——在中國變得如此的普遍和有影響力,網上盛傳這比整形手術還管用.
These hugely successful, homegrown photo editing apps specifically target two distinct psychologies of Chinese women: the unabashed posting of selfies (often a whole series of close-up pictures with different expressions) and the desire to look whiter than they really are.
這些極其成功的國產照片處理應用專門針對中國女性的兩大明顯的心理特征：一是可以隨心所欲地曬自拍（通常是一系列的特寫照片,只有表情不同）；二是希望自己看起來比實際更膚白貌美.
Such apps play to Chinese women's fantasies of achieving a 'Westernised' aesthetic - whiter skin and bigger eyes.
這類應用也使中國女性實現了她們所追求的"西化"的審美觀——皮膚白皙、大眼睛.
Photo enhancements are nothing new, of course and Photoshop has been readily available for a long time. But simple-to-use photo-editing apps, which create the same effect as Photoshop on your phone, are a relatively new invention.
當然,美化照片并不是什么新技術,Photoshop這樣的圖片處理軟件我們已經使用了很久.相對而言,操作簡易、功能與Photoshop相似的手機應用軟件卻是一個新發明.
In China at least, the phenomenon has become an integral part of the online culture. Most of my female friends edit their faces before posting pictures on social media – it's a must-do, ingrained step.
至少在中國,這種現象已經成為網絡文化的一個必不可少的組成部分.我的大多數女性朋友在社交媒體發布照片之前一定會先美化這些照片,這已經成為發照片的"必經之路",成為一個根深蒂固的習慣.
This is more than a digital 'touch up' – the likes of which are growing more popular in the Western world, too. Such apps play to Chinese women's fantasies of achieving a more refined––or more 'Westernised'––aesthetic that specifically lies in having a more streamlined facial contour, whiter skin and bigger eyes.
