‘I’m considered huge in Hong Kong’: how being a plus-size model in Asia is very different than in the rest of the world

Representations of plus-size body types are a rarity in Asian countries, where traditional standards of beauty are still the norm and inclusiveness is ignored

Giving more visibility to plus-size models who are challenging these negative trends is the only way to change current double standards and stereotypes

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Asian plus-size models appear in the Thique Clique project by Malaysian photographer Catherhea Potjanaporn.

Published: 7:45am, 21 Aug 2021Updated: 8:20am, 30 Aug 2021

Bertha Chan is a regular at plus-size fashion shows. From her native Hong Kong to Norway, this advocate for self-love has travelled the world to attend the events of a community she considers herself part of. But one of her trips to the United States exposed an unexpected problem.

Chan’s American friends refused to acknowledge her as part of the plus-size community. To them, she was “curvy”, “chubby”, but not big enough to claim the title of “plus-size”, she explained.

“I’m smaller than them, so they put me in another category,” Chan says. “But I struggle the same as they do, just in a different culture. I’m considered huge in Hong Kong.”

Despite the growth of body acceptance and inclusivity movements, some stereotypes remain – and it’s because plus-size Asians are not given enough visibility. “When Western plus-size models reject us, it’s perpetuating the false stereotype that all Asian women are petite. It’s pure hypocrisy,” says Jemma Park, a singer and plus-size model from South Korea.

Hong Kong plus-size model Bertha Chan. Photo: Jennifer Tang

As a large woman, Park has difficulties being recognised as a model locally. In a country where medium size is almost nonexistent in apparel stores, finding contracts to advertise larger ones is even rarer. “South Korea’s beauty standards are so rigid that I’m considered an outsider, just because of my weight.”

Park implied that appearances rule social integration in the country. School bullying and discrimination in the job market sadly became an expectation for people who “do not fit in”.