How best to comfort Olympic singer Yang Peiyi?

News broke this morning that Lin Miaoke, the cute nine-year-old whose rendition of a Chinese revolutionary song warmed the hearts of the estimated one billion watching the Olympic opening ceremony, was lip-synching to a recording of another child.

The actual singer, seven-year-old Yang Peiyi (above left), apparently has slightly overcrowded teeth and officials decided that her appearance would let China down on such a momentous occasion.

It's likely that neither child realised there was anything special, or awful about their teeth, until it was pointed out to them by the global media. There is now a mother somewhere in China having to explain this 'scandal' to her seven-year-old and minimise the potential damage to her self esteem. 

On a much smaller scale, this is the kind of drama that regularly turns up here in school plays, carol concerts and bouquet presentations. China is hardly alone in being image-conscious, and we could say that the beauty/celebrity obsessed West has some responsibility to bear here.

Girls are being made aware of their cuteness or lack of it at a younger and younger age. If yours belongs in the latter group, how do you make sure she doesn't grow up feeling second best?

Comments

[lang860]

A picture of Yang Peiyi and Lin Miaoke together outside of the Bird’s Nest can be viewed in the blog below. The comments are also interesting.

http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/08/21/yang-peiyi-and-lin-miaoke-outside-of-the-birds-nest/

[lang860]

@Lucia

Lip-sync did happen. I am not trying to defend it. But please allow me to quote a comment from TommyBahamas at the foolsmountain blog: "I am certain Yang Peiyi, Lin Miaoke, Lei Cixin are scratching their heads wondering why silly grown-ups are complaining about a perfect show. Now, that’s something these girls need to be shielded from - stupidity."

The Times reporter was one of the first, if not the first to invent or copy the narrative "uglynish", "crooked teeth" to sensationalize the issue. They also got some other facts wrong.

All reports about the lip-sync incident were directly or indirectly based on the interview with the music director Chen Qigang. Chen never said or implied Yang Peiyi was not pretty. Remember, she was among the three finalists selected from 1000 or so pretty kids. Chen also said an official and OTHER reviewers commented on the rehearsal of Lin Miaoke and said Lin's voice was inadequate, which confirmed the director's concern.

Did they tell Lin face-to-face her voice was inadequate? I do not know. But it is unlikely.

In the Times report, the story changed: an official watched Yang and said she must be replaced by Lin because of her looks. I doubt the Times reporters checked what Chen Qigang really said.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the video of the interview and the English transcript can be found in this blog and other places on Internet:

http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/08/13/the-cruelest-insults/

[Lucia]

I'm appalled by these news. And come on, would anyone believe for a minute that the words Yang Peiyi said came from her own invention? she had obviously been told what to say. Children can do that: pretend they're OK and dignified, and then go home and cry.

The worst of it is, the original singer *is* pretty (and not just in a "let's make you feel better" kind of way, but objectively pretty - even without the grooming Miaoke had for the ceremony) and chances are, the girl who put her face to the world doesn't have a bad singing voice either. And now they have a girl who thinks she's not cute enough, and another one who thinks she's not talented enough. It doesn't matter how did they "treat" them: children know what happens, and it marks them for life.

Good news are they will grow up, and orthodontics and vocal coaches will do their jobs (and maybe some psychologists as well). But they have not only been taught looks matters, or they are not "___" enough, they have also been taught deception is a valid strategy.

Yes, it's also happened in the western world, but not in this way. It's always happened to consenting adults who receive large sums of money - and it's not to say it's right. But the fact that "we also do it" is too weak of an argument in my opinion. In China, it was the *government* who decided to pull this trick involving two beautiful children who are now subject to public scrutiny, as if they were the guilty ones - I've seen comments referring to Peiyi as "uglyish", and to Miaoke as "that painted w--re".

[Lang860]

You can find links to the video of Chen's interview, the English transcript, the scan of the official program guide here:

http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/08/13/the-cruelest-insults/
http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/08/12/an-imperfect-perfection/
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20080815_1.htm

Quote from the foolsmountain blog:
"The appropriateness of having Lin Miaoke performing whiling playing Yang Peiyi’s recording is of course debatable. But I now fault the organizers a bit less than I did initially because the new information suggests that these girls were not treated in the way I feared. I am still concerned for their psychological well being, but that’s largely because of those journalists who seem so eager reminding Yang Peiyi that she was perceived “ugly” and calling Lin Miaoke a fake."

[Lang860]

After watching the original video of the interview with the music director Chen Qigang, on which the report was based, I noticed that there was something ADDED in translation by the reporters.

Chen never said "Chubby-cheeked with crooked teeth" or anything bad about Yang Peiyi. Actually Yang was among 10 finalists selected from a thousand or so pretty kids.

An official commented on the rehearsal of Lin Miaoke, NOT of Yang Peiyi. This detail is subtle but important. The Times reporters probably did not watched the original interview, which is available on Internet.

One more thing missing in the Times report is that the names of both girls were listed in the official program guide of the opening ceremony as a performers A and B. I guess the original plan was that if one girl was not available (e.g. illness), the other girl would perform. So both girls were given credits and they should have known that only one could be chosen to perform. Now both girls performed, was it a better solution? I do not know.

If you would like to see the video, or the English transcript, or the scan of the program guide, please google foolsmountain blog. I guess URL is not allowed here. This story was also covered in the well-respected blog ESWN(zonaeuropa). It is understandable that reporters tend to twist facts to sensationalize. Certainly you can have your opinion about lip-sync, but please examine the whole event carefully. Thanks.

[LM]

Wow, well this blog post really brought out the extremists didn't it? Who would have thought that China switching a 9-yr-old for a 7-yr-old would be so much more incendiary/important to discuss than the government's latest own goal over childhood obesity?

Oh wait, it's the era of the media soundbite and shallow marketing-speak. Of course this is more important than a substantive discussion about public policy. How silly of me to forget.

[Angie]

Sure, lipsynch is everywhere, we know. We also know that sure, China was just trying their best. Sure. That's fine. HOWEVER.
Did they not think what affect this will do to the children? Okay, so they might not be sure of it right now, but what about when they get older? Such shame was put on them, and all this unwanted attention. ... and it wasn't even their fault. It was a good show, but if you ask me, that was quite a bad trick to do to two innocent children, who are yet too young to realize that the government was exploiting their honour.

[Jinna .B.Yao]

I was terriblly angry at Chinese so call Great Director of Zhang Yimou , he is with very sick mind all the time , the same as this time . He is a puppy of the Gov. of China with a big urgly face and urgly mind as well . HE should out of the Game by his standard to choose the Artists/Artreeses on the stage !

[mom from philippines]

To the organizer of Olympics 08,

do you know what exactly means being an educated but not cultured? i was really astonished with how you organized the event it was spectacular, you have such a very creative minds but then this instance really disappoint the whole world. u have great minds but have a less heart over the two children that you used just to feed your fantasy of beauty... if you only have enough brains just to understand that beauty does not only comes from the outer attributes i just hope that you could have a broad mind to actually realized what the whole world is trying to say to you.. LET YANG PEIYI perform on stage or let the world tagged you as CHINA the best CHEATER...

[Stogie Bear]

The Olympics is a media showcase for the country. It's stage managed like a boy band concert and has about the same lifespan. As in all aspects of life (yes even the sanctimonious West) it's the pretty and handsome ones who get the prize. Sorry if you are fat or ugly but that's life. Sorry if you have low self esteem, get therapy for it. Sorry if your 'opportunities' are lessened because you aren't perfect - try litigation. Personally, I liked watching the pretty one sing. Very cute. I wouldn't have cared tuppence if the ugly one had sung either. If the Olympics was all about 'taking part' then the ugly one wouldn't care anyway. What a non story!

[YANG PEIYI'S #1 FAN!!!]

THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE FAIL TO REALIZE... MAYBE SHE ISN'T THE PRETTIEST BUT OBVIOUSLY SHE WILL GROW OUT OF IT... THAT REALLY ISN'T THE CASE AT THIS POINT... THIS HUMAN BEING HAS DREAMS AND WAS CRUSHED THE MOMENT SHE WAS TOLD THAT SHE WASN'T PRETTY ENOUGH TO REPPRESENT CHINA TO THE WORLD... IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE LOOKS AND OBVIOUSLY CHINA HAS NOT GOT THAT MESSAGE YET... OKAY, IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE!!! SHE IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED IN FRONT OF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE BUT WHAT CHINA FAILS TO REALIZE IS THAT, WHEN THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL COMES OUT EVERYONE EXPECTS THE WHOLE NINE YARDS AND WHEN SHE DOES COME OUT, THERE WILL BE MIS-JUDGEMENTS ABOUT HER LOOKS... NO DOUBT!!! THAT'S ALWAYS THE CASE WITH MODELS NOW-A-DAYS... BUT, WHEN THEY DO HEAR WHAT COMES OUT OF THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE PERSON, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S WHEN THE LOOKS DON'T BECOME AN ISSUE... NOW, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT CHINA IS FAKE AND ARE JUDGEMENTAL PEOPLE... EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OPINIONS, BUT WHEN SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL COMES OUT OF A PERSON... NOTHING BUT GOOD COMMENTS COME ABOUT!!! SO A LITTLE ADVICE FOR PEOPLE... PEOPLE IN THE OLYMPICS DON'T PLAY BECAUSE OF LOOKS!!! THEY PLAY BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNIQUE TALENTS THAT OTHERS WILL HAVE TO CHALLENGE TO BE NOTICABLE... SO, WHY COULDN'T WE DO THE SAME FOR THIS TALENTED LITTLE GIRL??? I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS AND TO YANG PEIYI, YOU WILL ALWAYS AND FOREVER BE BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT REGARDLESS IF IT WAS FOR A SCHOOL PLAY OR THE "OLYMPICS"... THE DARK WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO LIGHT AND AT THIS POINT, WE SEE WHAT WAS PRESENTED... SO CONGRATULATIONS AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BECAUSE YOU ARE A ROLE MODEL IN MY EYES AND OTHER'S THAT ARE JUDGED BY THEIR LOOKS! THANKS!

[carol brown]

This is a beautiful talented child who should never have been made to feel less wonderful than she is because of a few teeth! God made each of us unique and talented. She is beautiful with or without any teeth!

[Future mother]

Nothinf is perfect in this world. While we want to comfort Yang peiyi, it might hurt Lin Miaoke as well. The best thing would be to let both of them sing once in the closing ceremony. After all, they are both stars of the future.

[shing wu]

i am really disapointed with you chen i am put yourself in the shoes of the little girl Yang Peiyi.we se no wrong with her her teeth are fine she is growing up one thing you must know that you are cruel chen and selfish you dont deserve to be who you are. and for Yang Peiyi continue you singing my little girl you are the best and as for your mother keep encouraging Yang Peiyi she is the best child to you we love you Yang Peiyi we know its you who sang we are behind you all the way we love you. Chen you are a disgrace to china you have failed us i wonder what goes thru that thick scule of yours even if the olympoics are succesful to us there are still a flop because of your actions.
i am a mother and deeply hurt.

[Kev]

Sucks to you, Chen. Its cool that you wanted a perfect show, but not at the cost of this jumbled mess that has sprung from this.

Milli vanilli didn't pull out of this ok. They got MESSED up.

Nice one, Chen. The outlook of china is more important to you than its people.

I'm ashamed to be chinese, just like i was ashamed of myself for listening to those 1960's song that they stole from the minorities.

[mandi]

I am appauled. I am a singer myself and if my parents ever let this happen to me I would never forgive them. It is sad that they still used her voice and she'll have to grow up knowing that she could have had that shining moment. I don't even think the other girl is much "prettier"...they are both children; cute. Lin Miaoke shouldn't get a free ride off of her looks...she obviously wasn't talented enough to sing herself.

[She isbeautiful]

To Yang Peiyi,

Thank you for your beautiful voice.

I wish we saw your beautiful face when you sang.

With love,
A mother

[meg]

how fantastically sanctimonious from the blog that ripped the p*ss out of madonna's daughter's monobrow!

[Jeana]

And i though the U.S. Was shallow? This is so rude, and China wanted to make the perfect impression when all they left was a glimpse of how obsessed they are with looks. This doesn't send out a good message to young girls.

[mumoftwo]

I'm not sure if girls are being made aware of their image at a younger and younger age, I was pretty aware aged 5/6 back in the seventies that I wasn't the classic 'cute' little girl with blonde hair (and I had a relation who was...) Girls who fitted this model were more popular and had the boys after them, even in a fairly innocent way from the top of primary school...Sadly, MM, no amount of over-effusive praise of my looks from my parents and grandparents made me feel any better (that's not to say I don't think you should praise your child, just that it is limited in how much it can boost their self-esteem, as you know from very early on that your parents are biased and it is your impression to the outside world that troubles you). I think encouraging your child to have skills and hobbies (old-fashioned but you can get a lot out of them) which don't depend on looks is the obvious way to go. I still worry about my appearance now, though, so it is not just something for childhood; you can't just be a mummy now, you have to be a yummy mummy which is why several of my friends are considering plastic surgery (tummy tucks, botox etc) when in fact they all look great for women in their late-thirties who have had children.

[/a/non]

"until it was pointed out to them by the global media."

With emphasis on global media, seeing as this teeth thing was something that the global media came up with, and not something the producers actually said. Anyway, from what I recall they didn't even consider Yang singing until after they had noticed that Lins singing wasn't good enough. First and foremost, they were looking for cuteness, which is why Lin was chosen.

[bebeci]

I do not blame the chinese. It is in their culture to be judgmental. Every time i go to china they talk about my weight and my physical attributes. They are a culture that teaches people about being humble, and to look out for the greater good, not themselves. They are taught about community and not individualism.
Although it is a humiliation, i often blame western culture.
everyone can be blamed. think about celebrities who wish to change their physical features to look like one person, and to change another feature to look like another. people always say '"i wish i look like so and so."
i feel sorry for the young singer, and the lipsyncer. but its the world mentality that needs to change, not just chinas.

bebeci
p.s i use to look like the singer when i was younger, and today i am a swan. i pray for both these girls and all girls today that the worlds image of beauty changes.

[Veronica Garrett]

Shame on the Chinese!

[First timer]

I agree a bit of honesty is important. If a child/teenager raises concerns about an aspect of their looks, 'oh no you look lovely' and 'just focus on having a nice personality' are equally unhelpful responses. So I guess my response to the little girl with crooked teeth would be to point out that they give her face character and make her look cute and friendly, and anyway she has beautiful hair and eyes which would be the first thing anyone would notice about her.

[wonderwench]

Am someone who did not blossom until sixth form/University, I don't actually remember my parents saying that I was unattractive/beautiful/indifferent. However, I do remember feeling gauche, socially awkward and unhappy as a teenager and young adult. I am now mother to a stunning three-year old daughter. (Clearly the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!), myself and my husband take great pains to get her to focus on the non-superficial positives of people; kindness, friendliness and generousity.