The notion of Westernization has sparked some criticism in the Asian American community. Authors Maxine Hong Kingston and David Mura are uncomfortable with the popularity of the surgery, and believe that altering eyes, features by which Asians are so easily identified, is an attempt to conceal or deny Asian heritage and conform to mainstream American beauty ideals. It really indicates something about the way in which Asians in America are indoctrinated by white standards of beauty. They feel less beautiful than those who fit the Caucasian standard of beauty. The main reason for that, Mura says, is the low representation of Asians in the media.
People grow up watching the media, which is where people are beautiful and powerful.
You see very few Asian faces. He believes the American media also account for much of the surgery's popularity in Asia. Asian Americans who disagree with Mura's interpretation often point out that a large percentage of Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese are born with creased eyelids, although they certainly tend to be shaped differently than those of, say, Caucasians. In fact, in some regions, such as in southern China, as many as 70 percent are born with them. In addition, double-eyelid surgery is enormously popular in Asia, and has been considered attractive since well before the infiltration of Western media.