Beauty standards are engrained in women throughout their lives, and they heavily influence us all. In order to follow them, women have to sometimes undergo plastic surgery, skin bleaching, foot binding, neck rings, hair removal, makeup, wig installations, teeth lacquering, tanning, corsetry, and many more procedures. The heroine we’re featuring today, Mia Kang, went in a completely different direction: she looked right into the face of her insecurities and challenged the beauty labels that were put on her by the beauty industry.
Here at Bright Side, we’d love for you to take a look at how Mia Kang literally won the battle with herself while ditching false beliefs about what real beauty looks like. We believe any woman can find a small dose of inspiration from Mia’s story.
Life started teaching lessons to Mia at an early age.
Mia grew up in Hong Kong, which is where she learned more about her view on life. First of all, she believed in working hard, as Hong Kong has always been a busy place with the spirit of success floating in the air. The city is also full of people from all over the world, so growing up there taught the young girl to be open-minded and inquisitive. Things like being multicultural became absolutely normal for her at an early age.
Aside from that, Mia now wishes she could go back in time and say a few words to her 13-year-old self. When she looks back, the only thing she regrets not doing is celebrating her traits. She would say to herself, “Don’t waste your energy trying to fit in. It’s okay to be different. You’re unique.”
Modeling life came with a huge challenge.
Since she started modeling at the age of 13, Mia has struggled a lot. She always tried to conform to fashion standards and be a size 2 or smaller. Because of this wish to keep up with the beauty labels, Mia went “through every eating disorder you can imagine,” including but not limited to anorexia, bulimia, using laxatives, and different supplements.
Mia confessed that she was obsessed with her weight. “I was obsessed with my collarbones, ribs and hip bones showing.” She also devoted her life to a diet. She says, “My life revolved around green juice, kale, and as much exercise as I could squeeze into a day because I thought that was ’healthy’.”
But finally, there was a lucky chance for her that really changed her life and mind. She went on vacation to Thailand and discovered Muay Thai, which is a sport meant mainly for men. It’s hard to imagine a model doing a tough sport like boxing, but Mia was able to break stereotypes, even here.
