It’s becoming more normal for fashion brands to come under fire for retouching their models, but Zara has received backlash for not retouching a women's face in their recent campaign.
A recent makeup ad for Zara features a fresh-faced and freckled Li Jing Wen, who is known professionally as Jing Wen. Now, Zara has been accused of “uglifying China” by presenting the model’s natural freckles.
Image via Zara
Social media site Weibo saw insults spread with the hashtag “Insult to China.”
“After seeing this ad I have decided I will not buy any products from Zara, not because I think the model is ugly, but because you are discriminating Asians' view of beauty,” wrote Weibo user Moshiwuchang.
It’s rare for Chinese people to have freckles. Instead of finding that Li’s looks are unique, some people took her appearance as an affront.
User EvelynYoung_23 wrote, "I'm sorry, we Asian women don't have freckles. Even if we do, it's a small number of people ... You must have tried very hard to find such a model."
But such comments were in the minority.
Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images
Most users came to Li’s defense, describing her freckles as rare and beautiful.
One user posted, “I feel it’s not the brand discriminating against Asian women, but people discriminating against people with freckles.” Weibo user TheChineseModels posted, “"Every person has different understanding of beauty and we don't have to have the same view of aesthetics, but we need to be open with different faces."
Some users applauded Zara’s lack of retouching. "Li Jingwen is thousands of times more beautiful than those faces that have been retouched," wrote user saxaK. User Amy_xuhu added, "Please don't live in the filters, isn't it good to be real?"
Zara addressed the controversy, standing by their decision to show Li as she is. "The aesthetics of the Spanish people are different," Zara said in a statement. "Our models are all photographed purely, the pictures aren't changed, and they're not modified. "Zara made no attempt to “uglify” their model. "She has always looked like this, her face has not been photoshopped, she was photographed naturally,” said Zara.
Li has modeled for brands such as Prada, Calvin Klein, Chanel, H&M, and Tommy Hilfiger. She has also graced Vogue’s cover in Italy andChina. Li grew up disliking her freckles. The model told Vogue in 2016, "When I was little, I really hated them because normally Asian people don’t have them,’ said Li. “In high school, I always tried to cover them, but now it's ok. I like them, and that's enough."
Chinese daily GlobalTimes called Li’s freckles “iconic,” and we would have to agree. There is beauty in imperfection. It’s great that Zara chose to present a model as she is, rather than retouching her to fit beauty standards.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."