Asian Americans voice their opinions as #Foxeye takes over social media

By Emma Clark ‘21

The “Fox Eye” makeup trend has taken over social media with mixed reviews as some Asian Americans deem the trend as cultural appropriation while others see it as innocent.

The beauty trend – which sought to achieve elongated, slanted eyes – took the internet by storm earlier this year (with #Foxeye trending on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok). In addition to the makeup, various celebrities (including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Megan Fox) have also posed with their eyes pulled back (a common gesture used to mock Asian eyes).

Hannah Ma, a Catlin Gabel School (CGS) senior, gave her opinion.

“While I'm not opposed to people using makeup to lightly accentuate certain features, I think the over-exaggeration of the slanted eye look and the characteristic pose of the ‘Fox Eye’ trend goes too far,” she said.

Many Asian Americans took to social media to call out the trend’s racial insensitivity, saying that the “almond-shaped” eye look that is now praised on non-Asians was once used to discriminate against Asians in the past.

“These things are far too reminiscent of the same gestures used to mock Asians for their natural features, and using it for a trend like this is incredibly insensitive to the experience of many Asians and Asian Americans,” said Ma.

Ma continued to share how the trend may harm Asians and Asian Americans.

“For non-Asians, this is just a makeup trend that makes you look good for a few months, but when the trend inevitably ends, all that will be left as a reminder is maybe a couple of pictures on your Instagram. For Asians, we'll go back to being mocked for our natural eye shapes,” said Ma.