The things we're taught

[SadieKate]

Is it any wonder many young girls have confidence problems that plague them throughout their lives?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26182056/

If Peiyi isn't "cute enough", a whole lotta little girls are doomed.

[crazycanuck]

And the Chinese say this is supposed to be the best olympics ever What a croc.. Tell that to the ITN journalist that was beaten up & stomped on covering a protest. Etc etc etc..

I will now put tape over my mouth...Perhaps I should hide under my desk here at work & ignore the world..

[Becky]

What a terrible message to send to any child, boy or girl....

I admit, I'm having a difficult time accepting these Olympic games for a plethora of reasons.....this is just one more issue...

[Natural Beauty]

She is an adorable little snaggle tooth. 7yr olds are supposed to have snaggle teeth; that's why the tooth fairy visits. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder and their moms. I think she is beautiful and I would have loved to hear her sing. Shame on whomever said she isn't.

[sfa]

She is absolutely adorable, and I hope she's getting that message loud and clear from the international community if not her own country.

But what I want to know is, with 1.3 billion people in the country, couldn't they have come up with someone who was both talented enough AND attractive enough for their standards?

Sarah

[Zen]

First fake fireworks now this.
Who do they think they're fooling?

[SadieKate]

I think she is beautiful and I would have loved to hear her sing. Shame on whomever said she isn't.

You did hear her sing.

You just didn't see her sing.

Our culture can be just as bad. Beauty pageants for infants and toddlers? We're taught from a very early age that beauty is paramount.

[RoadRaven]

Our culture can be just as bad. Beauty pageants for infants and toddlers? We're taught from a very early age that beauty is paramount.

Sadie... you make some very wise observations on this forum.
This is one of them.

[Duck on Wheels]

She is an adorable little snaggle tooth. 7yr olds are supposed to have snaggle teeth; that's why the tooth fairy visits. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder and their moms. I think she is beautiful and I would have loved to hear her sing. Shame on whomever said she isn't.

She's a cutie, all right. And you DID hear her sing if you watched the opening ceremonies. The little model kid lip-synched. It was the "too chubby, teeth too uneven" girl's voice you heard.

And the firework footprints were a digital animation, all but the last one over the stadium that could be seen live by the ticketed viewers there and all the athletes.

[RoadRaven]

I don't want to comment on the rights or wrongs of getting one girl to sing while another lip-synched.

I do think its worth considering the difference in culture and that this is an insight into a different way to look at life. Things are to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing - to do less for your guests in many cultures is insulting. To think that "our" way - that is, non-Chinese and probably a European/Australasian/American way - is better, is both naive and arrogant.

Would I object if this scenario happened in this country, MY country? - yes, loudly, voiciferously.
Do I agree with China's decision in this instance? No, I don't
Would I criticise them for it? No, I wouldn't. This is cultural difference, highlighted 100-fold by an international microscope.

I am willing to bet (if I was a gambler) that Peiyi is very proud and so is her family. Of all the thousands and thousands and thousands of 7yr Chinese, she was THE chosen one. She has immortality.

[shootingstar]

Glad that some people/residents within China, are speaking up about this incident.

Just another incident of "saving face" or looking outwardly good to society. Just a modern version of something very old...in behaviour. Sad.

It's almost regrettable that there is international attention. For the sake of each girl, how each gal should deal with it, because of the great amount of publicity, it probably make it abit more challenging later on.