Brazilian Student gets 10 Eye Operations to Look Asian

(Before and After: from Metro)

Twenty-five year old Max used to have blonde hair and blue eyes. But after a year studying abroad in South Korea, he was captivated by Korean culture. He changed his name to Xiahn, dyed his hair black, got brown eye contacts and had multiple surgeries to shape his eyes to look more Asian. He wishes to relocate to Korea as soon as possible. Still, even after his transformation, Xiahn holds pride in his Brazilian heritage. “So even though I’ve changed the shape of my eyes, I am still Brazilian” (Metro).

It is an extremely common practice for Asians to “westernize” their eyes, making them larger. However, perhaps Xiahn and his eyes are indicators of the growing intrigue that the Western world has with the East.