A woman who became the first Asian American and naturalized citizen to be crowned Miss Michigan is being criticized by mainland Chinese netizens for being “ugly.”
Arianna Quan, a 23-year-old born in Beijing who won the prestigious award in June, recently finished outside of the top 15 in the Miss America pageant. She told People Magazine that her win has drawn very polarizing responses. She was the only Chinese American woman to take part in the annual pageant.
“All this negativity came out, especially about my appearance and how I’m apparently unfit to represent the Chinese population because I’m ugly,” Quan told People. “It’s been really interesting to see the discussions that have been erupting from just me being crowned, and it’s been an extremely humbling experience to be a part of those conversations.”
According to Nextshark.com, some of the criticisms she received were questioned her physical appearance and her age. One Chinese netizen wrote “She’s 23?! Why does she look like she’s 43?”
Others insults written toward her by Chinese internet users were that “she’s ruining the reputation of Chinese people” and “Oh, she’s probably very beautiful on the inside,” according to Shanghaiist.
However, Quan isn’t letting harsh opinions about her appearance bring her down, as part of her overall goal is to bring attention to important issues, such as the problems minorities and first-generation immigrants face in America.
“Immigrants and first-generation Americans are deeply underrepresented,” Quan said. “My platform is about engaging minorities in this country, and about prompting Americans that have been here for generations to celebrate their culture.”
Quan, who moved to the United States when she was 6 years old, became a naturalized citizen when she was 14. She is an ambassador for Rock The Vote, a group that encourages young people to register and vote in the 2016 election. Currently, she’s studying transportation design at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies.
