The whole age issue with the Chinese female gymnastics team is such BS. Seriously. I’m so sick of reading it everywhere I go. It makes people look like whiny, bitter, sore losers. On top of that, it just shows how Americans are so unaware/ignorant of foreign cultures and society.
The news reports talk about how getting to the bottom of this is so crucial and beneficial for everyone – the Chinese, the US, IOC’s reputation, blah blah blah. But why not the same reaction when this happened years ago with Romania? Where was that good natured fair-play during the Paul Hamm’s gold medal controversy in 2004? Why now? Would people be jumping over this like how it is now if the US women’s gymnastics team weren’t a factor? No!
Consider this. Physical growth rates are about the same across races and cultures, but proportions are not. Asians are typically slimmer and smaller. Therefore, Asians look less maturely developed than their counterparts. Not to mention the quality and quantity of food taken in by these gymnasts are also different. Heck, I’m Chinese, 22 years old, and people think I’m in middle school!!! (Actually no, I’ve already graduated from college. *GLARE*) Asians look young to begin with!
Plus, gymnastics is a sport that consistently prevents female bodies from growing into their full adult physical potential. It was reported that these Chinese women gymnists started training at the age of 3 years old. This will play a marked effect on their bodies. The Chinese is a race that tends to look younger and smaller in stature than others, no matter what the age, thus producing even smaller looking teens. Even the 20 year old captain barely looked older than the rest of her Chinese team, and there is no age controversy surrounding her.
Long story short, people shouldn’t be too quick to judge another culture based on American standards of growth. Determining age in people outside of the American culture or background is difficult to do. Not many Americans are constantly around Asians on a daily basis, so people have no foundation for passing judgment. The Chinese women’s team did an outstanding job and won the gold with their persistence, talents, and their share of hard work.
*EDIT* I want to turn your attention to this blog post:
http://www.dramabeans.com/2008/08/open-thread-43/
Filed under: Everyday Thoughts
If it wasn’t for the Chinese gym fans chatting on the message boards, none of this would have ever come out. So if you want to blame somebody, blame the Chinese gym fans who seemed to think nobody besides them speaks Chinese. The mainstream media got ahold of this story only recently but in gymfan circles it’s been causing arguments and controversy ever since at least the beginning of the year.
And the Paul Hamm thing was plenty scandalous in the US. I believe a rule is a rule and PH earned his medal because YTY failed to follow the rules and protest in time his start value in time. The start value is not a secret. It pops right up on the score board right along with the score. Plenty of other people think PH should’ve given back the medal though.
As an Asian, I thought the little one, He, I believe, didn’t look 16+. The other ones, I could believe were probably 16+.
In the US’s defense, I can see why they are POed about this. He DOES look young even for an Asian (tho this is not solid evidence in itself) and there were those suspicious forum postings and web articles listing her as a 14 year old. While many He-supporters dismiss anything off the web as “weak” evidence………let’s face it, any other evidence would have to be obtained from the Chinese government, a government known notoriously to edit information to China’s advantage. I this aspect, it’s not surprising to hear very few people trust the government-produced passports verifying their ages. The fact this age controversy is following on the coattails of the 9year old lipsyncer and the CGed fireworks only plays into the current world view that China is a manipulator of facts.
But on the other hand, it’s not UNbelievable that He is 16, just a bit startling at first. Looking that young is not unheard of among Asians. And China could just be a victim of its previous “deceptions” (lipsyncing, fireworks). Just b/c they tweaked the facts before doesn’t mean they did it this case. Also, I’m sure the US team smarts from the loss of a gold.
All in all, China won’t lose the gold and the US won’t be getting it…..the best thing would be if the US just buttons up and starts preparing for 2012 and for China to learn to stop twisting the facts on such minor things – b/c the little things become the face they present to the world. That kind of scrutiny may not be fair for China but that’s a consequence of being such a big country set on becoming the next world power.
aiya, I was just copying a quote =)