12 Aug 2007, ST
Teens get thrills from joining online cuties' clubs; it's an ugly experience for those rejected
By Melody Zaccheus
SINGAPOREAN youth are putting themselves under the scrutiny of strangers by posting pictures of themselves on Internet rating communities in order to get stamped as 'cute' or 'hot'.
Frequent flaming and online squabbles have not stopped these communities from swelling.
Undergraduate Valerie Lim, 22, recently posted her pictures on Asian Cuties, a rating community on blogging portal Livejournal.com.
Like most rating communities based in the US, Asian Cuties (www.community.livejournal.com/ asiancuties) requires wannabes to fill out a form stating their personal details and describing their interests.
The online application must come complete with pictures as well. Upon submission, applicants will have to wait for members to give a stamp of approval or a shake of the head.
On Asian Cuties, a person needs just more than half of at least 20 votes before he or she is stamped a 'cutie'.
Freelance model Valerie's application, which included photos ranging from studio modelling shots to casual, self-taken shots with her friends and boyfriend, was well-received by the site's members.
They complimented her 'strong facial bone structure', 'hot bod' and 'nice stomach'.
Valerie was excited and flattered by the comments she received as well as the fact that all 23 voters gave her the nod of approval.
'I was rather apprehensive about my application initially, but as the compliments came in, I was gradually relieved of my worry,' she said.
'The community's stamp of approval sort of boosted my ego too.'
She added: 'The good thing about such sites is that it enables you to find out what people think of you because sometimes, how you view yourself is very different from how others view you.'
Nanyang Polytechnic student Evon Chng, 19, was also accepted as an Asian Cutie with a perfect score from 21 voters.
She said: 'I wouldn't mind receiving criticism as long as it is constructive. That said, I've yet to receive any negative comments.'
But it is not all praise for every applicant. Two recent applications by Singaporean teens have received a lot of flak.
Critical and offensive remarks posted on one 17-year-old's application included a description of her application as 'complete s***'. One member even went on to call her an 'ugly little girl'.
The 17-year-old decided to fight back, so she responded to fellow Singaporean and voter Valerie Lim by saying that she was 'possibly a million times cuter' than the freelance model who had given her the thumbs down.
She continued in self-defence: 'I'm not really serious about this application. I just want to see how the masses respond to my application.'
On another teenager's post, a member did not hold back on her criticism either. Her harsh comment for the 18-year-old junior college student was: 'You look like you're 12 or 13. Actually you kind of look like a little boy too.'
In response to a male member who gave her a 'definite no' vote, stating that her application was just 'bleagh', she replied: 'Thanks for looking anyway. I hope no vomiting was caused.'
Both of the heavily slammed applicants did not respond to e-mail and comments left on their blogs when contacted.
Even though 19-year-old Selena Soh did not have it so hard, she still had to go through a deluge of negative criticism before she finally received members' approval.
Battling insulting comments from five members who complained about her unplucked eyebrows - some of which went along the lines of 'try fixing your eyebrows' - the Temasek Polytechnic student was annoyed that they were 'picking on superficial things'.
But people are still flocking to such communities, with Asian Cuties amassing 700 members over the past five years.
The number of rating sites have also increased over time. Among the popular ones are Rate My Face, Hot or Not, and doIlikeU.com
Teens get thrills from joining online cuties' clubs; it's an ugly experience for those rejected
By Melody Zaccheus
SINGAPOREAN youth are putting themselves under the scrutiny of strangers by posting pictures of themselves on Internet rating communities in order to get stamped as 'cute' or 'hot'.
Frequent flaming and online squabbles have not stopped these communities from swelling.
Undergraduate Valerie Lim, 22, recently posted her pictures on Asian Cuties, a rating community on blogging portal Livejournal.com.
Like most rating communities based in the US, Asian Cuties (www.community.livejournal.com/ asiancuties) requires wannabes to fill out a form stating their personal details and describing their interests.
The online application must come complete with pictures as well. Upon submission, applicants will have to wait for members to give a stamp of approval or a shake of the head.
On Asian Cuties, a person needs just more than half of at least 20 votes before he or she is stamped a 'cutie'.
Freelance model Valerie's application, which included photos ranging from studio modelling shots to casual, self-taken shots with her friends and boyfriend, was well-received by the site's members.
They complimented her 'strong facial bone structure', 'hot bod' and 'nice stomach'.
Valerie was excited and flattered by the comments she received as well as the fact that all 23 voters gave her the nod of approval.
'I was rather apprehensive about my application initially, but as the compliments came in, I was gradually relieved of my worry,' she said.
'The community's stamp of approval sort of boosted my ego too.'
She added: 'The good thing about such sites is that it enables you to find out what people think of you because sometimes, how you view yourself is very different from how others view you.'
Nanyang Polytechnic student Evon Chng, 19, was also accepted as an Asian Cutie with a perfect score from 21 voters.
She said: 'I wouldn't mind receiving criticism as long as it is constructive. That said, I've yet to receive any negative comments.'
But it is not all praise for every applicant. Two recent applications by Singaporean teens have received a lot of flak.
Critical and offensive remarks posted on one 17-year-old's application included a description of her application as 'complete s***'. One member even went on to call her an 'ugly little girl'.
The 17-year-old decided to fight back, so she responded to fellow Singaporean and voter Valerie Lim by saying that she was 'possibly a million times cuter' than the freelance model who had given her the thumbs down.
She continued in self-defence: 'I'm not really serious about this application. I just want to see how the masses respond to my application.'
On another teenager's post, a member did not hold back on her criticism either. Her harsh comment for the 18-year-old junior college student was: 'You look like you're 12 or 13. Actually you kind of look like a little boy too.'
In response to a male member who gave her a 'definite no' vote, stating that her application was just 'bleagh', she replied: 'Thanks for looking anyway. I hope no vomiting was caused.'
Both of the heavily slammed applicants did not respond to e-mail and comments left on their blogs when contacted.
Even though 19-year-old Selena Soh did not have it so hard, she still had to go through a deluge of negative criticism before she finally received members' approval.
Battling insulting comments from five members who complained about her unplucked eyebrows - some of which went along the lines of 'try fixing your eyebrows' - the Temasek Polytechnic student was annoyed that they were 'picking on superficial things'.
But people are still flocking to such communities, with Asian Cuties amassing 700 members over the past five years.
The number of rating sites have also increased over time. Among the popular ones are Rate My Face, Hot or Not, and doIlikeU.com
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