中国女运动员的自尊问题

She's applauded when she's on the podium with the gold medal around her neck. But outside the competition, people stare at her like she's some kind of monster.
 
She's not a monster; she's just a female athlete in China.

"Most people look at me like a weirdo. I could see their eyes looking at me. I feel like so uncomfortable, and that really like makes me not confident. I feel like I'm weird."

Coco Wang is a professional volleyball player, and her 188 centimeter frame makes her a menace at the net, but an oddity on the street.

"Chinese people think that for a woman everything should be small and delicate. If they see someone different, they feel the need to criticize or comment. But we are all different from each other in terms of our body shape. I don't think it's right to judge an individual's figure or put them in a box."

Self-esteem issues plague many of China's elite female athletes because their body types don't fit the narrow mold that Chinese society has deemed traditional

Gu Hong, a professional boxer from the northeastern province Liaoning, says she has always felt ugly because of her strength.

"Chinese society does not accept athletic women. Chinese men don't pursue athletic or strong women. They don't think we're beautiful. The Chinese concept of female beauty is to be small and delicate. Athleticism in women is something they cannot accept."

But she may be wrong about that. There seems to be a growing number of Chinese women interested in fitness.

Gym memberships are on the rise, and athletic apparel brands like Under Armour and Nike are expanding operations in China and marketing to women.

And then there's the fact that celebrity athletes like Li Na and Olympic swimmer Ye Shiwen are inspiring young girls to try sports.

Zhang Ming, a professional bodybuilder and weightlifter, has noticed subtle changes in the way women work out.

"I still think a lot of women today don't consider big muscles to be beautiful. But a lot of girls want to be fit, so they're starting to change their opinions about muscles. It's not like they want to develop bulging muscles, but they think a little tone is ok."

Although many of today's female athletes still feel that they cannot attain their culture's standard of beauty, it seems that the age-old aesthetic is slowly expanding to include them.

For CRI, I'm Jordan Lee.