High Life

18 品 From the editor Refusal and authenticity C oco Chanel once said, “Elegance is refusal.” In the modern world where individuals try extremely hard to please everyone around them in all aspects of daily life, many of us have forgotten how to say “no” and have adopted the hiding of negative emotions. Moreover, whether to the benefit of toothpaste sales or faking happiness, we are always told to put on a smile even whenwe don’t feel like it because humans are encouraged to consider smiling as the default mode of expression. Indeed, it is easy to see that most people featured in advertisements on TV or elsewhere are always smiling. The question of smiling or not also has a lot to do with one’s cultural background. When I was a university student, a French professor once explained tome, “Youwould hardly see any women smile on the streets of Paris because in our culture smiling is an element that pleases another. It is only reserved for the ones we love and cherish. If someone smiles at you on the street, it is often an act of flirtation or an invitation to seduction. Therefore, Frenchwomen look very cool and serious.” In recent years, there have also been discourses heavily criticizing the slightly discontented face in the media. Those of Queen Elizabeth II and Victoria Beckham are chosen as prime examples of the phenomenon. Yet, I cannot help but think that human beings should have the right to refuse to please anyone if it is against theirwish. Authenticity is always elegant andhaving aneutral facewill also cause lesswrinkles. Irene Sam Editor-in-Chief 拒绝与真实 可 可·香奈儿曾经说过：“优雅，是懂得拒绝。”在 现代社会中，人们往往极力取悦日常生活中的每一 个人，很多人都忘记了如何说“不”，甚至将负面情绪及 看法掩藏起来。 无论是为了牙膏推广还是假装快乐，我们总是被告知 要以微笑示人，即使并非发自内心——微笑已经被人们接 受为一种默认的表情。诚然，在电视广告或其他节目中， 我们看到的大多数人总是面带笑容。 微笑与否的问题也与文化背景有关。当我还在大学就 读时，一位法国教授曾经向我解释说：“在巴黎的街道上 你几乎看不到任何女人的笑容，因为在我们的文化中，微 笑意味着取悦别人，而笑容应该只留给我们所珍爱的人。 如果有人在大街上冲你微笑，这往往是一种调情或诱惑行 为，所以法国女人看起来很酷很严肃。” 近年来，对于媒体中一些微微板起的面孔我们看到了 不少批评。伊丽莎白二世和维多利亚·贝克汉姆即为两个 鲜明的例子。但我不禁会想，如果违背了自己的意愿，那 么人们有权拒绝取悦任何人。真实永远是优雅的，况且中 立的表情还有助于减少皱纹。 沈爱莲 主编 编者寄语