Why are Asian eyelids shaped differently from other races?

Answer 1

Although they may seem to, the eyes of Chinese, Japanese and other Orientals are not small and do not slant; they are, in fact, closer to the horizontal than those of non-Orientals. The "effect" is produced by a low nose bridge and the Mongolian, or
epicanthic, fold of the upper eyelid, one of the very few genuine "racial" characteristics, incidentally. Children of Caucasian parents often show the apparent Mongolian slant until the nasal bridge develops.

Answer 2

Epicanthal fold of the eye is what many call "slanted eyes". The eyes are not really slanted but a fold, remaining from early fetal development, is left when child is born. It is seen in a number of people, including those of Nordic origins, Asians, many native American and some from Africa. The bridge of the nose is lower. That is what causes the fold. Children with Down's Syndrome or Turner's Syndrome also show this trait.



*Another reason: The shape of the Asian skull is shaped more circular. Caucasians have more of a elliptical shaped skull. This produces a different shaped eye socket. There is more of a brow bridge, larger nose bridge and the eye socket is more towards the side of the skull. I learned this from an Art Teacher as she was sculpting human (full head) busts. If you see a Caucasian head from the side view, you'll see that their eyes are more fully visible and the eyes are more inset inside the skull more than when you look at an Asian skull. The Asian skull is more circular. The front of the Asian skull is more round and thus the face is also more circular. Thus this will shape the eyes differently. Do a detailed observation of the Asian side view versus the Caucasian side view you'll immediately see the difference.

Answer 3

For the sake of answering, we will skip the fact that the illusion of "smaller" eyes largely applies to just EAST Asians, and not the many other peoples such as Iranians, Indians, Arabs, etc. East Asians don't really have "tiny" eyes; it is really the same size as non-East Asians. They simply have a patch of extra skin (called an epithelial fold) above their eyes, because that sort of thing combats the extreme cold and fierce winds of Tibet, where the ancestors of East Asians lived for many tens of thousands of years before migrating down into warmer places. Since the epithelial fold is a part of their DNA, it stayed, even though the need for it no longer exists for all Asians but the Tibetans.

Answer 4

Asian people in general do not have small eyes. In fact they have wide and large eyes. Asia has 40+ countries and not just China, Japan, Koreas, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

Oriental people on the other hand do have smaller eyes. Because people of Oriental ethnicity can be traced back to Mongolia, where there are frequent sandstorms, smaller eyes with thicker eyelids eventually developed to cope with the area's climate and weather. It is genetic, due to evolution.

Answer 5

Asian eyelids typically have a less defined or absent upper eyelid crease due to a smaller or less pronounced supratarsal fold. This can result in a monolid or double eyelid appearance. The differences in eyelid shape are primarily due to genetic variations and can vary among individuals within the same racial group.

Answer 6

Although they may seem to, the eyes of Chinese, Japanese and other Orientals are not small and do not slant; they are, in fact, closer to the horizontal than those of non-Orientals. The "effect" is produced by a low nose bridge and the Mongolian, or
epicanthic, fold of the upper eyelid, one of the very few genuine "racial" characteristics, incidentally. Children of Caucasian parents often show the apparent Mongolian slant until the nasal bridge develops. They have what is called an "epicanthic fold," or also called an "epicanthal fold," a skin fold of the upper eyelid covering the corner of the eye. See the Related Link for more information.

Answer 7

Genetics. Throughout the years, the people in Asia evolved (through selective breeding) to have this trait that was favorable in the environment they lived in.

Why this evolved? I'm not sure. I've heard that working in the rice fields under the sun is less unpleasant with squintier eyes

Answer 8

Chinky eyes is due to fad laden skin that surrounds the lids. This epicanthic fold is an adaptation to arctic and severe cold. It protects the eye against snow blindness.

Answer 9

Not all asians have small eyes...some have huge and bubbly ones. They just have smaller eyelids.

Answer 10

All humans have eyelids