In China, Gen Zers are wearing fake belly buttons to make their legs look longer. Some say the trend promotes unrealistic beauty standards.

• Gen Zers in China are wearing temporary tattoos of fake belly buttons as part of a new trend.
• The tattoo is worn above the navel to make the wearer's legs appear longer.

Young women in China are wearing fake belly button temporary tattoos in an attempt to alter the appearance of their body proportions.

The temporary tattoos, which work by dampening the top of the sheet with water to transfer the design onto the skin, are typically worn a few centimeters above the navel. By raising the belly button line, it gives the appearance of a shorter torso and longer legs.

The curious trend has Chinese netizens divided, with some enthusiastically joining in, while others are criticizing it for promoting unrealistic beauty standards.

One creator told viewers the trend is just for fun and that it is not supposed to provoke body anxiety

There isn't an option to embed videos from the site so I've included screenshots.

In a video posted on July 11, ShiYiTongYa, a 22-year-old college student based in Shanghai, according to her profile, revealed that she paid 2.8 Chinese yuan ($0.38) for a sheet of 16 temporary tattoos. She showed footage of herself applying one on her navel.

"It's quite natural and I think it looks better than my real belly button," ShiYiTongYa told viewers. "In normal situations, no one's going to come up to me, scrutinize my belly, and figure out if my belly button's real."

ShiYiTongYa said that she had immediately placed an order after she saw the creator LiangBuZhengYy, who has over 927,000 followers, doing the trend.

In LiangBuZhengYy's video, which was uploaded on June 29 and has over 81,000 likes, she recommended that people put a bandaid on their real belly button if they are afraid that people will notice that they have two belly buttons. She suggested that if people ask why there is a bandaid on your belly, you should tell them that you just had a baby.

She added that the tattoos are just for fun and that they are not supposed to provoke body anxiety.

LiangBuZhengYy also suggested that people could use the fake tattoos to make it seem like they're wearing a crop top in the summer if their mom won't let them wear one because she's afraid they'll catch a cold.

In a post about the trend on China's popular social media app WeChat, another user also wrote that these tattoos can help prevent the lower abdomen from getting cold because they can make it appear that your lower belly is exposed, without actually exposing it.

Meanwhile, other creators are posting videos of themselves doing the trend using makeup and stickers.

Some viewers are questioning if the trend promotes unhealthy beauty standards

While most people reacted shocked or amused by the trend, some were critical of it and questioned why we can't just appreciate our bodies as they are.

One commenter questioned the beauty standards it promoted by asking, "Can't we like cute short legs?"

Others commented that the trend looks "ugly" because it makes people's bodies appear out of proportion and it makes the wearer look like they have no waistline.

This isn't the only bizarre trend that has been popularized by Gen Zers in China

Fake belly buttons aren't the only quirky beauty-enhancing tools growing popular among young Chinese women on social media. Previous trends this year have included gel shoulder pads to give the appearance of broader, more angular shoulders, and even padded underwear that gives the illusion of a bigger butt.

In May, one TikToker called out Chinese celebrities for wearing these products and promoting unrealistic beauty standards.

Over the years, there have also been several controversial viral challenges in China about body proportions. The "bellybutton challenge" tested girls' figures by seeing if they could touch their belly button by reaching it around behind their backs, while the "collarbone challenge" tested how many coins one could hold on their collarbones. In 2016, the "A4 waist challenge" saw women holding up pieces of paper in front of their waists to measure its width against theirs.

Similarly, that trend saw a huge backlash online — mostly from women outside of China — rebelling against it.