Cultural Fashion: Rich Lady Nails
I've gotten a few messages asking about the nails of different female characters in the past. I figure I'd do a master post covering nails in ATLA, as well their significance to Asian culture.
In general, long nails have historically been a status symbol for women in many parts of East and Southeast Asia, as they indicated that you did not have to perform physical labor for a living. This appreciation for long nails has also led to the development of unique nail coloring techniques and extravagant nail accessories.
Unsurprisingly, the four nail notables of the ATLA franchise have all been royalty or nobility: Azula, Ursa, Mai, & The Earth Queen.
Interestingly, both Ursa and Azula style their nails the exact same way: Long, unpainted, and shaped like claws. For Ursa, it hints at her mama bear nature: She's someone who is both traditionally feminine, but also dangerous when she needs to be. For Azula, while I'm sure those elements are there as well, I can't help but wonder if it's also a subtle form of connection to her mother.
It's worth noting that, after Ozai abandoned her to become "Phoenix King", Azula is shown with blunt nails on the day of her coronation. It's very reflective of Azula's poor mental state that she eschewed something that was once a marker of her high-status and connection to her mother.
On a lighter note, the next fancy fingered female we'll be covering is Mai! Like Ursa and Azula, Mai also favors talon-like nails. Perhaps this is a popular nail shape in their world?
The most notable detail of Mai's nails is that they're painted a very dramatic black. From a meta perspective, her nail color is obviously meant to signal to the audience that she is the Avatar world's equivalent to a goth girl. Funnily enough, though, her black nails also happen to be quite appropriate for her design's primary cultural inspiration: Ming Dynasty China.
During the Ming Dynasty, red and black were the nail colors of choice for royalty and nobility, while commoner women were only allowed to color their nails light pink. I believe the prestige of these nail colors were for two reasons: First, red and black traditionally symbolized strength and power in Dynastic China. Second, it also took more time and resources to color nails intense colors like red and black compared to softer colors like light pink.
During the Ming Dynasty, nails were dyed using a paste that included beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, various plant pigments, alum, and gum arabic. The fingertips would then be wrapped in cloth or leaves, allowing the color to soak into the nail overnight. The next morning, the nails would be dyed a vibrant hue that would last for weeks.
The final boss of long nails in Avatar is Earth Queen Hou-Ting. As previously mentioned, long nails were a status symbol for much of East Asian history, representing a life free of toil and labor. The most extreme form of this status flexing were nail guards or zhǐ jiǎ tào (指甲套). As the name implies, these claw-like finger covers were meant to protect long nails from accidentally breaking or getting chipped. They were also quite decorative and gave the impression of having even longer nails than you already had. However, because nails guards were still quite cumbersome and impractical, even the most pampered of royalty typically only wore them on their ring and pinky fingers most of the time.
Fun Facts About East Asian Nail Culture
In traditional Chinese and Vietnamese culture, it is believed that pinkies that go up to or past the top joint of the ring finger attract wealth. To simulate the appearance of a long pinky, many men and women will grow out their pinky nail. Contrary to popular belief, it's not for cocaine-sniffing or nose-picking.
Nail salons in the United States are predominantly owned by East & Southeast Asians. Korean people own most of the nail salons in New York, while Vietnamese people own the majority of nail salons nationwide, particularly in California. There are two reasons for this phenomenon: Most obviously, nail tech is a low barrier-to-entry profession that does not require high language proficiency. Secondly, in the 1970s, actress Tippi Hedren started a nail tech program to provide job skills to Vietnam War refugees. This provided a relatively stable career path for many Asian immigrants. Growing up as the child of working-class Cambodian refugees, I knew a lot of nail techs.
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