The purpose of this essay is to show how the theme of social and ethnic identity in Rachel Khong's Real Americans manifests itself in the text through a focus on physical appearances, and how this contributes to feelings of insecurity towards belonging in society for one of the Chinese American main characters. The part of the novel that tells the story of the character of Lily displays a great deal of descriptions of people's looks. By examining passages in the text which portray Lily's thoughts and reactions to hair colour and quality, eye colour and clothes, I look at the ways in which the character discusses her own looks as well as the looks of other characters, and how the text functions to hightlight actions and thoughts of Lily that are sometimes contradictory. Through this analysis, I suggest that Lily's contradictory views on physical appearances are connected to insecurities related to social and cultural expectations, and that her way of reasoning often has a complicating and negative impact on the choices she makes, and her search for happiness and finding a place within the American society. With the help of research taken from the fields of Asian American Studies, post American national studies, cultural and history studies as well as gender studies, I suggest a reading where the character can be seen as influenced by ethnic and social stereotypes formed around looks; an internalization of Western beauty ideals, a male gaze and Orientalist mis-representations of herself and others. The results also indicate that Lily feels Chinese American first and foremost in terms of her own physical looks, and that this affects Lily negatively as she tries to decide where in society she truly belongs.