By Jermyn Chow

THE use of the word 'imperfect' in the Government's latest pro-marriage campaign has raised some eyebrows.

The beef: Why highlight a person's flaws - fat, short, stumpy, a loud snorer, among other less desirable traits?

But frankly, the word sums up how unrealistic those Singaporeans who are holding out for that 'perfect' soulmate can be.

This is borne out by findings in a 2007 study by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports which showed that most young Singaporeans wanted to get married, but were not doing so, they said, because they had yet to meet their Mr or Miss Right.

'Imperfect' is a direct hit at those still hankering for that next-to-nothing chance of a Hollywood, fairy-tale hook-up.

It says to me, and those of my generation, that if we want a significant other, we need to be open to him or her showing up in a form that is other than the idealised image in our minds.

This person can come packaged in a different shape, size or colour - even unconventionally so.

The 'beautifully imperfect' slogan should make youth - and their parents - think about embracing diversity.

My not exactly colour-blind folks hold me hostage - at the dinner table, in the car, when they receive a wedding invitation from friends and relatives - to tell me to 'find that nice perfect Chinese girl'.

They extol the virtues of their choice cut: good family background, pedigree school, illustrious career, respectful, a pair of good kitchen hands (though she cannot outdo my mum) and, of course, child-bearing hips.

Now this mystical being, should she show up riding a unicorn, would indeed be 'perfection'.

Never mind the rise in inter-racial and international couples in recent times. To my folks, it does not matter that the number of inter-ethnic weddings last year rose to 4,113, up from 3,939 in 2007.

Never mind, in fact, that I am not interested in a Chinatown Barbie, and am well capable of finding someone (child-bearing hips or not) to spend the rest of my life with.

So maybe the 'Beautifully Imperfect' campaign will get those like my parents to confront and accept the cliched axiom: Nothing and no one is perfect in this world.

Sure, detractors can argue that the word 'imperfect' is misused.

But while we can split hairs and get pedantic about the campaign, let us not lose sight of the bigger picture.

After all, the truth can hurt, but it is also liberating. You do not have to be perfect to find true love.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.