Chinese Female Bloggers Grapple with Appearance Anxiety via Social Media – A Study Based on Xiaohongshu
(2023) SIMZ51 20231Graduate School
- Abstract
- The appearance anxiety phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in Chinese society, especially among females. This research critically examines the Chinese social media trend “Refusing Appearance Anxiety” (“拒绝容貌焦虑”)initiated by female bloggers who are opposing the issue. The primary goal of this study is to reflect on how Chinese females negotiate with the normative discourse around body image and appearance politics in contemporary China. Qualitative research methods are employed to analyze video posts featuring relevant hashtags. The analysis adopts an abductive approach and thematic coding strategies jointly to interpret the gathered data. This analysis is guided by the body positivity framework, which originates in Western social... (More)
- The appearance anxiety phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in Chinese society, especially among females. This research critically examines the Chinese social media trend “Refusing Appearance Anxiety” (“拒绝容貌焦虑”)initiated by female bloggers who are opposing the issue. The primary goal of this study is to reflect on how Chinese females negotiate with the normative discourse around body image and appearance politics in contemporary China. Qualitative research methods are employed to analyze video posts featuring relevant hashtags. The analysis adopts an abductive approach and thematic coding strategies jointly to interpret the gathered data. This analysis is guided by the body positivity framework, which originates in Western social media and promotes body acceptance and appreciation. Feminist perspectives are also introduced to provide a critical analysis of female bloggers’ bloggers’ video posts using hashtags. Through the analysis of these videos, the study reveals three primary strategies Chinese female bloggers employ on Xiaohongshu to cope with appearance anxiety: uncovering beauty myths, questioning normative standards and engaging in appearance-related practices. The results demonstrate that while the characteristics of body positivity are evident in the Chinese context, this trend could not overturn bodily normativity in China. However, these female bloggers actively question and resist the unattainable beauty ideals on social media. Moreover, the reflections of female bloggers on cultural and gender factors of female body politics can be regarded as a discursive feminist discourse and constitute an essential part of Chinese digital feminist engagement. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Appearance Anxiety has become a widespread issue in Chinese society, especially among young women. In response to this, female bloggers in China have started a social media trend called “Refusing Appearance Anxiety” (“拒绝容貌焦虑”) to combat this phenomenon. This study aims to understand how Chinese female bloggers on Xiaohognshu use hashtags to voice opinions and resist the beauty ideal imposed on women. This thesis conducted qualitative research to analyze video posts published by female bloggers. The study borrowed the concept of “body positivity”, which encourages individuals to accept and appreciate their bodies. Feminist perspectives were used to examine the female discourse that emerged in the posts. The analysis revealed three... (More)
- Appearance Anxiety has become a widespread issue in Chinese society, especially among young women. In response to this, female bloggers in China have started a social media trend called “Refusing Appearance Anxiety” (“拒绝容貌焦虑”) to combat this phenomenon. This study aims to understand how Chinese female bloggers on Xiaohognshu use hashtags to voice opinions and resist the beauty ideal imposed on women. This thesis conducted qualitative research to analyze video posts published by female bloggers. The study borrowed the concept of “body positivity”, which encourages individuals to accept and appreciate their bodies. Feminist perspectives were used to examine the female discourse that emerged in the posts. The analysis revealed three strategies Chinese female bloggers use to cope with appearance anxiety: uncovering beauty myths, questioning beauty ideals, and engaging in appearance-related practices. While the study found that body positivity is present in the Chinese context, it also highlighted that it does not entirely challenge prevailing beauty norms. However, female bloggers actively question and resist the unrealistic beauty ideals portrayed on social media. Additionally, the study emphasized that these bloggers’ voices contribute to feminist discussions in the Chinese digital space. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9129548
- author
- Chen, Chuwei LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ51 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Appearance Anxiety, Xiaohongshu, social media, body positivity, #RefuseAppearanceAnxiety, Chinese Female Bloggers, feminism
- language
- English
- id
- 9129548
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-01 14:02:18
- date last changed
- 2023-08-01 14:02:18
@misc{9129548,
abstract = {{The appearance anxiety phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in Chinese society, especially among females. This research critically examines the Chinese social media trend “Refusing Appearance Anxiety” (“拒绝容貌焦虑”)initiated by female bloggers who are opposing the issue. The primary goal of this study is to reflect on how Chinese females negotiate with the normative discourse around body image and appearance politics in contemporary China. Qualitative research methods are employed to analyze video posts featuring relevant hashtags. The analysis adopts an abductive approach and thematic coding strategies jointly to interpret the gathered data. This analysis is guided by the body positivity framework, which originates in Western social media and promotes body acceptance and appreciation. Feminist perspectives are also introduced to provide a critical analysis of female bloggers’ bloggers’ video posts using hashtags. Through the analysis of these videos, the study reveals three primary strategies Chinese female bloggers employ on Xiaohongshu to cope with appearance anxiety: uncovering beauty myths, questioning normative standards and engaging in appearance-related practices. The results demonstrate that while the characteristics of body positivity are evident in the Chinese context, this trend could not overturn bodily normativity in China. However, these female bloggers actively question and resist the unattainable beauty ideals on social media. Moreover, the reflections of female bloggers on cultural and gender factors of female body politics can be regarded as a discursive feminist discourse and constitute an essential part of Chinese digital feminist engagement.}},
author = {{Chen, Chuwei}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Chinese Female Bloggers Grapple with Appearance Anxiety via Social Media – A Study Based on Xiaohongshu}},
year = {{2023}},
}