The Commodification of the Body
The Commodification of the Body
The anxiety about body image is captured by the ubiquitous consumer culture and the ever-expanding beauty market in China today. Mass media contributes to the commodification of female appearance by producing the feeling of imperfection and creating the desire to buy an “ideal beauty”. While some women actively construct their senses of self by consuming various beauty products, including cosmetic surgery, others are passively exploited by the profit-driven market and suffer from dangerous operations such as leg-stretching surgery. Nevertheless, both cases display women’s bodies being targeted by China’s thriving beauty industry.
Keywords: China, Cosmetic surgery, commodification, ideal beauty, mass media, glossy magazine, normalization, beauty industry, leg-stretching surgery, consumer culture
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