The Portrayal Of Chinese Women In The Editorial Content Of Fashion And Beauty Magazines In China

Women’s magazines impact on society, women’s behavior and self-perception has been the subject of debate for many years. In China, the impact of foreign advertising on women in China in particular has been studied at length by many scholars. Because Chinese society began to change so much with its reopening in the1970s, the foreign culture imports that began in the late1980s with fashion magazines have shaped much of the fashion and beauty ideals Chinese women hold today. This study examines how the photographic editorial content of both imported (Western and Japanese) and local magazines represent women. Because advertisements have already been studied, and have a clear goal of selling goods and therefore will always "play it safe" by employing models they know audiences are acceptant of and are used to, it was important to study the editorial content of magazines. Through rigorous content analysis of5different magazines over a fixed period of time, this study examined to which extent the image of women is sexualized. It compared the level of sexualization between Western models and Asian models, and also the way in which this sexualization is shown:whether as empowering or submissive. This study also draws attention to the increased sexualization of the image of young girls in particular in Japanese publications and how Western models are used to attain a level of sophistication for a magazine. It finds evidence of the increased sexualization of Chinese women which is at odds with traditional Chinese social mores, but is in keeping with the current social change China is undergoing. However, like their Western counterparts, local magazines do much to present women as sexual objects that achieve contentment through consumerism and not through personal achievement or spiritual fulfillment. These conclusions are in keeping with the fact that most magazines serve as transnational vehicles for advertising agencies and therefore aim at convincing generations of women that the way they look makes them who they are. In this case, a hybrid between Western sexually emancipated women and Asian Confucian traditions and Communist legacy.