Taryn Kato

GWS 140

Professor Meeta Rani Jha

10 December 2018

Final Essay

The fashion icon, Coco Chanel, once said, “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be

yourself.” For many women, growing up with quotes such as this – ones that promote

individuality as the key to achieving “beauty” – was, and still is, the norm. As the role of beauty

continues to develop its precedence over society, the messages ascribed to it perpetuate

heteronormative and homogenizing ideals that women are pressured to conform to. Though

beauty has long been overlooked as a lens to view and analyze society, the increased prevalence

of beauty ideals demonstrates how notions and ideas of gender have come to fruition. By

comparing the cultural power structures of the United States and China – via the lens of beauty –

one can see the ways in which it has shaped current society through the creation and support of

gender norms and a prevailing sense of gendered nationalism.

In the United States, media, especially those rooted in advertising and marketing, continues

to play a outsized role in informing the construction of gender and, therefore, the self. This is

exemplified through the 2016 Calvin Klein advertisement (see fig. 1) featuring actress Klara

Kristin. Fitted in a mesh dress, Kristin’s undergarments are visible to the naked eye as she poses

seductively with the words, “I seduce in my Calvins” typed over her body. Viewed by millions

as both a billboard in Times Square, and as a post on the brand’s Instagram account (which

currently has more than 15 million followers), the ad uses sex as a selling point. It demonstrates

Susan Bordo’s (1993) analysis of the use of the female body as a text of femininity via the
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selection and presentation of an “ideal” form of beauty and sexuality. Through this form of

exposure, “[Women] are no longer given verbal descriptions or exemplars of what a lady is or of

what femininity consists. Rather, [they] learn the rules directly through bodily discourse: through

images that tell us what clothes, body shape, facial expression, movements, and behavior are

required” (Bordo 1993, 2366). Working together, Kristin’s attire and pose promote the

sexualized fantasy of her “seducing,” suggesting that it is a woman’s job to assume the role as a

seductress. Her thin body and pale, white skin also add to the construction of femininity as it

associates these attributes to a woman who can “seduce,” further normalizing and supporting the

construction of beauty as a correlation to a particular definition of femininity.

The advertisement further contributes to the creation of gendered nationalism as it reveals

patriarchal undertones. As a brand catering to both men and women, Calvin Klein ads are

directed to all audiences. Though the ad is intended to advertise women’s clothing, the

photograph is largely informed by patriarchal ideas. Relying on heteronormative assumptions, as

Bordo (1993) suggests many brands do nowadays, the advertisement presents this ideal to be

seen for the male gaze. In this sense, the ad not only suggests that women have the responsibility

to seduce, but it also promotes a culture in which men expect this of women. Through the

exposure of her body, and the placement of her legs, her “…body language speaks eloquently,

though silently, of her subordinate status in a hierarchy of gender” (Bartky 1997, 102). From the

male perspective, her body also becomes a prop – as a tool to sexually arouse and seduce –

something that exists for their viewing. In this sense, the female body is used to lure consumers,

using both beauty and sexuality as a form of capital, working to further shape gender

expectations.
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As one of the most powerful nations on the global stage, the gendered nationalism of the

United States also has implications for other countries. Through the formation and promotion of

an ideal form of beauty and a culturally-driven female identity, the economic and social

dominance of American culture – through its media representations – informs the

transnationalism within China. Though some may suggest this promotes the spreading of

cultures and ideas, the cultural homogenization of beauty standards also has the potential to

create negative implications for other countries as “Western domination of global mass culture

threatens distinct national and local cultures” (Jha 2016, 56). In conforming to the powerful

influence of the West, these cultures are at risk of being erased as they “…[domesticate]

globalizing forces” (Jha 2016, 57).

To understand the gender normalizing power structures at play within China, it is critical that

the underlying historical forces behind these structures are understood first. Through its various

interactions with colonialism, China’s beauty standards have been rooted in Western ideals for

many years. In its transition to a socialist state in the early 1980s, beauty began to play a much

larger role as the economic transformation to a consumerist society began to establish a

“…desire for individual embodied transformation” (Jha 2016, 75). With the government playing

a prominent role within the family structure, beauty capital has been promoted by the state and

increasingly consumed by the public, making China a major site of capitalist consumerism.

In Jie Yang’s (2011) analysis of the role that gender and the female body play within China’s

beauty industry, she discusses the ways in both the economy and politics have worked

simultaneously to create expectations of the gendered body within this space. As a socialist state,

“China’s rampant development of the beauty economy and consumer capitalism largely

capitalizes on femininity and female labor,” and as a result, “women as consumers, laborers, and
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the consumed have proven to be flexible and instrumental resources for the consumerist regime”

(Yang 2011, 352). Utilizing its inherent power over women, the Chinese government has boosted

beauty industries, fostering the creation of a culture where the female body and beauty have

become a marker of class hierarchy. This has ultimately worked to increase China’s overall

capital gain by fueling consumer spending. Furthermore, state-authorized organizations such as

the All-China Women’s Federation shape the feminist consciousness within the country by

promoting the beauty economy and stressing its importance for the state’s economic success (Jha

2016, 82). While cosmetics and fashion may be used by some as individualistic or artistic

expression, the majority of women in China engage in trends as a result of the prevailing

gendered nationalism that informs their cultural and social role within society.

By examining popular Chinese beauty trends, one can see how current national identity has

largely been shaped by globalization and transnationalism. With increased access to global

media through avenues such as social networking sites, exposure to Western media and trends

continues to influence China’s evolving gendered nationalism. This is supported by the rise of

cosmetic procedures and trends reflecting Western beauty ideals such as double eyelids and

lighter, fairer skin. With access to ads and entertainment primarily showcasing Caucasian women

and Western facial features, such as the 2012 print advertisement for Estee Lauder’s Cyber

White Gel (see fig. 2), the global media market has largely constructed the current beauty norms

that Chinese women ascribe to. The perpetuation of the ideal of white skin also promotes

structural inequality as it continues to perpetuate prejudices rooted in the intersectionality of

colorism and classism. Many Asian countries have historically favored lighter skin as an

indicator of prestige and wealth. The use of Caucasian models throughout Asia in marketing
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campaigns, and the increase in skin lightening products, promotes this trait as achievable through

self-modifying cosmetic procedures.

Given the frequent promotion of self-modification, the gendered nationalism within China is

further framed by the potential for social mobility through the use of beauty currency. Beauty is

seen as a means to power and “…is understood as an economic investment and as a ladder to

upward class mobility in an intensively competitive labor market” (Jha 2016, 76). Participation

within beauty trends is no longer solely based as a means to self-confidence; in this space it has

transformed into a necessary trait for both economic and social success. As Naomi Wolf suggests

in her chapter on culture in The Beauty Myth (1990), “The advertisers who make women’s mass

culture possible depend on making women feel bad enough about their faces and bodies to spend

more money on worthless or pain-inducing products than they would if they felt innately

beautiful” (84). Presented as a “key to success” within China, powerful state and global media

structures take advantage of beauty by purposely manipulating media representations and

reiterating cultural messages that promote Western beauty principles. The normalization of these

images and cosmetic procedures has worked to influence the consumerist identity of women

within Chinese culture. Power structures at play in China have been successful in constructing

the link between economic success and gendered beauty that contributes to the pressure on

women to conform to this standard of normality and upward mobility.

Eugenia Kaw’s (1993) research further analyzes the cultural and institutional power

structures in place in both the United States and China as she attempts to understand how they

influence Asian American women (and by extension, Asian women) to undergo cosmetic

procedures. Kaw explores the use of medical reasoning for the modification of racialized

physical features – and ultimately the normalization of these reasons – by observing,

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“…medicine along with a culture based on endless self-fashioning, is able to motivate women to

view their feelings of inadequacy as individually motivated, as popped to socially induced

phenomena, thereby effectively convincing them to participate in the production and

reproduction of the larger structural inequalities that continue to oppress them” (1993, 87).

Through self-modification, Asian women ultimately support the power structures that have

pressured them to conform to the Western standards of beauty. The normalization of these

procedures in China ultimately reflects an evolution of transnational ideals to a new form of

gendered nationalism in which these beauty norms are now expected of women.

By analyzing the power structures at play within both countries, one can see how the

prevailing forces of both history and media inform the construction of culture within the current

globalized world. Popular culture, especially when portrayed through movies, television shows,

and other media forms, largely informs one’s self-perception as society has come to rely on these

outlets as a way to see themselves. As a result, the images perpetuated through popular culture

create an ideal that women are then pressured to work towards and conform to, in order to feel a

sense of acceptance and success within the given society. In many ways, beauty can be read as a

desire for conformity through which gender norms are constructed. The Circuit of Culture at play

as the power structures within each country work together to influence the production,

consumption, and regulation of goods and ideas, ultimately shaping cultural identity and

representation within each given space. This is made evident through the transnational influence

of the West over China, by which the cultural identity created through the circuit within one

space can also influence that of another.

One can also see how Simone de Beauvoir’s (1949) idea of social construction is at work

within both American and Chinese cultures. By suggesting that women are not born, but rather
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influenced and formed through different factors within society, de Beauvoir’s theoretical

framework is supported through the dominance of the power structures at play (1949, 330).

Largely influenced by the media and a widespread normalization of gender roles and beauty

ideals, women in both countries have been shaped mentally and physically by the social

structures surrounding them. Furthermore, homogenizing beauty messages through mainstream

media and advertising work to promote capitalism, thus influencing the construction of a

lucrative consumer culture within both the United States and China.

I have experienced first-hand how the pressure of gendered nationalism has informed my

choices with regards to self-construction. As an Asian-American women born and raised in the

United States, I have often struggled with finding my place within this country. Growing up with

primarily white actresses and singers dominating the media I regularly consumed, I dealt with

feelings of self-contempt for my skin color, my eye shape, and my body. In my mind, being

Asian meant that I had to achieve a higher status of beauty to reach “average” Western

perceptions of attractiveness. After begging my parents to allow me to get blonde highlights. I

first dyed my hair when I was just 11 years old. Since then, I have continued to bleach my hair to

achieve lighter locks.

In high school, I went through a phase of using eyelid tape to attain double-eyelids. My

participation in this self-modification was supported by the growing popularity of eyelid trends

within Asia; in many ways, I felt as if this justified my actions. For years, I was stuck in a mental

space of trying to conform to Western trends, fueled by the urge to physically transform myself

in order to align myself to these ideals. I have only recently come to realize that my participation

in these trends and constant desire to achieve a “natural” blonde look has largely been shaped by
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my desire to achieve Western beauty standards and thus, normalize myself within American

social structure.

While there is no feasible solution to combat the creation and perpetuation of gender norms

and gendered nationalism in any country, the one thing society can do is to stay cognizant of

these power relations at play. By not critically viewing the ways that government, media, and

other entities control the power structures within society, the ideas that dictate society’s gender

rules have become normalized and continue to give power to these social structures.

With no signs of social media growth slowing down anytime soon, women must utilize this

platform as a new space to speak out on important issues and share their experiences as they did

with the recent #MeToo movement. As we look to the next generation of women who are

coming of age in a world consumed by social media and influenced by the homogenizing effects

of this platform, we must be conscious of the power we give to it. We must be diligent about

understanding the negative, and sometimes very insidious, aspects of this powerful medium and

be proactive about finding ways to harness its ability to shape positive images for women. By

bringing to light the issues rooted in the power relations that inform the gender norms prevalent

within our society, we can influence younger generations and help to construct a world free of

gender norms and gendered nationalism – a global space where people can feel free to be

accepted and celebrated for who they are, regardless of their sex.
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Figure 1: Calvin Klein Advertisement, 2016, Courtesy of Calvin Klein

(https://www.instagram.com/p/BBF0pxNRC1v/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet)
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Figure 2: Estee Lauder Advertisement, 2012, Courtesy of Estee Lauder –

(http://unjourunehistoireavecninavenard.over-blog.com/article-cosmetics-advertising-in-china-
the-white-modal-107137688.html)
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Works Cited

Bartky, Sandra Lee. "Foucault, Femininity and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power." In Writing

on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory, by Sarah Stanbury, Nadia Medina, and

Katie Conboy, 129-54. New York City, NY: Columbia University Press, 1997. https://mycourses

.aalto.fi/pluginfile.php/198021/mod_page/content /8/Bartky129_HIAR11034.pdf.

Beauvoir, Simone De. The Second Sex. Translated by Constance Borde. New York: Vintage Books,

2011. https://uberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1949_simone-de-beauvoir-the-second-

sex.pdf.

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley, CA: Univ.

of California Press, 1993. https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/Radical Feminist Literature/Bordo,

Susan/Unbearable Weight (92)/Unbearable Weight - Bordo, Susan.pdf.

Jha, Meeta Rani. The Global Beauty Industry: Colorism, Racism, and the National Body. New York,

NY: Routledge, 2016.

Kaw, Eugenia. "Medicalization of Racial Features: Asian American Women and Cosmetic

Surgery." Medical Anthropology Quarterly, New Series, 7, no. 1 (1993): 74-89.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/649247.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York:

Harper Collins, 2002. https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/courses/1476051/files/folder/Week 2

Reading?preview=73521802.

Yang, Jie. "Nennu and Shunu: Gender, Body Politics, and the Beauty Economy in China." Signs 36,

no. 2 (2011): 333-57. doi:10.1086/655913.