For a long time, Western beauty ideals have influenced countries and cultures around the world. And China was no exception. Since the 20s, Westernized women have been a symbol of modernity.
Apart from a “Maoist” parenthesis with a more masculine female image, from the 80s onwards the “Meinv Jingji” (Chinese beauty economy) has a real obsession with Western features. Indeed, he had.
Things are changing rapidly: driven by Chinese social media and the explosion of economy and consumption three new female identities have begun to make their way, which go beyond and expand the old boundaries of western beauty canons.
The "new Chinese women".
The first trend that is depopulating on Chinese social networks is that of “split femininity”, a look that oscillates between hypersexualization and infantilization, between purity and desire. An example? The “xian nv luo lei” makeup: a true hymn to delicacy (even vulnerability and submissiveness).
Another trend is the “globalized femininity” which draws on international sources of inspiration, such as celebrities, history and the media. For example, Chinese influencers combine Thai, Western and Korean canons of beauty (fishing from the cultural phenomenon of K-Pop) to create new models of femininity.
Finally, the third trend (perhaps the most marked) is that of “nationalist beauty” or “China beauty”. She is becoming increasingly popular, drawing on elements of Chinese aesthetics and tradition (such as Peking Opera makeup) to create looks that celebrate national pride.
Beauty as a cultural lever and a sign of the times
The reflections of history inevitably also impact society and customs. For this reason, the emergence and affirmation of a Chinese identity also in female beauty shows how China wants to create, and perhaps export, "its" image of itself.
These too, if you will, are technical proofs of cultural hegemony.
