How Does Globalization Influence Feminine Beauty From Society To Society?

Question

I am very interested with the idea that identity is not fixed, that it becomes something flexible and is therefore able to change and transform. I want to find out more about what influences personhood within different cultural contexts in an interconnected world. The question that I came up with is “how does globalization influence feminine beauty from society to society?” It originated from the textbook question “how does the concept of personhood vary from society to society?” (Robbins, Cummings et al. 2014:144).

At first, I researched more general questions such as how globalization affects society in general, but soon I realized that there were too many options, and that my question was too broad. In order to make my inquiry

The article does not specifically identify standards of beauty, or what is considered beautiful, but instead it operates at a higher level looking at how images of beauty are diffused through society and whether or not those images are associated with Westernization. An indication that globalization is in fact influencing Chinese notions of beauty is that “in recent years, the central government has attempted to advocate modernization without Westernization (Harwood, Zhang 2004:168). What this means is that beauty and pleasure are becoming strong personal values at the local levels, and the government is concerned that Western notions of beauty are penetrating society against traditional notions of beauty.

Something to consider, is that because of the controlling Chinese government, are TV commercials actually free to express notions of beauty as understood by the creative producers, or are they following orders to promote Chinese notions of beauty? In other words, what is seen on TV may not be an accurate reflection of the influence globalization has on notions of beauty in China.

Third Source: The Globalization of Beauty: How is Ideal Beauty Influenced by Globally Published Fashion and Beauty Magazines?

Yan Yan and Kim

2011 Body Norms and Fat Stigma in Global Perspective. Current Anthropology, Vol.52, No.2. University of Chicago Press.

This paper describes the attitudes towards fat within different cultural contexts globally. The research indicates that in there has been a cultural shift in attitudes towards fatness and obesity in cultures that were once considered fat-positive. While the phenomenon of fat-stigmatizing is spreading globally, the drivers are not made entirely clear

Zhang, Y. B. and Harwood, Jake. 2004 Modernization and Tradition in an Age of Globalization:

Cultural Values in Chinese Television Commercials. Journal of Communication.

This paper investigates 28 hours of Chinese commercials in order to decipher the dominant value themes being presented. The context of the paper is globalization, and the question speaks to the notion that Westernization is driving changing views of beauty in China. Beauty is the fourth most prevalent theme in Chinese commercials, and the fact that the Chinese government is promoting a modernization without Westernization policy is evidence that globalization can spread salient cultural