Nation, fashion and women's everyday lives : breast-binding in China, 1910s-1970s
This thesis explores how nationalism, fashion and women's everyday lives intersect with each other from the 1910s to the 1970s in China, with a specific focus on the female breast and the practice of breast-binding. Since the late Qing period, breastbinding was reported as a new fashion trend among urban women. An anti-breastbinding movement followed up in 1927, with important male and female elites criticising this practice from various aspects of nationalism, emancipation, aesthetics, and women's health. From the late 1930s to the 1940s, there seemed a moment breast-binding faded away from mainstream practice. Yet after the 1950s, it appeared again and the practice remained common among women from various backgrounds until the end of the Mao era. Why did women continue to bind their breasts from the 1910s to the 1970s, despite the tremendous social, cultural and political changes throughout this period? Fully recogonising the complexity of this issue, I argue that throughout this period, the female body was constructed as an index to women's emancipation, fashion development, and nationalist or communist ideology. Women's bodily choices were largely dependent on peer pressure, which derived from contemporaneous
Jiao, Lin
Nation, fashion and women's everyday lives : breast-binding in China, 1910s-1970s. This thesis explores how nationalism, fashion and women's everyday lives intersect with each other from the 1910s to the 1970s in China, with a specific focus on the female breast and the practice of breast-binding. Since the late Qing period, breastbinding was reported as a new fashion trend among urban women. An anti-breastbinding movement followed up in 1927, with important male and female elites criticising this practice from various aspects of nationalism, emancipation, aesthetics, and women's health. From the late 1930s to the 1940s, there seemed a moment breast-binding faded away from mainstream practice. Yet after the 1950s, it appeared again and the practice remained common among women from various backgrounds until the end of the Mao era. Why did women continue to bind their breasts from the 1910s to the 1970s, despite the tremendous social, cultural and political changes throughout this period? Fully recogonising the complexity of this issue, I argue that throughout this period, the female body was constructed as an index to women's emancipation, fashion development, and nationalist or communist ideology. Women's bodily choices were largely dependent on peer pressure, which derived from contemporaneous
nation fashion woman everyday_life binding china explores nationalism fashion woman everyday_life intersect china specific_focus female practice binding since report new fashion trend among urban woman anti movement follow important male_female elites criticise practice various_aspect nationalism emancipation aesthetic woman health seem moment binding fade away mainstream practice yet appear practice remain common among_woman various background end mao era woman continue bind despite tremendous social_cultural political_change throughout_period fully complexity issue argue throughout_period female_body construct index woman emancipation fashion development nationalist communist ideology women bodily choice largely dependent peer pressure derive contemporaneous