Toward a Frigid Body: Minimalist Fashion and the Sinthomosexual in China

Abstract

The emergence of “the frigid style,” namely the appellation of minimalist fashion in China, is synchronized with a heightened national policy that aims at boosting reproduction and compensating for an aging society—a new phase of China’s sexual revolution since the economic reform in the late 1970s. This article argues that the frigid style, incarnating sexual aloofness, is a bodily defense against the discursive reconstruction of body for a reproductive agenda. The frigidly dressed body is not a conspicuous manifesto against biopolitics; instead, it incorporates the Chinese ideal of security and nobility. Articulated in the pursuit of security is a persona of nothingness safe from the normative discourses of ideal citizenship, while in nobility a fantasized western lifestyle that disregards the limitations on gender, class and race. Moreover, the rise of frigid style is accompanied by the popularization of what Lee Edelman calls “sinthomosexuality,” namely sex without any impetus of reproduction. The sinthomosexual outlook on bodily autonomy and agency connotes a new subjectivity in China—the construction of subjects appealing for apoliticality. This apolitical subjectivity might furnish us with a critical lens to look at normcore fashion across the globe.

Keywords:

• Minimalist fashion
• reproduction
• frigidity
• sinthomosexual
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 “不得播出偶像养成类节目 (bu de bo chu ou xiang yang cheng lei jie mu).” Xinhuanet, September 2, 2021. Accessed 6 April 2022. The title could be translated into “No Broadcasting of Idol Production Shows.” http://www.news.cn/politics/2021-09/02/c_1127820539.htm

2 “创造婚育友好环境, 消弭‘恐婚’‘恐育’情绪 (chuang zao hun yu you hao huan jing, xiao mi ‘kong hun’ ‘kong yu’ qing xu).” China Women’s News, September 7, 2020. Accessed 8 September 2021. The title could be translated into “Constructing a Reproduction-Friendly Environment, Preventing ‘Gamophobic’ and ‘Tokophobic’ Sensations.” http://www.nwccw.gov.cn/2020-09/07/content_287016.htm

3 “积极构建新型婚育文化, 助力提振婚育信心 (ji ji gou jian xin xing hun yu wen hua, zhu li ti zhen hun yu xin xin).” China Women’s News, August 5, 2021. Accessed 8 September 2021. http://paper.cnwomen.com.cn/html/2021-08/05/nw.D110000zgfnb_20210805_3-2.htm

4 Information of the MUJI Labo series was retrieved from the official site of MUJI on September 11 2021. https://www.muji.com/us/mujilabo/

5 Data collected from Little Red Book on 12 September 2021.

6 “Lemaire: The Brand Putting Low-Key Luxury on the Map.” Interview by Eugenie Dalland. SSENSE, 2019. Accessed 12 September 2021. https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/lemaire-the-brand-putting-low-key-luxury-on-the-map

7 “Spring-Summer 2022 Interview.” Interview by Stéphanie Hussonois. Lemaire official site, 2021. Accessed 12 September 2021. https://eu.lemaire.fr/pages/christophe-lemaire-sarah-linh-tran-spring-summer-2022-collection-interview

8 The post on Little Red Book was accessed on 13 September 2021.

https://www.xiaohongshu.com/discovery/item/60d5b044000000000102efd4?xhsshare=CopyLink&appuid=5b18af4df7e8b9281fce990c&apptime=1631497801

9 Data collected from Taobao on 13 September 2021.

10 雨果 (yuguo). 2021, February 6. “生育率，是一个男权概念 (sheng yu lv shi yi ge nan quan gai nian).” Wechat Media Platform. Accessed on 24 April 2022. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/0QoF7QQz5HGrMPDozkQTNg

11 雨果 (yuguo). 2021, February 28. “生育危机的本质是: 父权危机 (sheng yu wei ji de ben zhi shi: fu quan wei ji).” Douban. Accessed on 7 April 2022. https://m.douban.com/note/795653771/

12 “La Vie Lemaire: Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran Talk Style.” Interview by Mary Tramdack. SSENSE, 2015. Accessed 15 September 2021. https://www.ssense.com/en-us/editorial/fashion/la-vie-lemaire

13 Ibid. Accessed 15 September 2021.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ying Hu

Ying Hu is a PhD student of literary studies affiliated to the Dept. of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS. Hu graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2020 with a Master’s degree in Literature and Modernity. His research interest includes contemporary English literature, queer theory, gender studies, and contemporary Chinese culture. [email protected]