Gentle yet Manly: Xiao xian rou, Male Cosmetic Surgery and Neoliberal Consumer Culture in China

ABSTRACT

This article explores the phenomenal growth in the popularity of the “little fresh meat” (xiao xian rou) androgynous, effeminate male beauty trend and the rise in the demand for male cosmetic surgery in the context of neoliberal consumer culture in China. This new male beauty trend is rooted in traditional Chinese gentle/benign wen masculinity, but it has also been influenced by the “flower boys” of South Korea and Japan and by Western metrosexuals. Drawing on men’s accounts in Beauty Diaries posted on cosmetic surgery apps, the author argues that gentle wen and tough wu are not perceived dualistically by the men who opt for cosmetic surgery. Rather, “gentle yet manly” is a common narrative now invoked in the construction of masculinities. In a neoliberal consumer culture, men have more agency and freedom to engage in the beautification practices associated with femininity, but they are also constrained by hegemonic masculinity and must therefore negotiate with the dominant existing masculinity discourses to find their position in society. The resultant paradoxes in male identity associated with male cosmetic surgery reflect the fluidity and the unsettling nature of the constructions of hybrid masculinities in China.

ABSTRACT

本文旨在探讨在中国新自由主义消费文化背景下 “小鲜肉” 的流行, 中性, 阴柔的男性审美趋势以及男性整形美容手术需求的增长. 这种新的男性审美趋势既源于中国传统温文尔雅的 “文” 男性气质, 也受到了韩国和日本 “花美男” 以及西方都市型男的影响. 通过分析男性在医美 APP上发布的 “美容日记” 中的叙述, 作者认为那些选择整形美容手术的男性没有二元对立地来看待温文尔雅的 “文” 和阳刚勇猛的 “武” 男性气质, 相反, “温文尔雅而有男子气” 是他们在构建男性气质的过程中经常用到的一种叙述. 此外, 尽管在新自由主义消费文化中, 男性拥有更多的能动性和自由来从事与女性气质相关的美容实践, 但他们仍受到男性霸权气质的约束, 因此必须不断地与占主导地位的男性气质话语进行协商以定位自己的社会身份. 与男性整形美容手术相关的男性气质的悖论反映了中国交融混合的男性气质建构的流动性和不安定性.

KEYWORDS:

• Male cosmetic surgery
• xiao xian rou
• masculinity in crisis
• soft masculinity
• wen–wu
• masculinity
• cosmetic surgery apps
• neoliberal consumer culture
• China

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to David Henley, Nathan Porath and David Hundt for their invaluable feedback and suggestions. I would like to thank Rosemary Robson for editing the manuscript. My special thanks go to the anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful comments and useful suggestions for the improvement of this article.

Notes

1. SoYoung and Gengmei are the two most popular social media platforms and cosmetic surgery applications in China. They have published annual reports of the industry since 2015 based on big-data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies, including online surveys of their users and analysis of bookings made via apps and Beauty Diaries posted on these apps.

2. In the 2000s, the terms “flower boy” (hua mei nan), “city jade man” (dushi yu nan) and “city style man” (dushi xing nan) were used to describe men who take care good care of their appearance.

3. The number of apps was calculated based on the list of “cosmetic surgery apps” on the PC6.com website on 24 April 2018 (http://www.pc6.com/iphoneh/zrapp/).

4. Zhu Bajie is a fictional character in Chinese popular culture with part-human and part-pig facial characteristics.