Shanghai(ed) Babies

Abstract

Chick lit's emphasis on choice, agency and conspicuous consumption has been linked to the impact of Anglo-American neoliberalism. This paper argues that the similarly themed global chick lit, springing up in developing countries and ex-communist countries in recent years, works in tandem with the economic policies of global capitalism that breaks down national/geographical borders and promises a desirable world order of universalized choice and freedom. More than just the Western commodities and Western-defined and locally endorsed values of beauty and femininity, the global chick lit propagates the idea of a neoliberal, global sisterhood of chic, empowered, consumerist and individualistically minded women who find freedom through consumption and progress in following Western commodities and values. Here geopolitics and biopolitics combine together to aid the expansion of Anglo-American neoliberal ideas. This paper uses Shanghai Baby as an example of the global chick lit in China, a hitherto unexplored market. Set in China's most Westernized city, this novel portrays a new generation of young, urban, professional Chinese women who celebrate material pleasure and increased sexual agency in the context of China's market liberalization and the influx of global capital. While reflecting the impact of neoliberalism, the global chick lit also hints at the gaps between the local and the Western and the uneven nature of economic development, thus setting into greater relief the inherent race and class hierarchies and exclusions behind the neoliberal rhetoric of universalized choice and freedom.