Unpacking Thin Culture Among Chinese Young Women

Abstract

The study examines how peer interaction amplifies the effects of social media regarding the formation of thin culture among Chinese young women. Drawing on 9 in-depth interviews and observational data, the paper takes a qualitative approach to analyze how social media and peer interaction operate collectively while promoting the development of the thin ideal in Chinese young women’s perception. The findings are threefold. First, it delineates the discursive content of "thin culture" on social media, which extols boniness as the defining factor in beauty and celebrates the quantification of the body. Second, the article examines the specific mechanism of the penetration of the “thin culture” on social media, Through communication, admiration, imitation, and comparison, peer interaction confirms the message from social media, further strengthening the thin ideal among Chinese young women. In addition, the findings also reflect the reproduction of gender inequality and the deleterious algorithm of social media platforms.