5. The Taiwanese case
5.2. The significant presence of mixed-race women in the sample
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practical reasons. That gives another explanation for why Taiwanese young women prefer Japan and Korea as their source of inspiration for cultural inscription – it is more relatable for them, just as previous literature, for example the research of Huang (2011) explained.
The fact that Taiwanese interviewees follow a nationally diverse group – based on their replies during the interviews as well as the national backgrounds of the screenshots- proves that cultural globalization is a force very much apparent in Taiwan as well. “Most of the people I follow are from different countries – both from the East and the West,” (TW05) said one interviewee for the question inquiring about the nationality of the accounts she follows.
“I follow singers from Taiwan and China, and also some American ones. The models [I follow] are from many different countries though ,” (TW01) said another one.
Some people listed 8-10 specific countries or listed whole regions, such as “Europe”, meaning multiple different countries from that continent – and they sent screenshots of women from at least 15 different countries.
However, even though the national background of the accounts the follow is diverse, reflecting cultural globalization, cultural proximity or in other words regional influences also proved to be significant, especially regarding cultural inscription. Japan and South Korea in particular are now globally known as important players in the beauty industry and this present research further proved that they play a significant role for Taiwanese young women as a source for cultural inscription or beauty, namely hair styles, make-up and often for fashion as well. Taiwanese women from generation Y, or in other words millenials, follow Korean and Japanese influencers such as Korean make-up guru PONY, on social media platforms, most importantly Instagram as a source for the construction of their beauty ideals, in particular regarding cultural inscription.
5.2. The significant presence of mixed-race women in the sample
The second salient finding for the Taiwanese sample was the significant presence of mixed-race women amongst those who were sent screenshots of as examples of beautiful women. While the Hungarian screenshot sample had 85% Caucasians, 11% Hispanics and 4%
Asians and no mixed-race women, they did appear in the Taiwanese sample. Images of mixed
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race women were not great in volume, but they were often chosen for description during the interviews, which further underlines their importance for the Taiwanese interviewees.
One example was 27-year-old Rima Zeidan (瑞瑪·席丹), Golden Horse Award-winner actress, model and television presenter, who has Taiwanese-Lebanese origins – her mother is Taiwanese and her father Lebanese. Two of the interviewees mentioned her, one saying she liked her because of her body as well as because “she doesn’t have to put on any mask or fake thing, she can just be herself”. The other interviewee praised her for “her energy, boldness, and her lifestyle”, meaning all the outdoors activities she is doing, along with her the fact that
“she’s very funny and humorous.” Another very interesting example was Sonya Sanchez, whom one of the interviewees described as inspirational for having an amazing body after giving birth to her child, and her sense of fashion. Searching for her national background the first search simply showed she was from Thailand, however, her look does not represent a traditional Thai, or even Asian image at all. Therefore further search was conducted and it was found that she was indeed mixed race, namely half Thai and half British, therefore Asian-Caucasian, with the Caucasian features quite overpowering the Asian ones, regarding her skin tone and facial features. Interviewees also brought Ann Hsu (許瑋甯) as an example, a Taiwanese-American-Italian actress based in Taipei, who has over a million followers on Instagram.
As Fabienne Darling-Wolf also mentioned, “constructions of female beauty are intricately embedded in the complex interaction between gender, globalization, nationalism and class status,” (Darling-Wolf, 2004, p.328) and the above discussed findings further underline that, especially regarding the interaction of race and nationalism in relation to beauty ideals.
Reviewing extensive previous literature, Darling-Wolf discussed the importance of the interconnectedness of these concepts in the process of forming cultural identity and reflected on how, especially in post-colonialist countries the feminine ideals are often based on class-specific definitions which are “constructed upon a problematic opposition between East and West” (Darling-Wolf, 2004, p.327). The appeal of mixed-race women for Taiwanese young women represents this dialogue of race and even class for their cultural identity formation. In the above quotes research Darling-Wolf interviewed Japanese women to gain a deeper understanding of their negotiations of the “Westernized nature of constructions of feminine beauty”, considering the colonized past of Japan.
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In the research she discusses the effect the import of Western concepts had on certain cultural forms in Japan, in particular on the feminine beauty ideals, making the “Westernized ideal” as she called them integrated into Japanese standards for feminine beauty. Her informants reported how after the war they started deeming American things, concepts and standards more valuable and intriguing than their domestic Japanese counterparts and how the local standards converged to “Western standards”, as one of her interviewees reported. They further concluded that todays’ young women in Japan often identify with those ideals and are pursuing an increasingly Westernized look – which underlines the concept of cultural globalization and the way it shapes certain cultural aspects such as female beauty ideals.
However, the Darling-Wolf also recognized how based on their idols, Japanese women seemed to prefer Japanese media figures that had a ‘Western’ look to them, which refers back to Huang’s (2011) study on cultural proximity and glocalization, who stated that it was needed in order for Euro-American content or products to be more transferable for Asian audiences. Technically, the situation about feminine beauty can be interpreted the same way:
often they need an Asian background, for example in the form of mixed-race influencers to better adapt or accept Western features, which are still desired, even if they could be more difficultly processed on their own.
However, it ‘works the other way around’ as well, meaning having a mixed racial background, especially combined with an upper class statues can classify individuals from certain national or ethnic backgrounds otherwise traditionally not considered desirable, as ideals. A great example from the interviews and screenshots sent from the Taiwanese interviewees is the above mentioned Sonya Sanchez. Sanchez was born and raised in Thailand, which, as a Southeast Asian nation traditionally cannot be considered as a symbol of beauty for East Asian countries such as Taiwan. However, Sanchez has a mixed racial background, being half Thai and half white British, with the latter strongly showing in her appearance, in traits such as her skin tone or her facial features. Furthermore she married a elite Singaporean man and lives a luxurious lifestyle she showcases on social media, going on dream vacations, flying first class, participating in high-class events, which places her in an upper social class as well (Tan, 2017; Soniadsanchez, 2018). Thus the hybridity that her racial and national background provides for her, her semi-whiteness and her social status classifies her as an ideal for feminine beauty despite her Southeast Asian origins. This therefore further underlines the importance of the intersection of race, class and beauty ideals, a complex interaction that takes part in Taiwanese young women’s cultural identity formation.
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5.3. Conclusion
The results of the interviews that were conducted for this present research show that Taiwanese girls also follow a diverse group of women and accounts as a source for the construction of their beauty ideals. The fact that Taiwanese interviewees follow a nationally diverse group – based on their replies, as well as the national backgrounds of the screenshots, as they sent images of women from 15 different countries-, proves that cultural globalization is a force very much apparent in Taiwan as well.
It was only clear that they look for inspiration regarding cultural inscription, pursuing a feminine image from Korea and Japan – which underlines the important role the two countries play in the cultural market for beauty and style in the region. This status of Japan and Korea can be explained by theories of cultural proximity and glocalization, as the similarities of Korean/Japanese and Taiwanese cultures make the content and products coming from these two countries more easily transferable and adaptable for Taiwanese young women.
It was found however that they do follow many Caucasian-Asian women from various national backgrounds, who represent the westernized-whitened beauty ideal in Asia that previous literature already extensively discussed. On one hand, women with a mixed racial background make elements of Western beauty ideals more easily acceptable for the Taiwanese audience, referring back to the previously mentioned logic of cultural proximity.
On the other hand, being semi-white, especially if it coincides with a higher social class and wealth as well, make national/ethnical backgrounds, such as Southeast Asian, acceptable that otherwise couldn’t be traditionally considered symbolizing feminine beauty ideals.
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6. The lack of significant presence of the US
The third main and most significant finding of this present research was the lack of significant presence of influencers from the United States in the sample of screenshots sent by both Hungarian and Taiwanese interviewees as examples of beautiful women. According to theories of cultural globalization, which often names the United States of America as an important driving force of the process and source of cultural products, should have been much more prominent across the image samples. I will present two arguments to explain this finding. Firstly, I will argue that we live in a different era today, where social media has changed the celebrity culture. It allows for consumers to follow influencers known not only from traditional celebrity-careers such as actors or singers, but often solely social media itself, as there has been an increase in self-made celebrities. Secondly I will introduce the changes in Hollywood’s star recruitment strategy – as in accordance with cultural proximity, they have started to recruit stars from different regions in order to cater to diverse markets.
6.1. The national background of the Instagram screenshots
Prior to discussing the argument explaining the lack of US presence, first I would like to review the accounts Hungarian and Taiwanese interviewees follow on Instagram, as well as the national backgrounds of the Instagram screenshots they sent over during and following the interviews as examples of beautiful women.
Hungarian interviewees almost all mentioned following a diverse group when it came to the national background of the accounts they follow, however, they also added that they were almost exclusively Western, with “maybe just one or two Asian girls” as just a few of the interviewees added. They themselves used these specific terms, mentioning following
“Western” accounts, meaning people and businesses mainly from European countries, North America and Australia. Only one interviewee mentioned following ‘Asian’ girls, however she did not specify, whether she meant their racial or national background. However, in the sample of screenshots the interviewees sent over the only two images that portrayed women with Asian ethnic/racial background were not living on the Asian continent – one lives in the United States, while the other in the United Kingdom.
Regarding the national background of the Instagram screenshots the Hungarian interviewees sent over during or following the interview, the findings are the following. Out
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of the screenshots where nationality could be determined, around half of them, namely 52%
(43 images, 48% if including the unknown-nationality screenshots as well) were from the United States. Almost 20% (16 images) were Hungarian, mostly the interviewees’ own friends, and some athletes and 12% (10 images) were from the United Kingdom – which underlines their own descriptions of the national backgrounds of the accounts they follow. Of the remaining images 10% (8 images) were from a mixture of European countries (Italy, France, Poland and Germany), while Canada made up for 5% (4 images) as well. The last nationalities represented in the sample were Iraq with 3% (3 images) and Australia with 2%
(2 images). And although around half of the screenshots were indeed of women from the United States, the images still represented diverse national backgrounds with over 10 countries appearing from four continents. Interestingly, no women from Asian countries were chosen as examples for beauty.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of what kind of images Taiwanese young women consume and what accounts do they follow as a source for their construction of ideal beauty and their national and cultural background, during the interviews they were also asked about the accounts they follow on Instagram. The majority of the interviewees said they mostly follow their friends on the platform – but multiple girls also mentioned following Eastern singers and actors, Western models as well as fashion accounts. In these cases for singers and models none of them mentioned specific nationalities, using the terms ‘Eastern’ and
‘Western’ completely independently from one another was their own choice of wording, which was very interesting. The East and West are broad, social constructs as their boundaries are not clearly agreed upon and can depend on power – so the interviewer should have asked for further specification regarding nationality, what she missed to do. Nevertheless it is interesting to see how the Taiwanese interviewees categorized the accounts and people they follow based on these socially constructed categories for cultural background.
Regarding the national background, understandingly, Taiwan appeared for all of them as the friends they follow are Taiwanese as well – but most of the girls stated they followed quite a diverse group of people nationality-wise. Sometimes they just said it was diverse from East and the West as well, sometimes they mentioned specific countries. For Asian countries, apart from Taiwan there were specific mentions of China, Korea and Japan; while for Euro-American countries they often specifically mentioned the United States and the United
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Kingdom or just Europe in general. One girl said she follows probably “70% Western and 30% Eastern” accounts (TW10) and another one also mentioned how
“I think [I follow] Western more – because I follow a lot of influencers and artists, and they’re usually from the West.” (TW02)
For the screenshots that Taiwanese interviewees sent over, out of the 108 images 30% (32 screenshots) were portraying Taiwanese women – often the friends of the interviewees, which is not surprising, considering multiple girls said they followed mostly their Taiwanese friends – and women from their country might also often feel more relatable to them. Additionally, following accounts from their own country or culture provides them content with no language barriers, which might be a reason for not following accounts from other national backgrounds whose content they might not understand. The next most prominent nationality was girls from the US, although only making up for 22% of the pictures (23 images), followed by what I categorized as “other European countries” with 13% (14 images). Korean women shared a ratio similar to Europeans with 13% (14 images). The remaining countries were Thailand (7%, 7 images), Australia and South Africa (6%, 6 images), Russia(3%, 3 images), Brazil and Japan (2%, 2 images each).
The following graphs below illustrate the national backgrounds of the screenshots received from the Hungarian and Taiwanese interviewees, including the number of screenshots of which the nationality couldn’t be determined.
Figure 16. National backgrounds of the women in the Instagram screenshots sent by Hungarian and Taiwanese interviewees
UK, Germany, Hungary, Spain 12%
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6.2. A different media era
One of the arguments as for why images of women from the United States in the screenshot samples, especially the Taiwanese sample, were not as significant is the different character of today’s media era and the influence it has on celebrity culture. Today, digital and new media is taking over traditional mass media, especially age groups such as the millenials that are the focus of this study. Previous studies have shown that members of Generation Y prefer social media platforms such as Instagram over the usage of traditional mass media channels, such as watching television (Bolton, Parasuraman, Hoefnagels, Migchels, Kabadayi, Gruber, Loureiro & Solnet, 2013). And even though they are still exposed to commercial movies and television programs, they are more and more looking for or at least have access to celebrities and people to look up to on these social media platforms.
Traditional celebrities have gotten famous because of being Hollywood movie or television actors or world class singers, and they are also present on social media platforms. As Gamson describes, in their case:
“in its most conventional form, celebrity in the United States emerges from, and is managed by, a tightly controlled, well-resourced industry” (Gamson, 2011, p. 1062).
However, there has been an increasing number of self-made celebrities, who are often also referred to as social media influencers or micro-celebrities and are known for having gained their following solely based on their social media activities. As the above quoted author says of this phenomenon,
“the Web has also generated a sort of bottom-up, do-it-yourself celebrity production process that is party autonomous from its predecessors” (Gamson, 2011, p. 1065).
Marwick & Boyd (2011) conceptualize the micro-celebrity as it
“can be understood as a mindset and set of practices in which audience is viewed as a fan base; popularity is maintained through ongoing fan management; and self-presentation is carefully constructed to be consumed by others” (Marwick & Boyd, 2011, p.140),
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and argue that it developed due to the heightened popularity of self-branding and strategic self-presentation concepts. Meanwhile Hearn and Schoenhoff (2015) define this social media influencer as someone who:
“…works to generate a form of “celebrity” capital by cultivating as much attention as possible and crafting an authentic “personal brand” via social networks, which can subsequently be used by companies and advertisers for consumer outreach” (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015, p.194)
The authors add that with the elimination of certain jobs and the professional assessment processes and evaluation systems such as Klout, becoming a social media influencer, a do-it-yourself celebrity has become a life goal for many individuals, as this career path actually provides opportunities of economic value today.
This way, through social media, a wider pool of individuals have the opportunity to become famous or at least build a larger following base, as they no longer have to go through the rigid Hollywood gatekeeper system. The internet and social media has made it possible to evade the traditional gatekeepers, it has lowered the entry barriers for them, while also eliminating restraints originating from factors such as geographical location. Thus it is much more accessible for the ordinary social media user to become a micro-celebrity or social media influencer, as, just like how Khamis et al. (2016) explain:
“While the goal might be to eventually link up with advertisers and parlay an online profile towards a broader public presence, self-branding through social media does not require initial affiliation with the ‘already powerful’” (Khamis et al. 2016, p. 198).
The authors also note how the fame enjoyed by these social media influencers significantly relies on “vanity and ego of attention-seekers” and how younger audiences that qualify as
The authors also note how the fame enjoyed by these social media influencers significantly relies on “vanity and ego of attention-seekers” and how younger audiences that qualify as