Leiden University Student Repository

Musta, Laerta (2018)

Consuming and Advertising Cosmetic Surgery Online in China: Yuemei and Soyoung

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

Cosmetic surgery in China has become particularly popular in the last decade. The country has faced a great economic development, which has led to the birth of the new Chinese consumer. Consumption is particularly tied to self-representation and identity. To complete their identity through their appearance, individuals consume cosmetic surgery. For this reason, the beauty industry has developed new means to attract future clients: online advertising. Since few of the previous studies deal with the online aspect of cosmetic surgery in China, this dissertation aims to analyze how the new agents of advertisements (in this case websites) are used to compel clients. By employing discourse analysis to two cosmetic surgery platforms: Yuemei and Soyoung, the research demonstrates how the main means of these websites’ advertising are the users themselves.

Consumption

Gender Identity

Chinese Women

Online Advertisement

Cosmetic Surgery

Yuemei

Soyoung

Author

Musta, Laerta

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

MA Asian Studies - History, Art and Culture of Asia (60 ECTS)

Supervisors

Teh, Limin

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en