https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u How does the standard of women’s body image have been represented on the Chinese social media platform Little Red Book, relating to the social trend “BM girls”? en-us 2020-10-16 05:37:34 UTC 2023-05-09 12:39:55 UTC hello@padlet.com qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/834963972 BM is shortened from the clothing brand Brandy Melville, and the clothes of the brand only have one size, which is small (World Clothing Shoes and Hats Network, 2020). In this case, “BM girl” refers to, and is highly associated with those who have skinny body shape and are sweet-looking. The "BM" trend not only affects how women dress, but also impacts the general standard of women's body image, and how the social media platform Little Red Book represents this image. This reminds me of the self-objectification theory, which means that women view themselves as an object and can be evaluated by the outside world (mostly men) (Calogero, Tantleff-Dun & Thompson, 2011, p. 7 ).]]> 2020-10-16 07:37:44 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/834963972 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/834976549 I will use content analysis for my project. By typing "BM girl" on Little Red Book's research bar, related posts will come up. 50 posts were selected. The coding system is divided into 4 categories: the number of likes; whether the specific body size such as weight, height, waistlines and so on, is mentioned; whether it contains weight loss methods; key words of the post, excluding "BM girls". Noticeably, in Chinese,  the general and neutral expression for thinness is "shou" (瘦) , and for an overweight body size, it is referred as "weipang" (微胖), which means a little plump.]]> 2020-10-16 07:47:31 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/834976549 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/835004654 Overall, 37 posts contained specific figures about body size such as weight, height or waistlines, which took 74%. 10 posts referred their body size as overweight. This means that social media posts on Little Red Book tend to reveal the specific body size to emphasize the fashion trend BM style. In addition, there were also opinion sharing posts. 47% of the posts supported the feminist idea of being who you are, embracing your body, while 53% of the posts still promoted the idea of extreme thinness.  ]]> 2020-10-16 08:13:42 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/835004654 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844269755 2020-10-20 10:30:12 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844269755 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844278104 From the statistics, we can see that even though there were posts that promoted the idea of embracing your body and being who you are, the inclination of pursuing extreme thinness was still prevalent. Posts on the social media platform tend to reveal their specific body size for daily wear and share. However, reasons that the popularity of BM style and the pursuit for extreme thinness were not analysed. It might relate to self-objectification and male gaze under a patriarchal society.]]> 2020-10-20 10:35:31 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844278104 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844293313 Calogero, R. M., Tantleff-Dunn, S., & Thompson, J. K. (2011). Self-objectification in women. [electronic resource]: causes, consequences, and counteractions (1st ed.). American Psychological Association.
Disabled World, (2020, March 5). Adult Male and Female Height to Weight Ratio Chart. https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight.php
World Clothing Shoes and Hats Network. (2020, June 1). "BM Girl" Sweeps Across The City Beauty, Who Is Boosting "Sweet, Spicy And Thin"? http://www.sjfzxm.com/global/en/570415.html]]> 2020-10-20 10:45:05 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/844293313 qinxinw https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/851481123 Intro of BM girls research]]> 2020-10-22 07:06:16 UTC https://padlet.com/qinxinw/36xmvdq2td1t4u8u/wish/851481123