Eating disorders and representations of the role of women in China: A qualitative study

Abstract

Objective: This qualitative study examines the representations of young Chinese girls and women with eating disorders (EDs) about the role of women in China, because conflicting societal values for women may foster the development of EDs there.Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 adolescent girls or young women hospitalized for an ED and with eight of their parents. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore the data.Result: Three superordinate themes emerged from the participants' narratives: the thin ideal in Chinese society; the experience of gender-related pressure;and independence and autonomization in a changing society. The ideal of thinness prevails, both in interpersonal relationships and in social roles.Highly codified representations persist, limiting women's opportunities. The participants and their parents show substantial ambivalence about independence; the young women have real difficulty in making decisions, thus failing to adopt roles that accord with their aspirations. Discussion: Young girls' and women's representations of their gender could have implications in the development of EDs, mediated by their focus on thinness and their difficulties in constructing their identity, in developing autonomy and self-esteem, as well as family conflict. These findings indicate that construction of femininity in China is unsettled by rapid societal changes. K E Y W O R D Seating disorders, identity crisis, qualitative research, women's role

A feminist approach to eating disorders in China: a qualitative study

“…The extent to which young women in China recognise the currency of thinness to social acceptance, relationship and employment success has been explained in relation to the impact of Western beauty standards [ 15 , 41 , 48 ]. It has been suggested that East Asian culture historically associated ‘slenderness among women with poverty, poor health, and low fecundity’ [ 33 , 49 ]—marking it out as undesirable.…”

“…As noted, China was traditionally shaped by the gendered values of Confucian philosophy which emphasised women’s submissiveness to men and primary association with the domestic sphere, as well as filial piety and ‘community-based individuality’ [ 15 ]. Yet the transformation of Chinese society to a market economy significantly impacted social roles for women.…”

“…Following wider feminist arguments about the relationship between social change and eating problems [ 19 , 33 ], this conflict has been ventured as a context for eating problems in China. As de Montgrémier et al explain, the ‘tension between the so-called “international” modern, liberal, and individualist Western culture and the traditional collectivist Chinese culture engenders a form of internally … contradictory discourse that might make young women vulnerable and susceptible’ to eating problems [ 15 ]. de Montgrémier et al’s study of eleven adolescent girls/young women hospitalized for an ED (and eight of the participant parents) represents one of the only feminist qualitative studies of EDs in China.…”

“…de Montgrémier et al’s study of eleven adolescent girls/young women hospitalized for an ED (and eight of the participant parents) represents one of the only feminist qualitative studies of EDs in China. On one level, the authors found similar trigger factors for EDs to those in Western contexts, such as educational and work pressures; the social currency of thinness, and a desire for independence, autonomy and control [ 15 ]. At the same time, although patriarchal control and the oppression of women may foster similar methods to achieve feminine agency and autonomy across cultures [ 9 , 33 ], the authors’ understanding of the specific gendered context here suggests that the ‘will to be thin reflects a meaning different from that in Western countries’ [ 15 ].…”

“…In responding to this context, the current article draws on interviews with 12 women from urban China (most with self-reported BN/BED) in order to explore the ways in which gender is implicated within eating/body distress from a transcultural point of view. In particular, it seeks to contribute to the exploration of the applicability of feminist paradigms—largely developed in the West—to experiences of EDs in non-western contexts [ 14 , 15 ]. It is fully acknowledged that Western feminism has historically been critiqued for its ethnocentrism [ 17 ].…”