The Rise of "Doll-Mommies" and "Doll-Daddies" in China: Chinese Youth Meet BJD Culture

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the contemporary Chinese youth group, "doll-mommies/ daddies," who are involved in Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD) culture. The thesis is based on a content analysis of popular social media used by "doll-mommies/daddies", specifically BJD Bar and BJD Tsukkomi Bar on Baidu. I have incorporated reflections of my own experience as a BJD player as a supplementary source of data. I contend that the BJD culture in contemporary China has become a virtual space for "doll-mommies/daddies" to explore and understand self-representation, social stratification, Chinese culture, and gender and sexuality. The thesis contributes to the sociology of toys and studies of youth culture with a focus on analysing the BJD culture in China. It also contributes new insights to China studies, providing a window to understanding Chinese youth culture and contemporary Chinese society, which has experienced profound changes due to the government's introduction of market economy, globalization, and information technology.iii AcknowledgementsWriting this thesis was a tough but fantastic experience for me. It did take me much time to rethink my identity as a doll-mommy and push me to analyze all my common findings using the sociological methods. Meanwhile, being an international student from China, it was not an easy task to live alone in an unfamiliar country far away from home and learn everything in my second language. However, now I am incredibly proud and honored to have completed this project with selfless assistance from all of the intelligent, kind-hearted, and caring people who grace my life.I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my thesis supervisor and mentor, Professor Xiaobei Chen, for providing an excellent foundation of knowledge and for all of your support and encouragement throughout the writing process with endless patience. The transparency, honesty, reflexivity and care, both on studying and living, that you guided me were memorable gifts to me. I would also like to thank my second reader, Professor Michael Mopas, mainly for giving his insightful feedback on my thesis.

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