Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to explore expressions of masculinity in contemporary urban China amongst young middle to upper class Chinese Men. The thesis focuses on expressions related to material and physical aspects of masculinity. More specifically the focus lies on masculine expressions in relation to grooming, material possessions, wealth and consumption. Physical expression relating to the male body and sexuality is also explored. The research is based on interviews with informants and observations made in Shanghai and photo analysis of a monthly fashion editorial in the Chinese version of the male fashion magazine GQ (Gentlemen’s Quarterly). During Mao Zedong’s ruling period gender-barriers were nearly eradicated, and consumption was a non-subject. Due to the past thirty years of enormous economic growth in China, the country has seen the appearance of a consumer society. This thesis argues that expressions of masculinity in contemporary urban China appear to be increasingly centred on material possessions, consumption and wealth, and can to some degree be said to be a defining factor of masculinity. The male grooming industry has grown significantly in the past few years but is still relatively young. Male grooming appears to be gaining increasing acceptance as a factor of masculinity, despite some people still viewing grooming as effeminate. The appearance of a metrosexual form of masculinity seems to be becoming increasingly visible, and can be connected with a middleclass expression of masculinity. Furthermore, bodily expressions of masculinity seem to be influenced by Western images of masculinity and there seems to be a discrepancy between what the average Chinese male body type is and what is viewed as the most masculine type of male body.