Paper short abstract:

This article examines how whiteness theory can be used to treat whiteness not as a biological category but as a social construct; it also investigates how the modern Chinese conception of beauty explicitly excludes blackness and browness.

Paper long abstract:

This article examines how whiteness theory can be used to treat whiteness not as a biological category but as a social construct; it also investigates how the modern Chinese conception of beauty explicitlyexcludes blackness and browness. Clear skin color serves as a social marker or as an identification marker in China. In other words, having delicate white skin leads to perceptions of belonging to a higher social status because it means one has not been exposed to the hard manuallabor under the sun. White skin is considered beautiful; the darker the skin, the more it is considered unattractive.

The depigmentation of the skin has become a social phenomenon among women in China as well as in Africa. The criteria of feminine beauty - clarity (in Africa) and whiteness in China - are synonymous with beauty and class distinction among the female population. This paper will examines how whiteness and blackness is constructed in habits, discourse, practices and mass media in China. Some of the questions guiding the research are as follows :

How do representations of whiteness and blackness in modern China help us to further the academicdebate on whitenesstheory?

Does whiteness as a cultural and social construct impact on social privilege in china (i.e. jobs, education, accomodation, acceptance)? Is there evidence of 'white privelege' among Chinese ? Is there evidence of 'white privelege' among expatriates ?

What are the common stereotypes associated with whiteness and blackness in China among the Chinese community ? Among the expatriate community ? How are these stereotypes reinforced ?