Transnational Chinese Beautyscapes: Ghetto Glamour and Fake Beauty in Abidjan

Basile Ndjio
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Abstract

This article explores how beauty and fashion practices and imagination have evolved in Ivory Coast since the early 2000s, using secondary sources and ethnographic research conducted in Abidjan in 2017. In addition to identifying alternatives to prevalent Western norms of beauty and style, the article highlights the expansion of Chinese beautyscapes and the ongoing Sinonization of local fashion and aesthetic cultures. It also draws attention to the contradictory features of bobaraba, a term increasingly used to describe Chinese-made clothing and beauty accessories. Though bobaraba is praised as a ghetto glamour and an expression of the urban poor's participation in the global consumer culture, it is frequently viewed as “fake beauty” intended to create an illusion of beauty. This article demonstrates that Chinese consumer goods are increasingly influencing contemporary African fashion culture, beauty ideals, body stylisation, and even sexuality.
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跨国华人美景:阿比让的贫民窟魅力与假美人
本文利用二手资料和2017年在阿比让进行的人种学研究,探讨了自21世纪初以来象牙海岸的美容和时尚实践与想象是如何演变的。除了确定西方盛行的美容和风格规范的替代方案外,文章还强调了中国美容景观的扩张以及当地时尚和审美文化正在进行的中国化。文章还提请人们注意 "bobaraba"(一个越来越多用来描述中国制造的服装和美容配件的术语)的矛盾特征。虽然 bobaraba 被赞誉为贫民窟的魅力和城市贫民参与全球消费文化的一种表现形式,但它也经常被视为旨在制造美丽假象的 "假美"。本文论证了中国消费品正日益影响着当代非洲的时尚文化、审美理想、身体造型,甚至性观念。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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