Between the mirror and the flag: Affective nationalism and aesthetic consumption in the Chinese diaspora in Lisbon
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.12775/LSE.2026.65.01Mots-clés
affective nationalism, aesthetic consumption, Chinese diaspora, beauty and genderRésumé
This article examines aesthetic consumption among Chinese women living in Lisbon as a practice situated at the intersection of affective nationalism, emotional governance and migration. Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography combining in-depth interviews, participant observation in beauty salons and aesthetic clinics, and the analysis of transnational digital platforms, the study explores how cosmetics and skincare products function as vehicles of belonging and national attachment. The analysis shows how the phenomenon of guochao and consumer nationalism mobilize emotions such as pride, nostalgia and familiarity, transforming everyday consumption into a form of emotional citizenship. In the diasporic context, these practices acquire additional meanings, allowing women to negotiate identity, modernity and cultural continuity while navigating global aesthetic hierarchies. At the same time, the article highlights the ambivalences and tensions embedded in these choices, particularly the coexistence of national pride with persistent racialized ideals of beauty and the neoliberal reduction of women’s agency to consumption. By focusing on the body, and especially the skin, as a symbolic surface of inscription, the article contributes to broader debates on nationalism, gender and affect in transnational contexts.
Références
Amante, M.F., Rodrigues, I. (2020). Mobility regimes and the crisis: the changing face of Chinese migration due to the Portuguese golden visa policy. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(17), 4081–4099. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1752640
Anagnost, A. (2008). From ‘Class’ to ‘Social Strata’: grasping the social totality in reform-era China. Third World Quarterly, 29(3), 497–519. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590801931488
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London–New York: Verso.
Bonnet, A., Kolev, A. (2021). The middle class emerging Asia: champions for more inclusive societies? OECD Development Centre Working Papers. No. 347. Paris: OECD Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/93af380b-en
Brownell, S. (1998). The body and the beautiful in Chinese nationalism: sportswomen and fashion models in the reform era. China Information, 13(2–3), 36–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0920203X9801300203
Chadha, R., Husband, P. (2006). The cult of the luxury brand: Inside Asia’s love affair with luxury. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Davis, D.S. (2000). Introduction: A revolution in consumption. In: D.S. Davis (ed.), The consumer revolution in China (pp. 1–22). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Dikötter, F. (2005 [1992]). The discourse of race in modern China. London: Hurst & Company.
Duara, P. (1993). De-constructing the Chinese nation. The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, 30, 1–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2949990
Eriksen, T.H. (2007). Globalization: The key concepts. Oxford–New York: Berg.
Gaspar, S. (2017). Chinese migration to Portugal: Trends and perspectives. Journal of Chinese Overseas, 13(1), 48–69. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/17932548-12341343
Hsiao, M. (2015). Chinese trust law: Registration as the concept-substitution and a workout solution for investors (beneficiaries). Trusts & Trustees, 21(8), 889–901. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/tandt/ttv116
Hsu, C. (2007). Creating market socialism: How ordinary people are shaping class and status in China. Durham–London: Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1131brv
Jarrín, A. (2017). The biopolitics of beauty: Cosmetic citizenship and affective capital in Brazil. Oakland: University of California Press.
Kefala, C. (2023). Who runs the world? Gender performances and racialized branding among young foreign women digital entrepreneurs in China. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 50(6), 1336–1354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2023.2222914
Latham, K. (2006). Introduction: Consumption and cultural change in contemporary China. In: K. Latham, S. Thompson, J. Klein (eds.), Consuming China: Approaches to cultural change in contemporary China (pp. 1–21). London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/tcj.58.20066329
Li, Y.T., Whitworth, K. (2023). Redefining consumer nationalism: The ambiguities of shopping yellow during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-ELAB movement. Journal of Consumer Culture, 23(3), 517–535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405221127346
Li, C. (2010) (ed.). China’s emerging middle class: Beyond economic transformation. Washington: Brookings Institution Press.
Li, H. (2008). Branding Chinese products: Between nationalism and transnationalism. International Journal of Communication, 2, 1125–1163.
Li, H. (2009). Marketing Japanese products in the context of Chinese nationalism. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 26(5), 435–456. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15295030903325339
Liebelt, C. (2019). Aesthetic citizenship in Istanbul: On manufacturing beauty and negotiating belonging through the body in urban Turkey. Citizenship Studies, 23(7), 686–702. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2019.1651088
Pussetti, C. (2019). From ebony to ivory: ‘Cosmetic’ investments in the body. Anthropological Journal of European Culture, 28(1), 58–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/ajec.2019.280107
Pieke, F.N. (2014). Anthropology, China, and the Chinese century. Annual Review of Anthropology, 43, 123–138. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102313-030149
Pires, I. (2025). Chinese women constructing and negotiating an ‘ideal’ beauty in Lisbon, or how women and aesthetical medical practitioners materialise ‘race’. Feminist Theory, 26(4), 838–855. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14647001251351137
Rodrigues, I. (2013). Flows of fortune: The economy of Chinese migration to Portugal [doctoral dissertation]. Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon.
Rofel, L. (2007). Desiring China: Experiments in neoliberalism, sexuality, and public culture. Durham–London: Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822389903
Rose, N. (2007). The politics of life itself: Biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Statista (2023). Size of the medical device market in China from 2018 to 2022 with an estimate for 2023. Acquired from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/725975/china-medical-device-market-size/
Wang, J. (2005). Consumer nationalism and corporate reputation management in the global era. Corporate Communications, 10(3), 223–239. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280510614483
Wang, Z. (2022). Implementation of Chinese-styled branding in global fashion: ’Guochao’ as a rising cultural identity. Fashion, Style and Popular Culture, 9(1–2), 149–183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc_00111_1
Woetzel, L., Mendonça L. et al. (2009). Preparing for China’s urban billion. MacKinsey Global Institute report. Acquired from: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/urbanization/preparing-for-chinas-urban-billion
Xu, C. (2022). [Essay] Glaring white: Class and race in Chinese beauty ideals. New Critique. Acquired from: https://newcritique.co.uk/2022/07/27/essay-glaring-white-class-and-race-in-chinese-beauty-ideals-chelsea-xu/
Xu, G., Feiner, S. (2007). Meinu Jingji/China’s beauty economy: Buying looks, shifting value, and changing place. Feminist Economics, 13(34), 307–323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700701439499
Yan, Y. (2011). The individualization of the family in rural China. Boundary, 2(38), 203–229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/01903659-1262590
Yan, Y. (2009). The individualization of Chinese society. Oxford: Berg.
Yang, J. (2014). The political economy of affect and emotion in East Asia. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315885391
Yang, J. (2015). Unknotting the heart: Unemployment and therapeutic governance in China. Ithaca–London: Cornell University Press.
Zhang, X. (2001). The making of the post-Tiananmen intellectual field: A critical overview. In: X. Zhang (ed.), Whither China? Intellectual politics in contemporary China (pp. 1–75). Durham–London: Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1131cqt
Zhu, L., Wang, S., Lu, X. (2003). Research on Chinese and foreign brand preference among Chinese urban consumers. Journal of Management World, 9, 122–128.
Téléchargements
Publié-e
Comment citer
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
© Lodz Ethnographic Studies 2026
Cette œuvre est sous licence Creative Commons Attribution - Pas de Modification 4.0 International.
1. Autorzy udzielają wydawcy (Polskiemu Towarzystwu Ludoznawczemu) licencji niewyłącznej na korzystanie z utworu w następujących polach eksploatacji:
a) utrwalanie Utworu/przedmiotu prawa pokrewnego;
b) reprodukowanie (zwielokrotnienie) Utworu/przedmiotu prawa pokrewnego drukiem i techniką cyfrową (ebook, audiobook);
c) wprowadzania do obrotu egzemplarzy zwielokrotnionego Utworu/przedmiotu prawa pokrewnego;
d) wprowadzenie Utworu/przedmiotu prawa pokrewnego do pamięci komputera;
e) rozpowszechnianie utworu w wersji elektronicznej w formule open access na licencji Creative Commons (CC BY - ND 4.0).
2. Autorzy udzielają wydawcy licencji nieodpłatnie.
3. Korzystanie przez wydawcę z utworu na ww. polach nie jest ograniczone czasowo, ilościowo i terytorialnie.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 29
Number of citations: 0
