1st Edition

Postfeminism in China The ‘Glow Girl’, Aesthetic Labour, and Social Media

By Jia Guo Copyright 2026
168 Pages
by Routledge

168 Pages
by Routledge

Situated within feminist media and cultural studies, this book examines the everyday aesthetic labour of young middle-class Chinese women and their related social media practices. It also critically contextualises postfeminism within China’s paradoxically neoliberal society. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with young middle-class women in China’s first-tier cities, the book offers a nuanced... Read more

Introduction: The ‘Glow Girl’ Goes Global—Postfeminism, Aesthetic Labour, and Social Media. 1. The ‘Glow Girl’ in Context: Feminisms, Neoliberalism, and Social Media in China 2. The Perfect ‘Glow Girl’: Narratives on Beauty and the More-Than-Beauty Promise 3. The ‘Glow Girl’ on Social Media: Pedagogy, Self-Representation, and Negotiation 4. The ‘Glow Girl’ in the Digital Intimate Public: ‘I Relate’, ‘Positive Energy’, and ‘Girls Help Girls’ 5. The ‘Glow Girl’ Pursuing Aesthetic Entrepreneurship: When Social Media Becomes Real Work. Conclusion: Rethinking the ‘Glow Girl’ and Transnational Postfeminism in China and Beyond

Biography

Jia Guo is an early-career researcher working at University of Wollongong. She received her PhD in Gender and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney in 2023. Her work spans feminist media studies, gender and popular culture, social media and platforms, and celebrity studies. Her research engages in critical and intellectual conversations about gender, intersectionality, and transnationality, particularly in the context of digital China. She is a committed feminist researcher and educator.