Details of Research Outputs

With the rise of affordability Chinese people are now focusing on new forms of consumer products and services, such as massage. Today, massage and related services have become one of the most popular forms of consumption in China, and are available in the five star hotels of mega cities as well as in small township shops, catering to the needs of various social classes. This paper examines how massage and related services have increasingly become popular in townships, with adults of both the sexes as ready consumers. Under this development, mainstream sex stereotypes have been reproduced, where young females provide services to male clients, reinforcing traditional sex roles. At the same time, female clients have also engaged in this new consumption through receiving services from young male providers, breaking the mainstream sex hierarchy. However, the patterns of service that are consumed by members of the two sex categories are not the same: male clients have overwhelmingly consumed body massage, shoulder massage, etc., while female clients have consumed hair care, face massage, and foot massage. This paper concludes that massage and related services have become popular culture in China through catering new consumer products and through reinforcing and/or breaking the mainstream sex stereotypes and hierarchy.