Globalising Women: How Global Women's Magazines in China and Singapore Transmit Consumer Culture

Abstract

This article outlines some of the moral and cultural issues involved in the commercialising of Asian women by describing how the entrance of foreign women's magazines is changing the form and tone of women's magazines in both Singapore and China — respectively amongst the smallest and largest countries in Asia, but sharing a similar culture and language. While the populations of these two countries differ significantly in terms of income and education, nonetheless the rising incomes of middle-class women in both countries have attracted the attention of luxury brands and led to the rise of global women's magazines in both nations. Are women's magazines just frivolous and fun, or do they shape women's attitudes and values? Do the images in global media contribute to the empowerment of women or do they merely entangle them in a web of conspicuous consumption?