The Image of Modern Women in Shanghai According to The Young Companion (1926-1945)

Abstract

With the rapid development of the economy and society, Shanghai has changed into a modest port city in China with the introduction of western material and spiritual civilization and has become the largest metropolis in the far east since the 1920s. The pictorial magazine, The Young Companion(1926-1945) , is the most popular fashion magazine in Shanghai. As a representative of concession culture and the important carrier of female discourse, The Young Companion has played a significant role in the construction of modern women. This essay will firstly discuss the diversity of cover girls in terms of identity and aesthetics. Following this, it will explain that the female consciousness and female self-identity are awakenings with development in Shanghai during the period of social transformation. Finally, it will look at the rapid conversion of the image of modern women and the female gaze.