Research On Body Consumption And Identity Of The New Generation Of Migrant Workers

In the consuming society,the function of the consumption is breaking away from the function of meeting people’s basic physiological need and maintaining productive consumption day by day.Meanwhile,consumption has became an important means to construct the individual’s identity and express the individual’s identity.Consumption has been the first and domain field to construct ego and society,culture and identity.This research aims at exploring the issue about the relationship between consuming and the identity of the new generation of migrant workers,analyzing the the practice of the body consumption constructing the urban identity and whether or not the body consumption can construct the urban identity.The mentality of this research is as follows:the main reason for physical consumption of the new generation migrant workers---the main manifestation and the function way of the body consumption of the new generation of migrant workers---the main Restricting factors to the body consumption of the new generation of migrant workers--- the identity dilemma that the new generation migrant workers are caught in. This research follows the mentality and adopt the theoretical perspective of consumption and identity as analysis tool,and use the interviewing method and observing method to do a qualitative study for the new generation migrant workers who engaged in manufacturing and service industry and living in Y town of henan province.The findings of this research has discovered are as follows:Firstly,the body consumption is a way to help the new generation of migrant workers to construct the urban identity. The new generation of migrant workers spend much time,money and energy in their body consumption:skin care,cosmetic,clothing consumption.Through the body consumption,the New generation of migrant workers try to be different from rural people,weak the rural identity and pursue the urban identity that symbolized freedom, equality, respect, and value. To a certain degree,through the body consumption,the new generation of migrant workers can enrich their urban life,get any symbols and capitals of the urban body,suit the urban society and be recognized by the urban people.Secondly,the body consumption can not construct the urban identity.Because the construction of one’s identity not only depends on the individual’s body consumption, it also restricted by a series of structural and cultural factors.The main restricted factors are as follows:weak position in the low labor market limits the economic base that the physical consumption depends on;the physical consumption of the new generation of migrant workers still be seen as "bad" in the urban people’s eyes because of the weakness of the urban cultural capitals.Tumbling relationships of the new generation of migrant workers limits the imitation to the urban people.These restricted factors cause some difficulties to the achievement of identity’s construction. The new generation of migrant workers are not effectively integrated into urban society and and they can’t effectively construct the urban identity, and it is difficult for them to return to the rural society. Consequently,the new generation of migrant workers fall into the dilemma of identity.