<P> In today's Chinese society, the beauty standard has changed from size of feet to facial and body appearance . To fit in the new standard and to survive the patriarchal society, women exercises several body - regulations . </P> <P> First, women use cosmetics and health products to look younger and more attractive . Jie Yang interviewed a women in a beauty salon in Beijing and Jie Yang learnt that this women has spent a fortune purchasing cosmetics in order to look younger and more attractive and try to get her husband back who had had a series of affairs with younger women . In fact, this women is not a special case . "The beauty economy was ranked fifth in China's consumer goods industry ." Second, advanced medical technology allows women to do plastic surgery at a lower cost . Chinese women now consider performing a plastic surgery as a usual thing and exercise various surgeries on their body--abdominoplasty, blepharoplasty, breast augmentations, chemical peel, lip enhancement and so on . "China performs more cosmetic surgery than any country except America and Brazil ." Third, women also restrict their body movements . In order to be considered as a classy lady, women have to exercise a set of particular gestures, postures, and movements . Sandra Lee Bartky believes that "Women sit waiting for trains with arms close to the body, hands folded together in their laps, toes pointing straight ahead or turned inward, and legs pressed together ." and "women are trained to smile more than man ." All these body - regulations requires not only a relentless surveillance, but also a strong economical support . </P> <P> Women need those regulations to gain power and to survive the Chinese patriarchal society . Hong Chen and Todd Jackson states in their research that "sociocultural factors including appearance pressure, teasing, and social comparison" make adolescent girls and young women in China concern and dissatisfied about their body image . "Highly collectivistic nations including China emphasize cooperation" so that its people "are particularly sensitive to others' opinions when judging their own physical appearance and more likely to engage in appearance comparisons with others ." When women have their concerns and dissatisfactions, they will follow those regulations so that they can fit in the norm . Another reason is that a more attractive woman is easier to get a job . Even though Chinese government tried hard to make employment opportunities equal for both genders, discriminations in job market still prevails . "An attractive face was more important then either grade point average or public exam performance in observer judgments of work skills of Hong Kong job candidates ." London Guildhall University Researcher Killings states that prettier female officer could earn 11% more salary than her less pretty colleague . Therefore, women are willing to improve body image and facial appearance so that they can improve the odds of success in work and love . </P> <P> As this article has shown, the desire for women to gain power and survive within a patriarchal society has resulted in their willingness to transform their body image . The issue has become so pervasive that modern Chinese women still adopt these practices . While women's low social status leaves much to be desired, their willingness is not their fault and can mainly be attributed to the patriarchal system itself, which is a social problem that has persisted for many generations . Even though ancient China's rule dates back thousands of years, New China currently has less than seventy years of history . As more and more people become increasingly civilized and connected with the outside world, inequality between genders will eventually be reduced . Given the fact that Chinese people are deeply influenced their traditional heritage, much still needs to be accomplished before gender equality can be achieved where Chinese women will no longer be required to sacrifice their body image . </P>

Why did chinese patriarchy come under challenge in subsequent centuries