「恢復自信美體」：美學經營主義下的母性主體與懷孕生產

Recovering a Self-Confident Body: Pregnancy and Childbirth under Aesthetic Entrepreneurship

本研究分析主流婦幼雜誌中的美貌論述，檢視它們如何呈現及建構孕產婦關於外表的經營，並藉由文本內容分析以詮釋「產後恢復」背後的深刻意義。本文以「新自由主義」觀點下的「美感勞動」作為分析焦點，並以「美學經營主義」的新觀念作為美貌研究的新方向，試圖超越以「結構」或「主體能動性」為主的傳統研究取向。研究發現，雜誌論述將「經營美貌」視為孕產婦的關注及責任，追求外表成為孕產期間各種重要決定的考量因素，如月子及餵母乳，顯示女性作為「美學經營者」已成為「母性主體」的定義之一。本文也試圖從「身體」及「心理」兩方面檢視論述的運作，觀察性別權力如何透過美貌論述而維繫不平等的支配關係：關於前者，筆者發現孕期的身體變化幾乎皆被負面地呈現，愛美的女性需要透過大量且特定的美學勞動來找回「美體」；關於後者，「美貌」、「自信心」、「自我認同」被設定為等同的關係，產後恢復變成是「重回找回自信」。 This article analyzes the discourse concerning the quest for beauty in Taiwan's two most popular maternity magazines, Mommy and Baby and Mother and Baby. We show that this discourse focuses on 'recovering the body as it was before pregnancy' and we believe that a theoretical approach using the concept of aesthetic entrepreneurship is helpful in analyzing this phenomenon. This theoretical framework allows us to shed a new light on feminist beauty studies rather than discussing the problem in terms of structure or agency. The beauty quest discourse can be understood as a 'care for beauty,' and this depicts recovering the body shape of a young woman as something new mothers are now, more than ever, responsible for. It seems that the beauty quest is incrementally influencing the choices women make while pregnant. We argue that the care for beauty implies a reinterpretation of the customary postpartum month of recuperation (yuezi) and breastfeeding, amongst others. Finally, this paper analyzes the care for beauty on two levels: the body and the psychological dimension. All the body changes that come with pregnancy are seen as negative; therefore, women need to do a significant amount of aesthetic labor in order to get back in shape. On the psychological level, the discourse in these maternity magazines implies an equivalence among beauty, self-confidence and identity. In this logic, getting back in shape also means getting back women's self-confidence.