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Of Becoming and Remaining Vegetarian Wang, Yahong (2020) Vegetarians in modern Beijing: food, identity and body techniques in everyday experience. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/77857/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Vegetarians in modern Beijing: Food, identity and body techniques in everyday experience Yahong Wang B.A., M.A. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social and Political Sciences College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow March 2019 1 Abstract This study investigates how self-defined vegetarians in modern Beijing construct their identity through everyday experience in the hope that it may contribute to a better understanding of the development of individuality and self-identity in Chinese society in a post-traditional order, and also contribute to understanding the development of the vegetarian movement in a non-‘Western’ context. It is perhaps the first scholarly attempt to study the vegetarian community in China that does not treat it as an Oriental phenomenon isolated from any outside influence. Using qualitative data collected from interviews with vegetarians and non-vegetarians, observation and text from social media, this study finds that the motivations behind vegetarians in modern Beijing are highly similar to the motivations revealed in studies of vegetarians in other societies. The religious influence may be especially noticeable in the local context and is often combined with other arguments for vegetarianism, such as ethics. Vegetarians in Beijing have developed different strategies to maintain their vegetarian identity in a mostly non-vegetarian society, including taking more control of their own diet, using rhetoric to avoid direct confrontation and making certain compromises. Vegetarianism-related organizations are important in forming the vegetarian community, yet a general depoliticisation of vegetarianism in China makes it difficult to strive for more rights for vegetarians. The thesis suggests areas for future research about the vegetarian community in China, the global vegetarian movement and how it may contribute to future policy-making. 2 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... 1 List of Tables, Figures and Photos .......................................................................... 5 Key to Transcription Conventions Used .................................................................. 7 Acknowledgment..................................................................................................... 8 Author’s Declaration................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 10 1.1 Historical Background ..................................................................................... 11 1.2 Key Concepts of the Thesis ............................................................................ 18 1.3 Research Setting ............................................................................................ 22 1.4 Research Questions ....................................................................................... 23 1.5 Thesis Outline ................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................. 28 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Food and Identity ............................................................................................ 29 2.3 Constructing a Vegetarian Identity .................................................................. 34 2.3.1 Defining Vegetarianism ......................................................................... 34 2.3.2 Motivations for becoming and Remaining Vegetarian ........................... 37 2.3.3 Processes of becoming Vegetarian ...................................................... 44 2.3.4 Social Relations of Vegetarians and Non-vegetarians .......................... 46 2.3.5 Perception of Vegetarians and Non-vegetarians ................................... 48 2.3.6 Cognitive Comparison between Vegetarians and Non-vegetarians ...... 50 2.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 53 Chapter 3 Methodology ......................................................................................... 55 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 55 3.2 Research Methods and Rationale ................................................................... 55 3.3 Data Collection ................................................................................................ 57 3.3.1 Fieldwork Setting .................................................................................. 57 3.3.2. Sampling Procedure ............................................................................ 62 3.3.3 Interview Procedure .............................................................................. 65 3.3.4 Overview of the Sample ........................................................................ 72 3.3.5 Observation .......................................................................................... 85 3.3.6 The Issue of Auto-ethnography ............................................................. 87 3.4 Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 87 3.5 Ethics .............................................................................................................. 88 3.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 88 Chapter 4 Understanding vegetarianism in modern Beijing .................................. 89 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 89 4.2 (Re)interpreting Vegetarianism: Vegetarianism in the Local Context .............. 89 4.2.1 How Vegetarians Understand Vegetarianism........................................ 89 4.2.2 How Non-vegetarians Understand Vegetarianism ................................ 98 4.3 What does a Vegetarian Body Look and Feel Like? The Image of Vegetarianism ............................................................................................................................ 103 4.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 110 3 Chapter 5 Life Trajectory: Motivations and Process(es) of Becoming and Remaining Vegetarian ......................................................................................... 112 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 112 5.2 Motivations of Becoming and Remaining Vegetarian .................................... 112 5.2.1 Ethics .................................................................................................. 115 5.2.2 Religious Influence.............................................................................. 119 5.2.3 Health ................................................................................................. 122 5.2.4 Environment ........................................................................................ 126 5.2.5 Gustatory preference .......................................................................... 128 5.2.6 Peer Influence ..................................................................................... 132 5.2.7 Weight Control .................................................................................... 132 5.2.8 Other Motivations ................................................................................ 133 5.2.9 Development of Motivations ................................................................ 133 5.3 The Process of Becoming Vegetarian ........................................................... 135 5.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 141 Chapter 6 Social Relations of Vegetarians in Modern Beijing ............................. 144 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 144 6.2 Inner-group Social Relations: How Vegetarians Interact with Each Other .... 145 6.2.1 How Vegetarians Meet Each Other ..................................................... 145 6.2.2 How Vegetarians Communicate with Each Other ............................... 149 6.3 Inter-group Social Relation: How Vegetarians
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