| 摘要: | 本研究旨在探討台灣近年來的休閒熱潮裡，新興的Spa文化如何透過廣告行銷、圖文影像，以及個人實踐，塑造二十一世紀的新式身體政治。 本論文首先分析當代主流女性主義如何採取傅柯(M. Foucault)提出之「馴服身體」（docile body）與「規訓」（discipline）兩詞，結合以「資本主義?物化?商品化?媒體洗腦?廣告催眠」等批判的詞彙來解讀?詮釋當代美容?美體的消費文化。說明在主流媒體批評之下，美容?美體工業多被等同於父權?資本主義的權力展現，而消費者也往往被呈現為容易受騙或被利用的個體。然而本文的觀察研究卻恰恰顯示，由於傅柯的權力概念是建基在充滿流動性與異質性的討論，因此觀察者應當從更多元多樣的操演模態來分析美容?美體消費文化當中的消費個體，以及其慾望?認同?愉悅的形成過程。 而當新世紀的休閒工業與塑身美容行業紛紛尋求轉型之際，近年來新興的Spa文化不但推動了新式的身體愉悅?逾越方式，更提供消費者能夠得理合理地挪用各式資源、道具、感官享受，大膽追求情慾身體與性感身體的正當氛圍。相較於舊式的減肥中心與護膚美容工業，本研究發現Spa行業在台灣的出現與行銷，訴諸另一種新式的養身?養生文化：重新關照個人主體、重塑個人生活風格。以此，論文的第二部分將企圖以台灣Spa風潮為討論之對象，探討Spa行業的廣告行銷與圖文包裝如何呈現不同以往的美容行業之面向，說明此休閒工業如何訴諸以回歸自然、回歸主體、追求個人愉悅為取向，因而積極推動了「身體打造」與「身體歡愉」的合理氛圍。 另一方面，論文的第三部份則透過八位女性受訪者的個人經驗訪談，發現當代Spa風潮所帶領的美容?美體消費文化，並非一昧的複製或生產既定的價值觀或權力關係；相反的，它透過消費者自身的各種規劃、改變與實踐，不但跳出了傳統二元良惡論述的狹隘，也擺脫了主流常用的女性受害者悲情基調。本研究觀察顯示Spa文化的多元形象，除了提供個人面對反塑身?反美容論述的另類抗衡形式之外，此種以個人愉悅、感官歡愉為取向的活動在推動與發展的進程中，透過消費主體「做身體」、「做自己」的實踐過程，也間接及直接的培力(empower)現代社會的個人反思，並促進個人逾越現有侷限，且影響個人的生活態度與生活實踐。換言之，Spa風潮所引發的開放與培力主體的力量，亦是現代主體的積極操演：肯定身體、肯定情慾、肯定多元的不同展演方式與人生選擇。 In the divergent studies of women’s body politics, Michel Foucault’s notions on power/knowledge have been much appropriated to decipher the microphysics of power which operate and/or being operated on female bodies. However, Foucault’s power/knowledge frameworks in terms of body politics are usually read to be a certain kind of testimony of the patriarchal power’s maneuver and women’s unconsciously incarnation of that. As such, we usually see mainstream feminists conclude that, on the one hand, the body/beauty industry is commercially vested and patriarchally motivated, and on the other hand, the female consumers are the cultural dupes beguiled by media hypes. However, in contrast to the mainstream feminists’ one-sided reading of female body politics, my task here is not to make a competing claim that body/beauty industry and consumption are all good or all bad. Rather, I am here to probe into a more sophisticated yet a more realistic situation: How are the female “body/beauty-builders” able to develop one’s personal body politics so as to construct their own subject and self-identity under the modern body/beauty market? How these women as consumers select, negotiate or interact in a complex structural and power relations so as to benefit and empower themselves? In short, it is not only concerned about what body/beauty systems do to the women, but more about what the women as consumers and subjects do to the systems. Therefore, while the Spa industry is emerging as a chic body/beauty industries, opening up new aspects of thinking and acting for both beauty industries and consumers, in the thesis, the burgeoning Spa trend would be itself an unexplored yet unique case study for the body/beauty building politics. By bringing forth the Spa-related ads, literatures and promotions, I will demonstrate firstly, how the modern Spa is fashioned as an encapsulated concept of leisure, health and beauty which all in all makes Spa itself distinct from the earlier body/beauty institutions, and secondly, .how the burgeoning Spa culture/industry creates and supports a special “body-hedonism” or “body/pleasure-positive” milieu for the customers to enjoy treatments with righteousness. Additionally, by illustrating eight interviewees’ personal Spa-related bodily experiences and embodied practices, I will exemplify how the Spa practices can be a way for women to take their bodies, and mostly, their lives in hand. Under three themes: body, subjectivity and agency which are the trajectories running through four chapters in the thesis, my observation shows: First, because Spa’s image-buildings mainly focus on the forms of “nature, purity, simplicity and back-to-basic living”, these images one the one hand offer turning points for body/beauty enterprises to advance full-scale developments and/or re-package up its enterprise figure. And on the other hand, these images afford “proper” reasons that Spa-goers could utilize to contend with conventionalists’ censorious mouths. Secondly, under Spa’s body/pleasure-positive milieu, it opens up a new mode of self-imaging, a new way of embodying and a new aspect of enjoying multiplicities of wishes, desires, sensations, pleasures and satisfactions. Lastly, the construal of Spa is the combination of body politics and life politics which offers solid and positive chances/channels for individuals to “do/make body”, “do/make pleasure” and “do/make self”. |
