Abstract
Chinese consumer market has created a “fertility and beauty” oppression of females for a long time under the joint impact of traditional doctrines. Women having infertility worries and appearance change are highly objectified and discriminated. As a country with the majority population having no religion, it is important to establish the spirituality of nonreligious females in China to transcend the social discriminations. This chapter presents a group-based social work intervention for 28 women without religious belief. They indicted the public scrutiny on their appearance and fertility in pre-group interview and joined a six-session weekly intervention. Their body surveillance, body shame, appearance anxiety, self-efficacy, and acceptance were measured using a questionnaire three times at baseline, the end of the intervention, and 2–3 months after the intervention. Subjective feedback and evaluations were also recorded. Participants’ body shame and appearance anxiety reduced while self-efficacy, self-acceptance, and self-love improved after joining the program. Selfhood promotion is of great significance for Chinese women without religion to transform social judgment on their appearance and fertility in a consumerist society.
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Yin, M.X.C., Chan, C.L.W. (2023). Spirituality Without Religion: Social Work for Promoting Selfhood Among Chinese Women in a Consumerist Society. In: Chen, S. (eds) Social Work, Mental Health, and Public Policy in Diverse Contexts. International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36312-2_9
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