Framing the Bride: Globalizing Beauty and Romance in Taiwan’s Bridal Industry

313 Pages·2003·2.531 MB·English

by  Adrian, Bonnie

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Framing the Bride
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Framing the Bride
Globalizing Beauty and Romance
in Taiwan’s Bridal Industry
Bonnie Adrian
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley . Los Angeles . London
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University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2003 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adrian, Bonnie, 1970–
Framing the bride : globalizing beauty and romance
in Taiwan’s bridal industry / Bonnie Adrian.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-520-23833-8 (alk. paper).—
isbn0-520-23834-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Wedding supplies and services industry—Taiwan.
2. Weddings—Taiwan—Equipment and supplies.
3. Bridal shops—Taiwan. 4. Wedding photography—
Taiwan. I. Title.
HD9999.W373 T283 2003
338.4'73925'0951249—dc21 2002153270
Manufactured in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r1997)
(Permanence of Paper).8
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For Michael, Nathaniel, and Maya
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Framings 1
1. How Can This Be? Ethnographic Contexts and History 24
2. Fantasy for Sale: The Modern Bridal Industry 51
3. Inner and Outer Worlds in Changing Taipei 76
4. Family Wedding Rites and Banquets 108
5. Making Up the Bride 147
6. Romance in the Photo Studio 180
7. Contextualizing Bridal Photos in Taiwan’s Visual Culture 204
8. The Context of Looking: What Taipei Viewers See 224
Conclusion: Reframings 239
Notes 247
Bibliography 273
Index 287
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Illustrations
1. Photograph decorated with graphics to make the bride
look like a model in a magazine 27
2. Old-time studio shot 40
3. Modern bridal photo portraying a couple as emotionally
andphysically intimate 41
4. Bridal photo in an unusual frame 54
5. Photo display designed to draw the attention of customers
insearch of something special 56
6. Studio backdrop locating a bridal couple somewhere in
“theWest” 67
7. Taipei couple in “European court” attire 68
8. “Fervent Love Soul”: sample bridal album page 70
9. Traditional Chinese costume, “just for fun” 109
10. Bride wearing custom eyelashes, created one hair at a
time by stylists 170
11. Bride-and-groom baby dolls in heart-shaped wreath
decorate a car 171
12. Expressive bridal photo models 196
13. Bridal salon attracts attention of passersby with
photograph poking fun at power reversals typical in
bridal photography 202
14. The author in full bridal makeup in natural lighting 212
15. Taiwanese bridal portrait of the author 213
6–17. Bridal photos featuring varied stylings and poses of
the same woman 217
ix