Authenticity may Mean
Disharmony / Non-mainstream
In traditional Chinese culture, unity is a quality that is particularly promoted. Unity means greater strength and more possibilities for a group. However, my investigation may break this traditional view:
I found that for Chinese generation-z girls,
harmony sometimes might mean compromise to a uniform standard.
There are many reasons in the Chinese context:
For the previous generation, the historical stage and environment they experienced made them pay more attention to the collective consciousness. In traditional culture, Chinese people pay attention to "humility", do not praise publicity, and care more about the collective (such as family) evaluation. In many cases, unity requires the members of the collective to have more consistent ideas and standards. However, young people pay more attention to individual feelings rather than collective feelings. In fact, most of my participants are faced with such troubles: their elders tend to measure their lives by traditional unified standards. However, they believe that some of their parents’ ideas are against authenticity, because they think “elders’ concerns seem to come from the collective, but not real feelings. “I know they are well-intentioned.” Another participant said, “but sometimes I do not agree with their points and will not act for them.”
For example, A participant said that when she was in high school, her parents thought she should cut her hair short to maintain consistency with other girls in school. The participant said, "I don't understand why we must do things with a uniform standard."
A participant stated that her parents asked her not to use deep red lipstick when having a reunion dinner with relatives, because deep red lipstick looks aggressive and unfriendly. "My parents always ask me to look humble and act according to family rules, but I don't think that's the real me."
A participant recalled that when she chose a university major, her parents asked her to choose a major related to education, because her families were mostly teachers, and she needed to be consistent with her family. "After many years I discovered that I was actually not suitable for being a teacher. Gradually, I do not believe in the views of my parents because sometimes they focus on being humble but ignore real feelings."
A participant said, "I know that my elders are not lying to me, but I don't trust them. I think they just often repeat the collective opinions or rules but lack their own thinking."
What brands need to do: Be bolder to express your values
Chinese generation-z girls are more likely to believe in non-mainstream views,
because they think it means fresh and real thinking.
Among the bloggers whom the participants thought were more authentic, many of them are committed to expressing fresh opinions. For example, a participant showed an account she followed called "Hard Candy Video", which was about sex education-related topics. In China, related topics may be sensitive topics on the Internet. “Some videos have been deleted due to restrictions on online platforms,” she said. “I think bloggers who create related topics are brave and very thoughtful. I trust this account very much and can feel that it is meaningful.” In addition, based on the analysis of other participants, most of the authentic accounts from their perspectives were trying to show their original views. One participant said, “Too many brands put their opinions in the safe field. They express similar opinions, but they cannot be distinguished and remembered.”
In the Chinese generation-z girls’ points of view, authenticity is often discordant, and it is accompanied by risks. Therefore, they expect a fresh and clear point of view and hold a tolerant attitude towards it.
For the group of young Chinese girls, the "non-mainstream and original" values may be an important part of brand authenticity.
Clear standpoints and viewpoints that challenge traditional mainstream views may be easier for young people to accept. From this point, brands should probably not underestimate the tolerance of young people.
You don’t have to make your point of view always look safe,
but it’s better to be fresh and concise.