Abstract
This article explores how beauty and fashion practices and imagination have evolved in Ivory Coast since the early 2000s, using secondary sources and ethnographic research conducted in Abidjan in 2017. In addition to identifying alternatives to prevalent Western norms of beauty and style, the article highlights the expansion of Chinese beautyscapes and the ongoing Sinonization of local fashion and aesthetic cultures. It also draws attention to the contradictory features of bobaraba, a term increasingly used to describe Chinese-made clothing and beauty accessories. Though bobaraba is praised as a ghetto glamour and an expression of the urban poor's participation in the global consumer culture, it is frequently viewed as “fake beauty” intended to create an illusion of beauty. This article demonstrates that Chinese consumer goods are increasingly influencing contemporary African fashion culture, beauty ideals, body stylisation, and even sexuality.
The proliferation of what can be referred to as Chinese “beautyscapes” in numerous African cities is one of the unanticipated outcomes of expanding business ties between China and Africa. Chinese beautyscapes refers to the significant influx of Chinese-manufactured beauty and fashion goods into many African cities. Since the early 2000s, Chinese beauty and fashion commodities have flourished in many African cities, leading to high demand for these products. Low-priced consumer goods imported from China are part of the imported material and consumer cultures that now “fait bouger l'Afrique” (get Africa moving) (Kernen, 2014; Khan-Mohammad, 2016). Over time, women with lower incomes, and to a lesser extent, middle-class women 1 have become infatuated with these Chinese beauty and fashion products, which increasingly cater to African clientele seeking products to help them meet idealised African aesthetics of curviness and light skin complexion (Hansen and Madison, 2013; Ndjio, 2022).
Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic capital and most important city, provides an interesting example of how Chinese consumer goods are gradually reshaping beauty and fashion representations and practices in contemporary African urban spaces (Kernen and Khan-Mohammad, 2014; Mahotogui, 2019). Indeed, over the past fifteen years, this metropolis of over six million inhabitants has witnessed an unprecedented influx of Chinese-manufactured beauty and fashion products (Kernen and Khan-Mohammad, 2016; Mahotogui, 2019; Marfaing, 2015). These include fashionable clothing, printed fabrics, beauty accessories, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical commodities imported from China. The influx of these Chinese-made products has given rise to what some informants label glamour du ghetto (ghetto glamour). This expression alludes to the low fashion of less privileged Ivoirians, which is generally contrasted with the high fashion of their more affluent fellow citizens. It also pertains to the fashion, chic, and glamorous behaviours that prevail among the urban underprivileged or are predominantly performed by working-class populations.
Significantly, the introduction of low-price Chinese-made beauty accessories and fashion garments into the local market has contributed to the resurgence of deeply ingrained fashion and beauty customs locally known as bobaraba by triggering the emergence of a new consumer and material culture in Abidjan. Although the term “bobaraba” originated from the Malinke language in the northern region of Ivory Coast and initially referred to well-developed buttocks or women with large buttocks, 2 its meaning has evolved over time to be more inclusive and elusive. In fact, the word “bobaraba” is now associated with Chinese-made clothing styles and beauty accessories which have become so central to local fashion and beauty practices and representations that of these items are now locally known as bobabara. More specifically, this all-encompassing term nowadays refers to a range of beauty goods, fashion accessories, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic products imported from China that numerous West African women utilise to augment their buttocks or enlarge their breasts. In the local urban context, the term is also used to denote padded undergarments such as panties and bras, as well as a variety of creams and ointments that are purported to enhance the buttocks or chest.
In addition to clothing trends and beauty accessories, the body is another area where China's influence can be observed (see Pinther et al., 2022). The current Chinese-driven bobaraba phenomenon involves various “bodybuilding” techniques through which many Ivorian women artistically remodel or redesign their bodies’ shape and skin. Abidjan's popular language increasingly refers to these techniques as travaillement du corps (work on the body) or tunage du corps (revamping of the body).
The current bobaraba trend highlights the mutual influence and connections between China's consumer products and Africa's fashion ideals and beauty imagination (Ndjio, 2022; Popenoe, 2004; von Pezold, 2018). However, it highlights the uncertain and conflicting nature of what we refer to as the “Sinonization” of contemporary African consumer culture, which is a highly disputed process. By Sinonization, we mean here not only the increasing flows of Chinese imported fashion and cosmetic products towards Africa, 3 but also the reshaping of both African body with products of the Chinese beauty and fashion industry. Moreover, the term pertains to the impact of Chinese aesthetics, specifically in terms of beauty ideals and fashion in Africa. This influence is often apparent in the adoption of Chinese hairstyles, makeup techniques, and clothing styles by many working-class Africans.
Like the controversial Sinonization of African urban fashion and aesthetic culture, the bobaraba phenomenon is also a subject of heated and frenzied debates among Ivorians who often associate it with both “ghetto glamour” 4 and beauté du faux (fake beauty). 5
Overall, the article examines emerging aesthetic conceptions of the body and fashion in Abidjan, demonstrating how global consumer culture is manifesting in urban African settings (Thomas, 2020). It specifically investigates the substantial change in Abidjan's moral economy of beauty and fashion since the early 2000s, especially in the aestheticization of the body, 6 and the role of Chinese beautyscapes in this process.
The article asks how increased flows of Chinese beauty and fashion commodities have impacted body stylisation in Abidjan changed over the past 20 years. How are working-class women in Abidjan using consumer artefacts or materials (and which ones) to aestheticize their bodies and even to reshape their sexuality, and to what end? More specifically, I investigate why Ivoirian consumers frequently associate the new bobaraba trend with both ghetto glamour and fake beauty.
The article's main argument is that China has emerged as a driving force in shaping the future of fashion and beauty culture in the Ivory Coast because many Ivorian women (and sometimes men) have been using various Chinese-manufactured beauty and fashion products since the early 2000s to remodel their bodies and even their sexuality.
Methodologically, the study relies on secondary sources including official documents, social media, popular media, and scholarly works. It is especially based on ethnographic research carried out in Abidjan in 2016 and 2017 in the commercial avenues, business centres, and popular markets of Abidjan. Abidjan was chosen because it hosts one of the most important Chinese communities in West Africa. Moreover, the bobaraba phenomenon first emerged in Abidjan before spreading to numerous cities in West and Central Africa (Ndjio, 2022). Theoretically, this study employs the “body-building” approach (see de Boeck, 2011) to examine the new trend in fashion and aesthetic practices in Abidjan, which have transitioned from westernisation to Sinonization. 7 The analysis focuses not only on the various works on the body but also on the performances of what Sasha Newell (2012) would refer to as an “act of artifice” by many Ivoirian women. According to Newell, this act of artifice amalgamates the aestheticisation of body, “dress, attitude, physical comportment, and spendthrift practices” to convey modernity (Newell, 2012).
To investigate the rejuvenated bobaraba fad, the article considers the cultural and aesthetic dimension of Sino-African connections, which remain understudied in Sino-African research, as some analysts have pointed out (Khan-Mohammad and Kernen, 2023; Ndjio, 2009). In focusing on these cultural and aesthetic directions, this article provides a new perspective on Sino-African research, which is still dominated by economists, sociologists, political scientists, international relation specialists, and military and security experts. This emphasis on the cultural and aesthetic aspects of China-African relations echoes the arguments of Guive Khan-Mohammad and Antoine Kernen concerning the significant transformation of contemporary African societies and cultures “from below” as African consumers’ appropriate Chinese-manufactured consumer goods (Kernen and Khan-Mohammad, 2016; Khan-Mohammad, 2016).
This scholarly inquiry also promotes a new paradigm that emphasises the dynamics of fashion consumption and fashioning imagination within the South-South context, outside Western influences and epistemologies (see Jansen, 2020). In other words, the article offers a decolonial perspective, considering alternative approaches to stylising the body or practicing fashion that deviate from the Eurocentric paradigms and established standards of beauty and fashion (see Gaugele and Titton, 2019).
The first part of the article elucidates the connections between emerging Chinese consumer goods and the aspirations for modernity among working-class Ivoirian women. It specifically examines the popularisation of the “Chinese look” in relation to a newly emerging aesthetic style in Abidjan. Additionally, it investigates the social and symbolic significance attributed to Chinese consumer products by local consumers. The subsequent section examines the rise of the recent bobaraba phenomenon which glorifies corpulence and plumpness as indicators of beauty and sex appeal. The final section of this article delves into the societal representation of the bobaraba trend as a counterfeit form of beauty and style.
New Chinese Consumer Goods and Modernity Expectations
From Westernisation to Sinonization
Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, China has flooded the African market with inexpensive consumer goods (Alden, 2007; Brautigam, 1998; Dobler, 2008). Its thriving fashion and beauty industries have been providing the African continent with numerous goods, which have had a profound impact on the social and cultural landscape of numerous African countries (Kaplinsky et al., 2006; Khan-Mohammad, 2016; von Pezold and Driessen, 2021). Africa's increasing adoption of contemporary Chinese-imported beauty and fashion products has transformed local perspectives, concepts, and attitudes related to style and fashion, which were previously heavily influenced by Western aesthetics (Allman, 2004).
Since the colonial period, there has been a long-standing tendency among Africans to associate modern fashion practices with westernisation. Indeed, before Chinese-imported consumer goods became essential in shaping a new and modern African identity, there were distinct fashioning practices and representations prevalent on the African continent. For many urban Africans, beauty and fashion modernity initially meant embracing or consuming Western-manufactured fashion and beauty products that were idealised as objects of prestige (Burke, 1996; Friedman, 1994). This is another way of saying that there was a certain Western-influenced way to be fashionable in Africa before a section of the African population decided to turn to newly emerged Chinese-manufactured consumer goods in their ars fashionis.
Western-made consumer goods were exclusively reserved for the African upper-middle classes, who enjoyed the privileges of partaking in the first degree of Western beauty and fashion modernity (Clarke, 2005; Nyamnjoh, 2004). Their privileges were maintained at the expense of the less privileged social groups who were compelled to put up with used European garments (Hansen, 2000). Moreover, at the time when white skin was still revered as the epitome, conforming to the standards of aesthetic modernity also involved bleaching black skin so as to resemble the idealised white woman. Some studies have highlighted the relationship between female beauty, the use of skin-lightening products by black women, and the influence of Western/White beauty standards and consumerism (Fanon [1952] 1986; Thomas, 2020). For example, in her book entitled, Beneath the Surface: A Transnational History of Skin Lighteners, Lynn Thomas argues that during the era of racial segregation, many black or coloured 8 South African women employed skin lighteners, which she describes as a form of “technology of visibility,” to garner favourable attention, enhance their physical appearance, and make themselves more easily understood and accepted in diverse circumstances (Thomas, 2020).
However, starting from the early 2000s, Africa has expanded its fashion practices and beauty representation beyond formerly exclusive Western influences. This situation is partially attributed to the growing popularity of emerging Chinese fashion and cosmetic products among African populations. The growing attraction towards fashion and beauty products imported from China is particularly strong among the economically disadvantaged African populations. More importantly, the introduction of innovative Chinese consumer goods into African social and cultural life has challenged prevailing Eurocentric ideals of beauty, fashion, and style (Montle, 2020).
The previously mentioned concept of Sinonization underscores the significant role that China has played in the development of new fashion and aesthetic culture in present-day Africa. It describes the increasing impact of China's consumer goods on aesthetic practices in numerous African countries. The spread of Chinese-made beauty products in many local African markets, and the expansion of Chinese fashion and beauty shops in most African cities are clear indications of the growing Sinonization of fashion and body stylisation in contemporary Africa.
In Abidjan, as in many other African cities, this Sinonization of urban fashion and beauty culture occurs in various interconnected “scapes” 9 (Apparadurai, 1996), specifically the beautyscapes and fashionscapes, 10 which have witnessed a significant growth in the past decades (Ndjio, 2022). China's cultural intervention in this West African country operates through these two specific “scapes,” which involve the continuous influx of Chinese-manufactured fashion and beauty commodities into Ivory Coast's economic capital and largest city. Chinese fashionscapes are characterised by the mass circulation of the diverse range of Chinese-made clothing or sartorial outfits in Ivory Coast, making these garments available to local consumers at a reasonable cost. Similarly, Chinese beautyscapes facilitate the incessant flow of affordable or low-priced beauty and cosmetic products imported from China.
More specifically, products of China's pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and beauty industries sold by Africa-based Chinese traders and their Ivorian counterparts afford Ivoirian women, the opportunity to reshape their bodies and achieve their desired physical appearance. This encompasses products such as cosmetics for skin and hair care, buttock and breast enhancers, beauty ointments, and emollients, as well as serums or injections of hyaluronic acid for facial revitalisation, skin brighteners, anti-ageing skincare, etc.
The availability of Chinese beauty products has particularly benefited working and some middle-class Ivorian women who cannot afford expensive beauty and cosmetic products imported from Western countries. Now, they have access to affordable Chinese consumer goods that supposedly help raise or solidify their breasts, strengthen their vaginal muscles, tighten or increase their gluteal volume, enhance their body shape, and augment their lips or buttocks, among other benefits. Other Chinese beauty products are rather credited to enhance the youthful appearance and well-being of African women, especially by decelerating the natural ageing of their bodies.
These allegedly Chinese miraculous products are now available for sale in numerous local Chinese cosmetic and beauty shops that are saturating the local cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets with imported goods from China. They are also accessible in numerous Chinese clinics and medical facilities, which have transformed into centres for the embellishment or modification of African bodies.
Over time, a number of renowned Chinese cosmetic brands such as Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, Li Shizhen, Bian Que, and others have become increasingly popular among Ivorian women. Currently, in the Ivorian beauty and cosmetics market, certain Chinese flagship products are in direct competition with renowned European or American products from well-established brands such as L’Oréal, Sephora, Clarins, Estée Lauder, and others. Beauty products such as Dong Quai, Maca Blacks 3, Fenugeek Seed, Belle Nubian, and others are gaining popularity among middle-class urban women in Ivory Coast. The products offered include soaps, serums, body lotions, creams, pills, and capsules. They are frequently advertised as being 100 per cent natural or derived from natural algae or plants and thus as reducing potential health risks for consumers. These products are distinctive in that they are primarily marketed to African or black consumers across different socioeconomic backgrounds. By offering extraordinary solutions to address the particular beauty and cosmetic issues faced by some local women, they offer the promise of helping them achieve their beauty aspirations.
Chinese Look and the New Aesthetic Spirit
In Abidjan, the increasing presence of Chinese-imported consumer goods in the local beauty and fashion market has not only led to the popularisation of various practices such as “body-building” or tunage du corps, as previously discussed. Additionally, it has sparked the emergence of a new aesthetic ethos in the Ivory Coast's major city. Chinese-made wigs, which are being increasingly used by working-class Ivorian women to improve their physical appearance, represent the latest fashion and beauty trends originated from China.
In a short period, Chinese-made wigs have supplanted Western-made wigs mainly manufactured by the renowned British company Harry Firth, which mass-produced nylon wigs and distributed them to various African countries, including Ivory Coast (Mahotogui, 2019). European-made wigs commonly utilise European or virgin hair, as well as high-quality synthetic fibres, although they tend to be more expensive. On the contrary, wigs manufactured in China are typically varied in style and are mostly made of synthetic fibres, which are generally more affordable.
The shift away from Ivoirian's main wig supplier can be attributed to the growth in importation and consumption of cheap Chinese-made nylon wigs, synthetic hair, and hair accessories by many Ivoirian women, namely those from the working classes. More importantly, the introduction of these Chinese-manufactured beauty products into the local market has resulted in the development of novel hairdressings that are influenced by conventional Chinese hairstyles and hairdressings. In Abidjan, as well as in several other cities in francophone West Africa, the urban language often employs expressions such as look chinois (Chinese look), coupe chinoise (Chinese haircut), or style chinois (Chinese style) to refer to the new ways of dressing or adorning one's hair. In more general, the so-called look chinois makes reference to a wide range of fashion and aesthetic styles which are mainly influenced by Chinese beauty and aesthetic conventions. These styles typically prioritise characteristics such as flawless, porcelain-like complexion, refined facial features, and lustrous, lengthy hair. Make-up trends often involve a preference for natural, radiant appearances with a focus on skincare, as well as more extravagant styles for special events.
Contemporary Chinese hairstyles available in the local market in Abidjan often blend elements from China's rich cultural heritage such as the Qipao buns and Hanfu braids (Steele and Major, 1999), with current fashion and aesthetic trends. Despite the presence of numerous styles and trends, certain Chinese hairstyles are particularly favoured by local Ivorian women. This encompasses various hair textures, such as soft and loose waves or curls, as well as straight hair that is often styled to appear sleek and smooth. These styles can vary in length, ranging from extremely long to medium.
This so-called look chinois, often juxtaposed against the coupe occidentale (Western look), serves to accentuate the Asian facial features of the individual wearing Chinese-imported wigs. More significantly, it embodies a novel form of hair stylisation that mainly relies on both conventional and modern Chinese hairdressing and hairstyling techniques, which are becoming widespread across West and Central Africa (Nyamjoh and Fuh, 2014).
In contemporary Ivorian society, hairstyling and hairdressing have become essential for women's beauty and fashion aspirations, and especially in the construction of fashionable body. As a result, the trend of wearing Chinese-made wigs and headgears is now in vogue among trendy young people in Abidjan. Their aesthetic performativity is increasingly influenced by the so-called Chinese look or hairstyle. The growing popularity of Chinese-made wigs and other synthetic hairs best known as mèches chinoises has led to an increasing interest in Chinese hairstyles and hairdressing techniques, even among Ivorian hairdressers and hairstylists who have appropriated these new aesthetics originating from China. Many now boast a certain level of skill in Chinese hairdressings, particularly in the currently trendy Hanfu braids. These typical hairstyles combine traditional braiding techniques with contemporary hairstyles, occasionally adorned with ribbons and beads (Steele and Major, 1999). As a result of the fiercely competitive local hair business, certain individuals do not hesitate to merge indigenous hairdressing techniques with Chinese-inspired methods to invent novel hair designs.
While conducting fieldwork in Abidjan, my Ivorian research assistant and I visited several beauty salons or centres owned or operated by Chinese nationals that were consistently crowded with young Ivorian women who were eager to achieve the highly desired Chinese aesthetic. Some customers came in with their own hair accessories they bought in a Chinese beauty shop, while others purchased them directly from their Chinese hairdressers who seemed to enjoy an unmatchable expertise in hairdressing. As in Douala, a city where I witnessed a comparable pattern among the trendy local youth, the recently embraced Chinese aesthetic seemed to have supplanted the previously favoured “American look” or “French roll” (McCaskie, 2000). This shift was evident when I accompanied some Ivorian friends to a recently opened nightclub in Abidjan and was taken aback to see that the majority of young women in the room were sporting the well-known Chinese hairstyle, giving them the appearance of Asian girls with dark or brown skin.
When I asked why some young Ivorian girls and women were styling their hair in a Chinese style (se chinoinisait les cheveux), one of the young ladies in our group clarified that, in Abidjan, if a woman wishes to attract attention or distinguish herself from others, she must adopt a Chinese-inspired hairstyle. And she added: A lot of young girls and women in Abidjan find this hairstyle quite original, even though it's already becoming a bit popular (ca devient un peu vulgaire), as almost every trendy woman adopts this look when she goes out. Although I used to be fond of it in the past, I have ceased wearing it because of its widespread adoption as a fashion all over the town. Everywhere you go in Abidjan, you see girls embracing this look chinois.
In many respects, local Chinese hairdressers and Ivorian hairdressers trained in Chinese hairdressing are now offering beauty care services to their growing African clients that no longer reflect the Pan-African ideals of “African personality” and “African Pride” advocated by Kwame Nkrumah and other Pan-Africanist leaders (Essah, 2008; Ross, 1998). This new form of beauty care also deviates from the previously dominant Western standards of beauty and aesthetics, and no longer symbolically represents national identity and cultural heritage as in the past (see McCaskie, 2000; Sieber and Herreman, 2000). These beauty professionals, whether they are Chinese or Ivoirians, are favouring the growing trend of adopting Chinese aesthetics, such as hairstyles or look. Nevertheless, the rising popularity of Chinese consumer goods among working-class Ivorian women can be attributed to the social and symbolic significance these products hold for many disadvantaged Africans at large.
Social and Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Consumer Products
Recent scholarship has highlighted the connections between the consumption of Chinese consumer goods by African users and their modernity aspirations (Chappatte, 2014; Kernen and Khan-Mohammad, 2016; Rovine, 2015). Some analysts have employed the concept of “new modernity” (Chappette, 2014; Jansen and Craik, 2016; Khan-Mohammad, 2016; von Pezold, 2022) to explain why many Africans, especially those hailing from underprivileged social strata are increasingly attracted to Chinese consumer goods. For instance, in a fascinating study on the utilisation of Chinese-manufactured goods in some urban areas in Mali, André Chappette argues that many urban Malians associate the possession of the much coveted “Chinese goods” with what he refers to as “material modernity” (Chappette, 2014).
Modernity also figures prominently in the popular imagination of Chinese consumer goods in Abidjan. The people I interviewed used it widely as an all-encompassing concept, commonly understood in the local context as the ability of individuals to gain access to imported consumer goods or possess prestige items that held social and symbolic value beyond their practical utilisation or purpose. More specifically, many of my respondents who were enamoured with affordable Chinese beauty and fashion products frequently related modernity aspirations and expressions to the consumption of consumer products imported from China. These products were popularly represented as icons and cultural markers of modernity in which the poor and disenfranchised could now participate.
The majority of these individuals regarded their utilisation of Chinese consumer products as an expression of their capacity to engage in the so-called new modernity, primarily characterised by the extravagant consumption of foreign goods, notably those imported from China. Their perspective resonates with Röschenthaler's (2021) interesting analysis of the social representation of low-cost Chinese consumer goods by many Cameroonians as symbols of a modernised lifestyle.
During formal as well as informal conversations with my informants, I noticed that some individuals, both women and men, defended their strong interest in Chinese-made products like jewellery, beauty accessories, and clothing, by claiming that these consumer items were a means to achieve a higher social status or to appear more respectable. “In today's Ivoirian society, everyone strives to gain recognition and respect from others. This can only be achieved by presenting oneself in fashionable attire,” according to a young man employed as a salesperson in one of the Abidjan's biggest retail stores.
An Ivoirian woman in her early forties, who owned a small restaurant situated in a popular neighbourhood of Abobo offered a detailed elucidation of the concept of modernity in contemporary Ivorian society. While conversing with me in her eatery, where I frequently dined, she explained that she had embraced a contemporary lifestyle as a femme moderne, attributing this lifestyle to the availability of Chinese fashion and beauty products to women from the working class, like herself. She justified her choice of Chinese fashion and beauty products by stating that they allowed her to appear “modern,” to “etre dans la tendance” (be trendy), or to achieve a contemporary and fashionable appearance. As she put it, “wearing for example Chinese mèches (wigs) helps me to be in vogue (etre a la mode) and to maintain up-to-date appearance, even at my age. Without these Chinese beauty products, mature women like me would be considered outdated (démodé) and would no longer be able to attract men who generally prefer stylish women.”
My informant's remarks were substantiated by the series of interviews I conducted with several young enthusiasts of Chinese hairstyling who were mostly young women. The interviews revealed that for a significant number of them, adopting this particular hairstyle was regarded as fashionable or trendy (tendance). 11 Moreover, her comments were in line with Kernen and Mohammad's observation that “Chinese products allow West Africans to be fashionable” (2016: 137).
In fact, the woman mentioned above, who self-identified as a “modern woman,” successfully created a modern appearance by using Chinese-made wigs or imported artificial hair that she ostensibly wore on her head. “If I have to define myself from now on, I’d say I’m a modern woman; I no longer have to envy the grand dames of the high society who dress expensively, because I can now dress like them too, and be elegant and beautiful like them,” she explained. And she continued in these terms: In the past, it was challenging to appear fashionable without the resources to dress stylishly and elegantly. However, the introduction of Chinese clothing and fashion has resulted in all Ivorian women being well-dressed today. When an upper-middle class woman attends a ceremony with her prestigious designer handbag that she purchased at a high cost from the luxurious boutiques of Cocody, I proudly carry the same designer handbag that I acquired at a more affordable price from the market in Ádjame. Ultimately, we are identical; we possess identical bags of the same brand. The sole distinction lies in the fact that her possession holds a greater monetary value compared to mine. However, symbolically, it represents the identical concept. This is an example of modernity. Regardless of the disparity in price, we can dress similarly, as society does not differentiate between genuine and counterfeit items, attributing them with equal social worth.
However, understanding the current fashion and aesthetic trends in Abidjan requires recognising or acknowledging the dominant belief that emphasises fullness and corpulence as the ultimate representation of beauty and elegance.
New Bobaraba Style and the Aesthetic of Plumpness
The prevalence of plumpness is a dominant characteristic of women's bodies in most urban areas of West Africa. Contrary to the norm in many Western cities, where public spaces often feature slender female figures, numerous cities in West Africa tend to showcase voluptuous and curvaceous women. Indeed, individuals who have had the chance to stroll through the streets of major towns or cities in West Africa may have observed that many trendy local women exhibit a nearly identical physical appearance, regardless of their age, or social standing: long artificial hair, commonly referred to as hair extensions, a fair complexion, prominent hips, ample buttocks, and large breasts.
The prevalence of corpulent bodies in the modern African public sphere is a result of a specific nativist ideology that glorifies roundness as the ultimate representation of female beauty, allure, and attractiveness (Oloruntoba-Oju, 2007; Popenoe, 2004). In contemporary Africa, many women believe that being attractive or good-looking entails having a forme (corpulence), as frequently expressed by Ivorian women. In contrast, a woman with flat buttocks and breasts is often perceived as ugly and unattractive. A significant number of research participants shared the commonly held belief that an African woman is considered appealing primarily when she has rondeurs and gabarit; that is when she possesses ample curves, well-defined contours, and a substantial physique. One informant, a middle-aged woman who owned a small beauty salon in the popular neighbourhood of Koumassi, expressed this popular belief that in Africa, people prefer women who have a well-proportioned physique. As she put it, “[m]en are attracted by my curves and regularly court me even when I am walking down the street. When a woman is corpulent or plump no men can resist her.”
The aforementioned remarks suggest that the African perception of beauty diverges considerably from that of the majority of Western societies where the ideals of slenderness have been established as standards of feminine beauty and attractiveness since the late twentieth century (Bordo, 1995). In West Africa, beauty is rather commonly linked to an aesthetic preference for a fuller and more voluptuous physique. In the African cultural perception of female beauty, a truly attractive African woman is one who is endowed with curves and roundness. For example, the female informant mentioned earlier deduced her beauty and attractiveness on the basis of her curvaceous and corpulent figure: “I am beautiful and attractive because I’m curvy,” she stated. It is not surprising that many Ivorian women aspire to have a bôtchô or form in order to look more attractive.
In Ivory Coast, the idealisation of plumpness inspired literary and artistic works that thrived during the early 2000s. For example, the renowned Ivorian artist-painter Augustin Kassi, who specialised in depicting the voluptuous curves of women, gained recognition for his unique artistic approach. In 2008, two renowned Ivorian singers and disc jockeys named DJ Mix and Eloh DJ released a hit song "Bobaraba," which developed into a musical genre that exalted African women with exceptionally large posteriors, following in Kassi's footsteps. At various popular bars, discotheques, and “maquis” (chicken parlours) located in the inner-cities of Abidjan, it was common to hear popular songs that celebrated the prominent buttocks of women or glorified their curviness. The “Bobaraba” hit achieved such remarkable success that it attained the status of a genuine anthem, thereby adding to the already extensive catalogue of artistic works that exalted the aesthetically pleasing derrieres of women.
Despite the often imprecise use of the term bobaraba, many Ivoirians relate this concept to travail (work) on certain body parts, namely sexual organs, breasts, hips, butts, and thighs. For example, two young women from the Adjamé market described bobaraba as the various techniques or methods used by Ivoirian women to avoir des fesses galbées (to have well-shaped buttocks), les seins bombés (to have bulging breasts), les cuisses ressorties (to have prominent thighs), une poitrine genereuse (to have a protuberant chest), and un corps séduisant et sexy (to have an attractive and sexy body), as well as to resserer le vagin de la femme (to tighten a woman's vagina).
The term bobaraba is also increasingly associated in Abidjan with a particular style of women's clothing that accentuates a woman's protruding chest or enhances her posterior. This new outfit trend, which became popular in Abidjan around 2009, is now frequently referred to as “bobaraba fashion” (mode bobaraba) or “bobaraba style” (style bobaraba). Bobaraba clothes, which are essentially form-fitting shirts and robes, are currently in high demand among women's clothing. The majority of the clothes that make up the so-called bobaraba fashion or style are created in China and shipped to West Africa, where they are sold on local markets. However, some local tailors have started to produce bobaraba garments as well, based on the models and patterns imported from China. The distinctive feature of these fashionable dress styles is their fit, which is catered exclusively for curvaceous women and those with protruding chests.
Due to the growing fixation on voluptuous buttocks and prominent chests in Abidjan, many local women are being drawn into the trend of enhancing their buttocks and chests. This practice is increasingly popular among working-class and sometimes middle-class women who are eager to exhibit their physical appearance. It is common to observe young or middle-aged women haggling for bobaraba consumer goods in numerous markets in Abidjan. Some women willingly spend their limited incomes on these Chinese beauty accessories and fashion products in their pursuit of beauty and refinement.
It is crucial to highlight that in Abidjan, as well as in numerous cities throughout West Africa, the bobaraba trend appeals primarily to working-class women who are more inclined to adopt this fashion and aesthetic phenomenon compared to women from the upper- and middle-classes. Although affluent Ivorian women often disdain cheap Chinese-made fashion items and beauty products as low-end products, many working-class women view them as a good deal and their use as a necessary evil. A female informant provided these comments that emphasise the ambivalent representation of Chinese consumer goods by Ivorian users, I am compelled to utilise these Chinese garments and beauty items due to a lack of alternatives. It is widely acknowledged that they possess their own imperfections; however, I consider them to be a necessary evil (mal necessaire). Chinese clothing provides an affordable alternative for individuals, such as myself, who are unable to purchase luxury items from expensive boutiques in Abidjan. It enables us to remain fashionable and uphold our aesthetic appeal.
Bobaraba Aesthetic and the Beauty of Fake
The bobaraba beauty and fashion fad embodies low-cost Chinese consumer products that have contributed to the “transformation of consumer practices in Africa” (Kernen and Mohammad, 2016: 140) by providing previously excluded social groups with the chance to engage in the global consumption economy. Additionally, the accessibility of affordable Chinese fashion and beauty products has allowed individuals with limited financial means to access style, elegance, and fashion that were previously exclusive to the upper-middle classes. This purchasing power has extended to the African ghetto and the urban poor, enabling them to participate in the “cult of elegance” (Gondola, 1999), and therefore to compete with the elite classes in the moral economy of elegance and fashion. Moreover, Chinese consumer products have played a crucial role in introducing a sense of fashionable and glamorous style to populations that have historically been excluded from such access. This access has facilitated the development in contemporary African society of what I referred to earlier as ghetto glamour.
While popular, the ghetto glamour and the bobaraba phenomena facilitated by Chinese products in Ivory Coast are highly contentious because they are argued to be based on deception and part of a problem of beauté du faux or “fake beauty.” The term “fake beauty” refers to any kind of aestheticization or stylisation of the body intended to create an illusion, particularly to trick the beholder. More precisely, this expression alludes to the different Chinese-made beauty products and accessories that some young Ivorian women use to flout their physical and sexual appearance.
The local mainstream media frequently amplify the fake beauty controversy. For example, on 23 January 2018, RTI1, which is the main state-controlled radio and television channel in Ivory Coast, broadcasted a special report on the beauté du faux. The journalist asserted that the phenomenon of “fake beauty” was spreading in Ivoirian society due to the increasing allure of the bobaraba trend for many Ivoirian women. In her own words, “in present-day Africa, not all beauty and roundness are natural. This is because the attractive buttocks and curves of many African women may actually be concealing low-quality (bas de gamme) Chinese wool and foams (laine et mousse).” By this she referred to padded pants that create the illusion of more voluminous buttocks, women's underwear wrapped in wool and foam, and artificial buttocks crafted from upholstery fabrics, among other items. In addition, she remarked that “beneath the outward appearance of numerous urban African women, such as their peau jaune (‘yellow skin’), the plumpness, voluptuousness, and fleshiness of their buttocks, flatness of their bellies, fattiness of their hips, and protuberance of their breasts, there exists a prevalent practice best known as bobaraba.” 13
The reporter's comments imply that the bobaraba fashion is primarily characterised by counterfeit and imitation. 14 This new vogue appears to thrive on a moral economy of deception, primordially driven by a philosophy of inauthenticity and artificiality, which stands in contrast to the so-called natural and authentic African beauty that the reporter seems to promote. In addition, the reporter's portrayal of bobaraba fashion as “beauté du faux” conveys a pessimistic view of this emerging fashion trend, linking it to the infiltration of the domestic market by low-quality Chinese beauty and cosmetic goods. Moreover, by highlighting its lack of authenticity and artificiality, she indicates that the “fake beauty” can also be characterised as a form of beauty that primarily seeks to create illusions, delusions, or deceive the beholder's perception.
The reporter is not alone in criticising the deceitful characteristics of the Chinese-influenced bobaraba fashion, which, she argues, leads numerous African women to “conceal their true value and innate beauty beneath artificial Chinese beauty and fashion items, which often pose a threat to their well-being,” as she put it. A male informant from the Abobo market referred to the deceptive actions of these young bobaraba enthusiasts as “forgery and use of forgery” (faux et usage de faux). He even threatened to take legal action against any imposter who attempts to deceive him with fake bobaraba beauty. According to the 35-year-old man, the primary targets of the fraudulent scheme involving counterfeit buttocks and deceptive chests were unsuspecting local men who were unaware of the fact that numerous Ivorian women had become “true chameleons” (vrais cameleons), able to change their skin tone. He described this phenomenon as the “scam beauty” (beauté de l’anarque). One of his colleagues characterised the bobaraba fashion as the “transient victory of Chinese aesthetics,” because such a beauty is “artificial or fabricated.”
According to this logic, the remarkable surge in the popularity of bobaraba fashion and products in Abidjan since the early 2000s has made it challenging to distinguish between innate and authentic beauty and a contrived or fabricated aesthetic. This challenge is aggravated by the inclination of numerous Ivorian women to jaunir (yellow) their skin tone or to turn it into a peau banane (banana skin), 15 as the local urban popular language often calls it. The local population also employs this term to denote a counterfeit or manipulated physical appearance resembling that of a Chinese individual.
For example, local sex workers are frequently suspected of using Chinese beauty or cosmetic products to alter their skin tone. The so-called yellowish 16 skin or peau banane of many of these young women is often seen as deceptive, since it relies on artificiality. The “yellowish” bodies, which starkly contrast with the dark or brown bodies of the majority of Ivoirians, are the result of the skilful use of bobaraba products to create an illusion that appears to be reality. They are seen as a deceitful and performative operation intended to mislead local men who are seeking intimate relations with real Chinese women sex workers (see Ndjio, 2009).
The introduction of “yellowing” skin lighteners from China in the early 2000s has significantly altered the traditional methods of skin bleaching known as décapage de la peau, which had been practiced in Abidjan since the 1960s (Marie 1984). The previous practice of skin bleaching, commonly referred to as “blanchissement de la peau” (skin whitening) in francophone Africa, primarily relied on skin-lightening products imported from some Western countries. The primary objective was to “whiten” the complexion of black women and transform them into a “petite blanche” or “fair-skinned” individual. Whereas Chinese-made skin-lightening products currently sold in many African markets provide African women with the opportunity to achieve the highly desired yellowish complexion through body modification. The increasing allure of numerous urban Ivorian women towards the peau jaunâtre or peau papaye (yellowish or papaya skin) reflects a shift in the ideal and standard of beauty. Increasingly, Ivorian women are considering “yellowish” skin as a significant indicator of their social status and a powerful representation of their involvement in the global beauty and fashion consumerism. Furthermore, the ultimate degree of glamour, sophistication, splendour, and refinement is associated with “yellowish” skin.
However, scams pertaining to beauty are often fraught with tension. On the one hand, they help some working-class Ivorian women construct a deceptive social identity, 17 which allows them not only to conceal their typically humble social status, but also to challenge middle-class Ivorian women in the moral economy of extravagance. 18 On the other hand, the fashion fakery and bluff of young bobaraba women is widely criticised because it exacerbates people's concerns regarding the erosion of “authenticity” and “naturalness” in the body of numerous African women. Simply put, this form of fraudulent scheme is invalidated due to its association with a perceived erosion of African culture, particularly the obliteration of identity, as noted by one analyst regarding Nigeria (see Oyedemi, 2016).
Conclusion
Speaking about a different social and geographical context, an undergraduate female student of mine once expressed admiration for Chinese fashion and beauty entrepreneurs, as she believed they have successfully enhanced the beauty, charm, and allure of urban African women, irrespective of their social standing. The student's comment emphasised that in several cities in West and Central Africa, the female body serves as a prominent symbol of the increasing impact of Chinese-manufactured fashion and cosmetic products. Furthermore, her comment is a reminder that the privilege of having access to fashion and elegance is no longer restricted to the African middle and upper-middle classes. This change has occurred as a result of the importation of inexpensive Chinese beauty and fashion products, which now allow many socially and economically disadvantaged Africans to engage in global fashion consumption. Additionally, they enable individuals to realise their aspirations of being stylish and fashionable.
The popularisation of the so-called Chinese look in Abidjan has occurred simultaneously with the influx of Chinese-manufactured beauty and cosmetic products towards this major city. The increasing number of working-class Ivorian women seeking a peau jaunâtre or peau papaye reflects the substantial impact of Chinese cosmetic industries and Africa-based Chinese merchants on the development of a distinct African aesthetic identity. This has led to a noticeable shift among Ivorian women towards a more yellowish complexion. However, by “yellowing” their previously black skin or by adopting the alleged “Chinese look,” trendy Ivorian women do not seek to resemble the slim Chinese models whose beautiful faces and flashy hairstyles are prominently featured on the covers of various beauty products.
The popular bobaraba phenomenon, which embodies a new ghetto glamour, exhibits a comparable level of complexity. The significance of this contemporary fashion and beauty trend lies in its promotion of a voluptuous and well-defined appearance as a marker of attractiveness. In many respects, the recent emergence of the bobaraba vogue exemplifies China's introduction of a second modernity to Africa, specifically in terms of material culture and mass consumption. In contrast to Western-inspired modernity, which exacerbated the disparity between the elites and the masses, the emerging modernity brought about by Chinese material culture and consumer commodities aims to close the gap or blur the conventional social and economic divides between the working-class and upper-middle-class Ivoirians by providing them almost equal access to modern consumer products.
However, this emerging fashion modernity, which is energised by Chinese-manufactured fashion and beauty products, does not indicate a total rupture with the local cultural past or tradition. For instance, the current bobaraba fashion is created through an intricate hybridisation of diverse cultural elements, blending local concepts of style and beauty with fabrics and designs originated from China. To paraphrase Marie Jansen and Jennifer Craik (2016), Ivorian women utilise bobaraba fashion and style as a means of navigating the intersection of tradition and modernity.
This article has made a noteworthy contribution to the scholarly discussion on fashion and aesthetic in contemporary Africa by emphasising the contradictory characteristics of present-day bobaraba vogue. Indeed, this article has shown that the new Chinese-driven bobaraba is both praised and disapproved. Although affordable trendy clothing and cheap beauty products imported from China have helped introduce glamour and style to socially and economically disadvantaged Ivoirians, they are often disregarded as beauté du faux which lacks authenticity or contributes to erase so-called real and true African identity. Young sex workers in Abidjan, who tend to idealise the so-called Chinese look, personify this fake beauty which is now exacerbating the popular anxiety about the process of cultural alienation as well as artificiality of the bodies of many African women as a whole. This implies that Africa is seen by many as a place where Chinese counterfeit beauty and cosmetic products are dumped (Sylvanus, 2012). The widespread moralising rhetoric surrounding the supposed deceitful qualities of Chinese beauty and fashion products has led to the emergence of nativist and Afrocentric discourses. These discourses now promote a revival of genuine African identity and beauty. The currently pervasive concept of the femme bio (natural African woman) or femme au teint naturel (woman with a natural skin stone), who represents the ideal of a naturally attractive African woman, is frequently juxtaposed with the so-called femme bobaraba (unnatural and assimilated) transnational Chinese businessmen and fashion entrepreneurs allegedly promote throughout the African continent.
In conclusion, the intricate bobabara fashion phenomenon highlights the connection between contemporary African fashion and consumerist culture with various forms of fashion modernity including the Chinese one. This relationship is an important aspect that should be recognised in research on African fashion and aesthetic.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The article is dedicated to Ute Röschenthaler, a cherished and esteemed friend who has recently passed away.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), which facilitated my fieldwork in Ivory Coast.