The social construction and sexual objectification of the female body : a closer look at the Singapore Girl

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the ways in which the ideal female body is socially constructed and maintained in the Singapore Airlines Industry through twelve in-depth interviews. The findings were organized into four sections. Namely, the framing of the body through the corporation through its draconian management styles, the discourses surrounding the male gaze supported by the Singapore Girls and how the Singapore Girls through self-surveillance, inevitably reproduce gender stereotypes. The final section included the ways in which some respondents overtly or covertly negotiated within the system, grappling to find a middle ground between their Singapore Girl identity and in trying to exercise their agency to retain their individuality.

Key words: Gender, Body, Social Construction, Singapore Girl, Sexual, Male Gaze, Self-Surveillance

Word count: 9,977