Culture

Perrin Langille

“Becoming Chinese”: The effect of trends on reducing vast cultures to simplistic depictions

A detailed headshot of a young woman with a radiant, gentle smile, looking directly forward. Her light skin is adorned with numerous warm-toned freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her large, expressive dark brown eyes sparkle softly. Her voluminous, dark brown curly hair, parted in the middle, frames her face and flows down past her shoulders. She wears a crisp white linen-style collared shirt, unbuttoned slightly at the top, over a white undershirt. A slender silver chain necklace with a small gold-colored cross pendant rests on her collarbone. Her lips are glossy and slightly parted, showing a natural pink hue. The background is a soft, out-of-focus blur of light grey, white, and hints of muted blue, suggesting an indoor, possibly office or commercial, environment.

Perrin Langille is a fourth-year Professional Communication student at Toronto Metropolitan University, minoring in Public Relations. She has developed a strong foundation in strategic communication, digital content creation, and stakeholder engagement through professional and volunteer experience. Perrin has supported communications initiatives across social media, newsletters, and web platforms, and currently serves as Co-Vice President of Events for the Toronto Met Public Relations Society, where she helps plan industry-focused programming. Passionate about storytelling and audience engagement, Perrin aims to pursue a career in public relations and strategic communications.

My research project examines how social media users interpret and critique the transformation of complex cultural traditions into simplified, aestheticized content for mass consumption. Using the “Becoming Chinese” TikTok trend as a case study, my project analyzes how users describe the reframing of longstanding cultural practices as new or trendy discoveries. Through qualitative content and thematic discourse analysis, my research explores how creators identify issues of attribution, commodification, and visibility. The goal is to understand how this reframing is perceived to normalize cultural appropriation, redistribute cultural and economic value, and reinforce global power imbalances in digital spaces.

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