Negotiating representation in contemporary China's media: masculinities, femininities and alternative identities

This research examines the construction, negotiation, and transformation of gender performativities in contemporary China, with a particular focus on the role of traditional and new media. It argues that gender in China should be understood as a contested field shaped by historical and state influences, acting as a bulwark of national identity. As such, it highlights tensions between state-endorsed norms surrounding hegemonic masculinities and femininities and emerging non-normative expressions relating to non-traditional gender roles and alternative identities.

Correspondingly, the thesis explores how feminism has historically developed in China, particularly in relation to Western feminism and its contested reception within Chinese academia. It also emphasizes the significance of digital platforms in creating spaces for visibility, activism, and resistance, while simultaneously being subject to regulation and censorship.

By adopting Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as the principal methodological framework, the thesis analyses a range of media texts—particularly magazines, streaming media, social media, and adverts in both traditional and new media—to unveil how gender norms are currently negotiated and to understand the reasons behind this. With that objective in mind, the study pays particular attention to the interaction between state institutions, commercial actors, and individual actors in shaping media narratives.

Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that the interplay between traditional and new media is central to understanding contemporary gender dynamics in China, because it functions both as an instrument of ideological control and as a platform for contestation, thereby contributing to ongoing transformations in gender identities and representations.