The “Little Third”: Changing Images of Women Characters Involved in Extramarital Affairs on Chinese TV

Abstract

Abstract For this study, we analyzed the changing images of women characters involved in extramarital affairs in three Chinese TV dramas—Come and Go (CG; Hubei TV & Guangxi TV, 1998), Dwelling Narrowness (DN; Beijing TV & Dragon TV, 2009), and Nothing but Thirty (NT; Dongfang TV & Tencent Video, 2020). We argue here that shifting gender relationships, evolving political, economic, and technological conditions relating to the media industry, and a transition in the broader social environment have motivated a return to patriarchal moral discourse on Chinese TV. Specifically, in keeping with this discourse, extramarital affairs have come to be presented as immoral, primarily for the women involved—the “little third” of the title, this being the literal translation of the Mandarin term for “mistress.” We documented this return to patriarchal moral doctrines that are intended to discipline women and limit the diversity and nuance of culturally accepted forms and expressions of sexual attraction and romance on Chinese TV in case studies of the three programs.