A virtual gender asylum? The social media profile picture, young Chinese women’s self-empowerment, and the emergence of a Chinese digital feminism

Abstract

This article applies the framework of critical discourse analysis to the in-depth interviews of 73 young Chinese women residing in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. It examines their discursive practices of choosing and editing their profile pictures on social media, which is in turn placed in the unique sociocultural context of contemporary China for interpretation. This article argues that Chinese women’s self-empowerment through using social media is derived not from a straightforward struggle against the patriarchy or for woman power, but from a gentle, rational yet resolute stance that incorporates a new female identity into the ‘harmonious society’ enshrined in Confucian ideals, thus creating a new digital feminism with Chinese characteristics.