Achieving postfeminist ideals: a study of Chinese female wanghongs and their self-framing on social media

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates how Chinese female wanghongs on Douyin self-frame their image and identity, and how interactions between wanghongs and their followers co-frame the image of contemporary female Internet celebrities. We discovered that the four dominant self-frames of wanghongs are beauty, talent, personality traits, and gender expression through a qualitative coding analysis of the selected 30 female wanghongs’ posts and media interview narratives, along with viewer comments. Besides, we found that the co-framing of influencers and fans as a collective strategy assists women in breaking the aesthetic framework of traditional patriarchal culture. Furthermore, when conflicts arise between framing actors like wanghongs, fans, media, and political parties, female wanghongs tend to respond with resistance or compromise. We argue that examining the identity framing process of female wanghongs on social media can reflect the dilemma that Chinese feminists face when attempting to highlight women’s accomplishments in multiple roles.