Analysis of the Reasons for the Stigmatization of Feminism in Virtual Chinese Society-psychological Perspective

Abstract

The flourishing of feminism in modern China has brought more vitality to the thought of a new era in China, especially today when Internet technology is highly popularized and womens self-awareness is further awakened. However, a large volume of observations and studies have pointed to the severe stigmatization of Chinese local feminism on the virtual society. While previous studies have shed light on the causes of such a social phenomenon, explanations of each individuals psychological mechanism in this phenomenon have yet to be added. This study used Zhihu, Chinas popular universal question-and-answer platform, as a community to collect and code responses on the causes of Chinese feminist stigmatization, and conducted an analysis of internal and external factors leading to the causes of stigmatization based on the general publics perceptions of feminist activities in the virtual society, and found that the general publics responses on Zhihu all converged to point to seven causes, namely: feminist behaviors are radical and there are internal disagreements that are difficult to reconcile, misunderstanding or stereotyping of the original intent of feminism by the general public, deterioration of the relationship between feminists and outgroups by the media, the herd effect among feminist outgroups leading to wider stigmatization of feminism, the constraints of traditional attitudes, and the conflict of social interests between feminism and outgroups. Ultimately, the psychological mechanisms behind the causes of stigmatization were found to be intertwined and interacting.