Constructing the ultimate “leftover women”: Chinese media’s representation of female PhDs in the postsocialist era

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although China’s “leftover women” phenomenon has drawn much attention academically in recent years, there is a lack of clarification of the diversity within these largely “demonized” women. This study is particularly interested in the female PhDs in postsocialist China since they are supposed to exemplify women’s empowerment but still end up being the common target of patriarchy. Therefore, this study not only examines patterns and implications of Chinese mass media’s representation of female PhDs, but also analyzes how media coverage of them has reflected the Chinese authorities’ strategic dissemination and consolidation of patriarchal power and ideologies in a postsocialist context intermingled with neoliberalism. In the end, the study discusses China’s discursive marginalization and eugenic concerns regarding female PhDs, as well as the causes of the lack of collective negotiation within these women.