“Widow-style parenting”: the discursive formation of gendered parenting roles and popular feminism on social media in China

Abstract

In China, content creators on noninstitutional social media platforms, collectively known as zimeiti, have sparked fervent discussions about “widow-style parenting.” This term is used to describe the lack of paternal involvement in childcare. Using feminist critical discourse analysis, this study explores how widow-style parenting is discussed in the context of popular feminism in China. Rhetorically, zimeiti articles aim to promote a more equal division of childcare between parents and reshape traditional masculinity. However, they fall short of achieving this goal because they endorse gender essentialism. This means they place the blame on mothers and reinforce their self-denial and burden. Interestingly, the reader comments challenge this discourse by questioning the structural gender inequality and demanding a change in the grueling work culture in China. These points are often overlooked by the articles because of their commercialized and depoliticized nature. The interaction between zimeiti articles and readers creates a dynamic space that both reinforces and challenges existing gender norms in parenting. This study is the first to investigate how ordinary people respond to popular feminism on social media in China. It enriches our understanding of emerging popular feminism and the evolving dynamics of family relationships in East Asia.