Abstract
This thesis investigates contemporary Chinese feminists’ experiences of onlinecensorship and the Chinese party-state’s suppression of their offline activities. It
extends Nancy Fraser’s theorisation of Subaltern Counterpublics and the subsequent
scholarship of feminist counterpublics. Based on original data generated from activist
interviews, feminists’ online content and ethnographic observations of digital feminist
communities, I argue that today’s Chinese feminism represents a neoliberal
rationality, establishing young, urban-based, independent elite women as an ideal,
while sidelining and stigmatising married women, mothers, and women with
disadvantaged backgrounds. I explore how Chinese feminists strategically expand
their online and offline activism while bypassing the authoritarian state’s surveillance.
The thesis reveals how today’s Chinese feminism is shaped by intricate political and
cultural restraints, as well as transnational interactions with East Asian feminist
actors.`
I devised a unique methodological approach for conducting sensitive research in
repressive contexts. My approach develops the concept of ‘carefulness’, balancing
between ensuring respondents’ safety and maintaining reciprocal researcher
researched relationships throughout the research process. I call for further scholarly
attention to researchers’ emotional experiences in researching repressive contexts.
This research makes an original contribution to the literature of feminist resistance
and movements in authoritarian regimes and methodological approaches for sensitive
studies in repressive societies. The thesis proposes three dimensions to be examined
for future investigations in these contexts: political and cultural repressions,
interactions between transnational and regional feminists, and power imbalances and
tensions.
| Date of Award | 18 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Junko Yamashita (Supervisor) & Maud M Perrier (Supervisor) |
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