In socialist China under Mao’s reign, official discourse supported gender equality and the liberation of women through integrating women into the workforce to build a progressive and modern nation. This version of state-sponsored feminism was criticized for overemphasizing class struggle while obscuring the structural and everyday inequalities faced by women (Evans, 2008; Gilmartin, Hershatter et al., 1994; Yang, 1999). The economic reform led by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s introduced a shift in gender politics by way of market liberalization. As Rofel (2007) argues, traces of neoliberalism during the reform era called for the expression of “natural” desire and gendered selfhood, which are believed to have been suppressed by socialist policies during Mao’s era. The cultural imperative of self-expression and the interest in gender identity lent support to the commodification of women’s bodies. The portrayal of women in the media diverged from the sexless and androgynous in the Cultural Revolution era, to the economically successful, consumerism- friendly, feminine, and sexually attractive (Evans, 2008). The binaristic conception of traditional gender roles, which subsided in Mao’s era, resurfaced during the market reform (Zhang and Sun, 2014).

 

In response to these social changes, the women’s movement in the economic reform era of the 1980s and the 1990s actively involved both NGOs and state institutions (Milwertz and Bu, 2009). The incorporation of the national Anti-Domestic Violence Network into the organizational infrastructure of the All China Women’s Federation (ACWF), a state-sponsored institution tackling women’s issues, was a successful example of Chinese feminists’ “dual approach” (Milwertz and Bu, 2009: 228). Unlike western feminists, Chinese feminists worried that an NGO’s explicit oppositional stance to the state might lead to suppression, which would then compromise their ability to advocate for women. They recognized collaborating with the party-state/ACWF to be necessary for channeling their efforts into policy and legal changes (Milwertz and Bu, 2009). This non-confrontational co-existence of state-initiatives and NGOs was also observed by other scholars as feminist activism in this period “simultaneously [drew] upon the political and financial resources of the state/ACWF, and [worked] on new, local initiatives” (Hsiung and Wong, 1998: 480).

 

The “non-governmental” feminist engagements began in the mid-1980s and were heightened by the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. These engagements covered a wide range of women’s issues, from economic and legal justice to religion and sexuality (Hsiung et al., 2001). The media sector (including the press, television, and film) was becoming more commercialized in practice, but was still under the government’s watch. As the media permeated people’s daily lives, it became a key area of feminist study, and a powerful tool of feminist activism. Feminists in China have been monitoring the mainstream representation of gender constantly. For instance, their content analysis of news reports on domestic violence in Zhongguo Funü Bao (The Chinese Women’s Newspaper) from 1984 to 2003 showed that the newspaper’s typical reportage personalizes domestic violence and overlooks structural and social inequality (Bu and Zhang, 2011). Moreover, girls’ issues have little media visibility, as they are often blended with women’s issues or children’s issues. Girls are usually depicted as passive victims or receivers of assistance, and are rarely given an active voice (Bu, 2008).

 

In the age of digital media, feminist media practices include the production of digital video, multimedia performance, and art installations, among others. Easier access to digital technologies, such as digital cameras, facilitates the creation of public culture (Berry et al., 2010). Veteran feminist Ai Xiaoming has been using digital video for social engagement for decades. She sees her documentaries as “part of China’s fledgling rights defense movement” (quoted in Zhang, 2015: 335). Zhang Zhen argues that Ai’s digital video activist documentaries construct a “digital political mimesis” by leveraging the accessibility of digital technologies and the Internet to mobilize the audience for social change (Zhang, 2015). Zhang sees Ai’s documentaries as demonstrations of Jane Gaines’s idea of “pathos of facts” (Zhang, 2015). For example, instead of aiming for journalistic reportage or projecting detached objectivity, Ai inserts herself and her camera into the scene of protest and is unabashed about her agenda. By showing that she is attacked along with other protesters, her documentary dissolves the subject-object divide. The evidence of injustice elicits “pathos”—affective, bodily responses—from the viewers, prompting them to take action for social change (Zhang, 2015).

 

The Internet aids feminist activism in China in other practices. Media Monitor for Women Network in Beijing was founded in 1996 to promote women’s communication rights and gender equality in the media. In 2009, the Network started to publish the weekly e-paper Women’s Voice and launched the website of the Network. Women’s Voice comments on current events related to women’s rights and gender equality, responds to women/gender issues reported by the mass media, reports on the work of NGOs serving women, and introduces the development of the international women’s movement. The New Media Female Network (NMFN) (Xin Meiti Nüxing Wangluo, also known as Women Awakening) focuses on gender issues in mass communication. Through organizing exhibitions, seminars, lectures, and journalist workshops about feminism in the Pearl River Delta region, NMFN educates the public and trains journalists to evaluate and monitor the media from a gender perspective. NMFN sees the organization of these activist events in physical spaces such as libraries and cafes as a way to reclaim the male-dominated public space (Jun Li, personal communication, January 10, 2016).

 

This new era of feminist activism saw the emergence of the Youth Feminist Action School (YFAS), whose actions started to receive attention from mainstream newspapers in Beijing and Guangzhou circa 2012. YFAS is not the designation of an organization or the exclusive title of a particular group of people. Instead, it puts a name to a form of activism in China that people recognize and a set of values that anyone can espouse. YFAS promotes an all-inclusive feminism, led by young, action-oriented feminists who leverage various platforms of communication to achieve their objectives (Lü, 2014). While previous generations of Chinese feminist activists were often intellectuals who maintained good relationships with the mainstream media—which oftentimes helped promote NGO activities with feminist messages (Bu, 2008: 322)—YFAS is made up of a younger generation of media-savvy feminists who publicize their actions and messages through social media, especially Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

 

 

在毛時代的社會主義中國，政府實行了男女平等及解放婦女的政策，並通過確保婦女在勞動力市場有平等的待遇來建設一個進步的現代化中國。學者們批評這種由國家支持的女性主義過分強調階級鬥爭，卻忽略了結構性的和日常生活中的各種性別不平等問題 (Evans, 2008; Gilmartin, Hershatter et al., 1994; Yang, 1999)。70年代末，鄧小平的改革開放帶來大陸市場的開放，同時也帶來性別政策的轉變。Rofel (2007)指出，在毛澤東的社會主義時代，被壓抑的「自然」慾望及性別化自我，被改革開放中出現的新自由主義喚醒了。表達自我成為一種文化律令，性別身份日益受到關注，兩者均成為女性身體商品化的助力。女性在媒體中的形象也有了這樣的轉變：從文化大革命年代中去性化及中性的女性再現，到改革開放時代中經濟富裕的、崇尚消費主義的、女性化的以及充滿性魅力的女性形象(Evans, 2008)。在毛時代被擱置的二元對立的傳統性別角色框架，在市場經濟盛行的中國又再浮出水面 (Zhang and Sun, 2014)。

 

為了回應這些社會變革，80到90年代的中國婦女運動積極建立婦女NGO以及與國家各部門建立聯繫 (Milwertz and Bu, 2009)。這成為中國女權主義者推定婦女運動的「雙重方法」(Milwertz and Bu, 2009: 8)。而其中的成功例子就是婦女NGO 反家暴網絡與由國家管控的群眾性機構 – 全國婦聯的合作。與西方女權主義者不同，中國的女權主義者擔心如果NGO對國家表示出明顯的對立立場，很可能會受到國家的壓迫，這反過來會影響她們進行婦女議題的倡導。她們意識到，與國家機構或者婦聯合作，能更好實現她們的目的，帶來政策及法律上的改變(Milwertz and Bu, 2009)。 故此，她們採用這種「雙重方法」，即「一邊吸納來自國家/婦聯的政治和經濟資源，一邊著力解決地方性的、新的婦女議題」 (Hsiung and Wong, 1998: 480)。

 

80年代中，中國女權主義者就開始了非政府組織的實踐。在1995年第四次世界婦女大會之後，這一實踐更加活躍，並涉及從經濟法律正義到宗教和性慾望等廣泛婦女議題 (Hsiung et al., 2001)。當時，儘管包括報紙、電視、電影在內的媒體行業仍受國家監管，卻紛紛逐步走向商業化。媒體成為人民日常生活不可或缺的一部分，同時也成為女權主義研究的重要領域以及女權主義行動的有力工具。中國女權主義者一直監督主流媒體的性別再現。例如，她們對《中國婦女報》1984年到2003年的家暴報導進行了內容分析，並發現報導趨向把家暴歸納為個人問題，忽視結構性及社會性的不平等(Bu and Zhang, 2011)。 另外，女童議題基本都被歸類在婦女議題或者兒童議題，而幾乎沒有任何媒體能見度。女童也經常被再現為被動的受害者，或者需要幫助的人，但很少被賦予主動述說的機會(Bu, 2008)。

 

在數字媒體時代，女權主義者有多樣化的媒體實踐，包括影像製作、多媒體演出、裝置藝術設計等。數碼設備，例如數碼相機，比較容易上手，這就有助於推進公共文化的發展(Berry et al., 2010)。資深的女權主義者艾曉明在過去幾十年就利用影像創作來干預社會事件。她把她的紀錄片看作為「中國剛出現的維權運動的一部分」（引自Zhang, 2015: 335)。張真指出，艾曉明的影像運動紀錄片利用容易取到的數碼技術以及互聯網技術去調動群眾進行社會變革，從而構建了「數碼政治擬態」 (Zhang, 2015)。 艾曉明的紀錄片充分展示了Jane Gaines 所提出的「事實的憐憫」(pathos of facts) 這個概念。與新聞報導所追求的客觀性不同，艾曉明把自己及自己的鏡頭融入抗議現場，而且毫不畏懼展示自己的目的。通過展示她和其他抗議者一起受到襲擊，她的紀錄片消解了主體-客體的分界。不公正的待遇引發觀看者的「憐憫」 – 情感，身體的反應 – 從而調動他們採取行動改革社會的積極性(Zhang, 2015)。

 

互聯網幫助中國女權主義者進行其他的實踐。1996年，婦女傳媒監測網在北京成立，宗旨是提高婦女利用媒體發聲的能力及促進媒體中的性別平等。2009年，婦女傳媒監測網開始發佈電子週刊《婦女之聲》，同時也建立《婦女之聲》網站。《婦女之聲》就婦女權利及性別平等的熱門事件進行評論，回應大眾媒體對婦女/性別事件的報導，對婦女NGO工作進行報導，並介紹國際婦女運動的發展。新媒體女性則關注大眾傳媒中的性別議題。新媒體女性在珠三角地區組織與女權主義相關的展覽、研討會、講座及記者工作坊，旨在通過這一系列活動讓記者及群眾能以性別的角度去評價及監督媒體報導。新媒體女性通常在咖啡廳或者圖書館這樣的地方舉行上面所說的活動，同時作為一種重新奪取由男性掌控的公共空間的女權實踐。

 

與此同時，青年女權行動派與她們的新式女權行動也出現了。這些新式女權行動自2012年開始就吸引了北京及廣州的主流報刊的關注。青年女權行動派並不是一個機構的名稱或者一群特別的人的稱號。它指代中國新出現的一種女權形式以及一套價值，它是開放給所有人的。青年女權行動派提倡一種包容的女權主義，它由一群年輕的、以行動為導向的女權主義者發起，並用各種媒體平台去實現她們的目標(Lü, 2014)。老一輩的女權主義者大部分都是知識份子，與主流媒體保持良好的關係，這通常有助她們宣傳她們的行動以及傳播女權資訊 (Bu, 2008: 322)。與之相對，青年女權行動派由一群年輕人組成，她們熟練地利用社交媒體傳播她們的行動及資訊，特別是利用新浪微博 – 相當於中國的推特。

 

 

 

Tan, Jia. 2017. “Digital Masquerading: Feminist Media Activism in China.” Crime, Media, Culture 13(2): 171-86.