There are various theories of the origin of the term “tianyuan nüquan”. Guanan Zhang concludes that “tianyuan” consists of three aspects: it literally means local Chinese feminism; refers to romanticization, a variation of feminism being romanticized or alienated in China; or suggests “being confined to the countryside”, which implies spreading media slogans without taking actions.[1] This understanding has been taken by numerous online word encyclopedias and media articles as the most common description of where the term derives.

The concrete meaning of tianyuan nüquan should be analyzed from two aspects: its specific meaning at the beginning of its creation, and the expanded meaning after it has become popular. Tianyuan nüquan was created in a highly digitized social environment. It was coined by misogynists to criticize the rights concept of some online women with a rather derogatory meaning.[2] For example, Tianyuan nüquan is usually used to criticize women who “pursue all unilateral self-interested rights while ignoring their obligations, and regard feminism as a weapon.”[3] They “generally require men to have an awareness of unconditional devotion to women, while women are given supreme power and resource in a marriage or a relationship.”[4] 

 

[1] Guannan Zhang, “Chinese Tianyuan Nüquan Terminology: The Stigmatization of Women’s Rights in the Communication of the Internet Environment,” New Media Research 5 (2018 April): 99.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Hao Yang, “Tianyuan Nüquan: A Polar Opposite Path to Affirmative Action,” Prosecutorial View 5 (March 2019): 13.

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「田園女權」一詞的起源有不同的說法。張冠男總結這個詞的來源為以下三方面：「田園」的字面解作中國本土的女權；田園也有浪漫化的意思，指女權在中國被浪漫化或異化的變種；它也有「困於田園」的含義，被認為是只在媒體上喊口號而沒有實際行動。[5]這總結被詞語百科與媒體文章等多方使用，是最常見有關「田園女權」詞義來源的描述。

「田園女權」的具體含義應從兩方面分析，一是其產生之初的具體指代，另一方面是這一詞語流行之後的能指擴大化。「田園女權」一詞誕生於高度網絡化的社會環境，被厭女的人發明出來批評部分網絡女性的權利觀念，從感情色彩的角度來看帶有相當的貶斥意味。[6] 例如，「田園女權」被用於批評「追求一切單邊利己的權利而忽視義務，利用女權當武器」的女性，[7]她們「普遍要求男性對女性有無條件付出的覺悟，女性在婚戀境遇中則被賦予了至高無上的話語權與資源支配權。」[8]

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[5] 張冠男，《中華田園女權詞義考：網絡環境傳播中女性權利的污名化》，刊於《新媒體研究》第5期（2018年4月）：99。

[6] 同上。

[7] 同上。

[8]楊皓，《田園女權：南轅北轍的平權之路》，刊於《檢察風雲》第5期（2019年3月）：13。 

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*本頁圖片來源：@BIE別的女孩，新浪微博，2019年8月7日，https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404402641626071186&sudaref=www.google.com.