#AverageYetConfidentMen: Chinese stand-up comedy and feminist discourse on Douyin

ABSTRACTWith the rise of feminist sentiment and the growing awareness of gender equity in China, social media has become an increasingly central space for Chinese feminist expression. However, the complex dynamics of feminist expression in these online spaces—and the role of popular culture in facilitating such discourse—are still to be fully elucidated. Here, focusing on the understudied social media platform Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), we analyze the online discussion sparked by the stand-up comedy acts of Chinese female comedians. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of Douyin videos and related comments, we demonstrate how users employed the platform’s creative features to challenge everyday sexism by echoing or building upon the stand-up comedians’ gags. At the same time, the analysis also uncovers how Douyin is used to insult and push back against these feminist voices. Our findings shed light on the sophisticated role of Douyin as a platform for digital feminist expression, and the ways in which it can amplify both feminist discourse or, conversely, give voice to misogynistic attacks.KEYWORDS: feminismstand-up comedysocial mediaDouyinChina Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Xiangsheng, or crosstalk, is a traditional style of Chinese comedy, typically enacted as quick banter between two performers.2. KOLs are social media influencers who have gained trust as experts or thought leaders within a particular community.3. It is interesting to note the contrast between the use of “punchers” here (as a way to insult or denigrate female comedians and fans who speak up against the patriarchy) and the meaning of the term in English, where “punching up” is used to describe comedy that challenges oppressive systems.4. The maximum length of Douyin videos is currently 10 minutes.5. As a reminder, all usernames are pseudonyms.6. These comedians—in particular Yangli—have drawn ire more broadly in Chinese society, both offline and online. Soon after Yang caught a big break for her feminist sets in 2020, she became bombarded with insults on her social media (Li Citation2021); some critics even reported her to the authorities in an attempt to censor her (Alice Yan Citation2021).7. Emerging in response to the #MeToo movement in China, “countryside feminism” is a derogatory slang term used in Chinese online communities to denigrate feminists. In Mandarin, it translates to “countryside dog” (tián yuán quǎn), a breed that is indigenous to China but is viewed as inferior and low-bred. The implication here is that Chinese feminism is a locally-originating, uncivilised, unsophisticated and blindly extremist feminism in China, inferior to Western feminism (Elephant-Room Citation2020).Additional informationNotes on contributorsXingyuan MengXingyuan Meng is a doctoral candidate in the Communication, Media & Learning Technologies Design program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests center around the interaction between media and popular culture in online contexts, with a particular emphasis on gender issues. Additionally, she is interested in youth media literacy education as well as youth political expression in online spaces. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a journalist in Hong Kong.Ioana LiteratIoana Literat is Associate Professor in the Communication, Media & Learning Technologies Design program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research examines creative and civic expression in online contexts, with a particular focus on youth. Her work has been published in the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Communication Theory, the International Journal of Communication, and Information, Communication & Society, among others.