#MeToo in China: visceral accounts of rape culture, a non-domestic feminist counterpublic, and networked solidarity

Abstract

Since its emergence in January 2018, the Chinese #MeToo movement has mobilized #MeToo, #RiceBunny, and other hashtags on Weibo, a major Chinese social media platform. Countless #MeToo stories, accusations of sexual harassment and assaults, and vigorous discussions of rape culture and sexual violence have unfolded. However, the government has sought to quash the movement with successive waves of heavy censorship to prevent further criticism and any collective action. In this paper, I explore the ways in which Chinese women and feminists have reinserted their bodies and voices into online and offline spaces despite state and platform censorship and the misogynistic digital culture. Employing critical discourse analysis, I identify and analyze three themes of #MeToo activism: visceral accounts of rape culture, a non-domestic feminist counterpublic, and networked solidarity. While scholarship of feminist counterpublic often remains on a discursive level, my analysis attends to the visceral and embodied fabric of #MeToo in addition to the discursive aspects. By articulating diverse modes of #MeToo activism in forming a feminist counterpublic where women center their bodies and voices, this research contributes to a further understanding of the multifaceted nature of digital feminist activism.

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