Why and how do Chinese lifestyle content creators start and continue to produce feminist content? This transition is rarely explored in depth and cannot be simplified to lifestyle influencers merely contributing to postfeminist visibility in the quest for commercializable authenticity, or feminists complying with or resisting platform affordances concerning self-branding. This research draws upon theories of authenticity from symbolic interactionist traditions and technological affordances, specifically the mechanism and condition framework of affordances, to examine the case of a Chinese creator who began with lifestyle content and now produces both lifestyle and feminist content. Through interviews and qualitative content analysis, this research uncovers how a fluid identity is constructed and how different platforms’ affordances are flexibly articulated to maintain a consistently authentic identity across genres and platforms. It also explores how this balance meets the participant’s desires for visibility, commercialization, and doing feminism beyond mere self-performance. By integrating feminist and lifestyle components fluidly into her persona, she leverages her familiarity with platform affordances for lifestyle content to serve feminist purposes and navigate platform constraints within the Chinese media environment. This flexibility around norms and role expectations for feminist and lifestyle creators is crucial. Her choice of platforms and constant interaction with them imply her perception, dexterity, and legitimacy as a creator, starting with lifestyle content and aiming for communal changes. This study highlights the complex interplay between the evolving nature of online personas and platform affordances in the Chinese social media landscape, pointing toward opportunities for future digital feminist research.

Authors:
Li Zhou, University of Chicago, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Li Zhou is currently a Master of Arts in Social Science student at University of Chicago.

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