The Rifts and Purges within the Feminist Community in China: How, Why, and Its Implications

Abstract:


As the internet has become the main field for feminist activism in China since around 2020, the rifts within the feminist community have become more visible and profound. Drawing upon two case studies, namely, accusing people fancying homosexual Boys’ Love dramas or novels as misogyny and attacking the feminists recommending cosmetics as endeavouring or advocating to please or cater to male chauvinism and consumerism, with online and offline activities aimed at sweeping them out of the feminist community, this research explores a nexus between the demand for purity and utility in the feminist community in China and the core of populism as a global phenomenon. Referring to the theory of scapegoat which explains violence within a community by pinpointing the interaction between frustration or fear, which can be true or more often, suspicious or trumped-up towards or caused by threats outside the community and violence or persecutions inside the community, this article shows how the authoritarian power intertwines with, penetrates into, and transfers to purges within the feminist community. This trend may buttress not only the intensifying authoritarian rule in China but also the rising of populism globally.