Middle-aged women’s tears: rethinking Chinese popular feminism through Sisters Who Make Waves

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe reality TV sensation Sisters Who Make Waves has recently garnered public attention in China while sparking critical debate about middle-aged women. This article reexamines the politics of popular feminism by analyzing the visibility of tears within the show. Viewing tears as a signifying practice, this article investigates how they reveal the paradox of contemporary Chinese popular feminism to expose its ambivalence and contradictions. We suggest that tears signify popular feminism’s ambiguous stance toward patriarchal values, neoliberal principles, and state control. This study contends that the show’s popular feminism presents critical possibilities despite its inherent limitations, such as refraining from directly challenging patriarchal dominance and systematic gender inequalities. While tears reveal middle-aged women’s aspirations for self-realization, recognition, and empowerment, they also expose how neoliberalism emotionally exploits women through pursuing personal achievement. Tears enhance the visibility of women’s struggles and illuminate the formation of sisterhood within a male-dominated society. They also intertwine with state-promoted notions of sisterhood, which ultimately reinforce political allegiance to nationalism. Therefore, this study proposes that popular feminism in Sisters Who Make Waves acts as a double-edged sword. It reinforces hegemonic power while exposing its emotional disturbances. Such ambivalence creates a space for reimagining popular feminism.KEYWORDS: Middle-aged womentearChinese popular feminismsisterhoodachievement subject AcknowledgementWe thank the reviewers’ comments that helped us refine our analysis.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the Research Services and Knowledge Transfer Office, University of Macau.Notes on contributorsWei ShiWei Shi is Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Macau. Her research interests are in Chinese visual culture, feminist theory and cultural studies. She has published in Continuum, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Feminist Media Studies, Social Movement Studies, Journal of Youth Studies and Chinese Journal of Communication. She is the author of Wandering in China’s Las Vegas: Migrant Workers in Macau (City University of Hong Kong Press, 2018).Shih-Diing LiuShih-Diing Liu is Professor of Communication at the University of Macau. He has published in Positions, Third World Quarterly, Interventions, Asian Studies Review, New Media and Society and New Left Review. He is the author of The Politics of People: Protest Cultures in China (SUNY Press, 2019).