The “old aunties (lǎo ā yí)” are not old: Chinese young women's attitudes toward aging and old age through using the generalized kinship term on social media

Abstract

While previous research has discussed representations of and solutions to ageism and aging anxiety, it remains unknown whether Chinese young women's calling and being called “old aunties” [lǎo ā yí] can be related to ageism and aging anxiety. Based on collected Weibo data, we examined the generalized use of this kinship term on social media using discourse analysis and found that it is predominantly self-addressing and secondarily other-addressing in usage and that the addressees are primarily young women in their twenties and thirties. We proposed that they construct a false identity of old aunties for jocular self-mockery or provocative teasing. We also argue (1) that young women's being called “old aunties” suggests that addressers consider old age as undesirable and negative and that ageism still exists among young Weibo users; (2) that young women's calling themselves “old aunties” for jocular self-mockery indicates that they might have aging anxiety and using this address term to resist aging anxiety and social pressures, or that they may hold positive attitudes toward old age and feel comfortable in expressing their own preferences and positive evaluations on aging and old age. The study may contribute to the cultural gerontology research by using discourse analysis to provide discursive evidence of constructing a false identity of older people in digital communication, and help broaden the research scope of kinship term generalization and identity construction worldwide.