THESIS
2023
Abstract
The female idol talent shows originated in Korea has spread to China since 2018. In 2020, three
female talent shows with distinct themes were premiered, garnering widespread attention and
sparking lively debates on social media. The female idols in these shows have become an
inspiration for many young women, promoting female empowerment and new femininity.
Using qualitative methods and adopting a theoretical framework that integrates Hall and
Carolyn’s ideas, the study analyses three female idol talent shows produced in China in 2020
to investigate the media representation of female images and the strategies and results of
negotiation of meanings during audience reception from a feminist perspective. Adopting
Bem’s Sex-Role Inventory (1974), a non-binary gender classification scheme, th...[
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The female idol talent shows originated in Korea has spread to China since 2018. In 2020, three
female talent shows with distinct themes were premiered, garnering widespread attention and
sparking lively debates on social media. The female idols in these shows have become an
inspiration for many young women, promoting female empowerment and new femininity.
Using qualitative methods and adopting a theoretical framework that integrates Hall and
Carolyn’s ideas, the study analyses three female idol talent shows produced in China in 2020
to investigate the media representation of female images and the strategies and results of
negotiation of meanings during audience reception from a feminist perspective. Adopting
Bem’s Sex-Role Inventory (1974), a non-binary gender classification scheme, this study
summarizes female images in talent shows into three main types: sweet girls, cool sisters and
tomboyish participants. The deconstruction of the multi-layered representation of androgynous
and tomboyish women in these shows helps further conceptualize gender fluidity in talent
shows. The study reveals that while recent female idol talent shows in China present diverse
female images and allow nonconventional gender expressions, they also reproduce hegemonic
patriarchal values through production strategies like editing. Additionally, respondents' strong
feminist desires shape their viewing positions when watching talent shows, resulting in actively
favouring positive values of women and opposing scenes that reinforce gender stereotypes.
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