Using social media to engage Chinese youth about feminism and sexuality: Q&A with Stephanie Wang

Stephanie Yingyi Wang is an assistant professor in the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at St. Lawrence University. Before obtaining her Ph.D. in feminist studies in the U.S., Wang completed her undergraduate studies in mainland China and received an M.Phil. in gender studies from the University of Hong Kong.

As part of her activism supporting feminists and queer people in China, Wang in recent years has been active on Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat (public account: S的游泳池), Xiaohongshu, and Bilbili, where she has racked up thousands of followers by regularly sharing posts and videos about gender- and sexuality-related issues in the country.

The China Project spoke with Wang about LGBTQ activism in China.

What motivated you to start posting about gender and sexuality on Chinese social media?

There were a number of reasons, but the biggest motivation came from the fact that I always wanted to teach gender studies in China. When I graduated from my Ph.D. program, I tried to look for jobs in mainland China, but it was very difficult because of my area of expertise. After I started my current job at St. Lawrence, I felt a calling, a need to connect with young people in China. For various reasons, I had to discontinue my co-hosted Marxist feminist podcast series, Caliban and the Witch. So I started to make videos to provide commentaries about gender-related social issues. I intentionally avoided very theoretical stuff in these videos, because I believe that feminism is not about theories, but about our own experiences and perspectives. Gradually, I found a way to make feminist thoughts more accessible to young people, which was my original intention.

From your observation, what has changed in Chinese young people’s understanding of gender and sexuality?

I definitely feel that there has been a generational change. I went to college in 2008, which was remembered as the “Year Zero” of China’s civil society. But even in that environment, where young people were passionate about civil engagement and political activism, gender and sexuality were very marginalized topics.

When I started working on feminist and queer activism, people around me didn’t understand what I was doing. And when I came out, they were shocked.

By contrast, young people nowadays have access to widely available content on gender and sexuality. On Bilibili, you can see a lot of sexual minorities sharing their life experiences. For example, there are trans people sharing their transformation and use of testosterone. This was unimaginable 15 years ago. Thanks to these online channels, Chinese young people are developing their own community culture and approach to LGBTQ politics. These practices might have been influenced by Western thoughts, but they are also distinctly local.

In terms of numbers, I think there are many more people who are supportive of feminism and LGBTQ politics. But overall, gender remains a topic for minorities. There are still a lot of conservative people who do not accept gender as an important perspective when we discuss social issues.

What would you say is the biggest challenge when you produce social media content?

I think it’s the psychological distress when you read through your comment section. There are unreasonable people whose sole purpose is to hurt you.

One time I uploaded a post about my younger brother’s experience of being bullied at school. And some commenters used this as an opportunity to pick on my appearances. They said that my brother deserved to get bullied because I looked so bad. These comments made me very distressed because I didn’t understand why they were being so malicious.

Because it took so much courage to even look at the comments, I gradually learned to let go. I’d block the commenters if they were being unreasonable.

I also encountered censorship when I uploaded my videos, especially when there were explicit references to words like “patriarchy.” But censorship actually didn’t pose as much a problem. Because as you can see, most of my videos are still on these platforms.

Apart from these bad experiences, are there any good stories you can share with us? What keeps you going?

There are a lot of very positive encounters with young people who open up to me and share with me their life experiences. I remember one time I received a message from a transgender kid, who told me that my videos on Bilibili were encouraging, and made transgender people feel less lonely. I was going through a low point back then because of the comments, but that message motivated me to ignore the malicious comments and continue making vlogs, even if it’s just for this one person.

Many of my followers are very young, and are still in junior high or high school. It is very difficult to connect with them during my activist work. So I see social media as a valuable channel to reach out to them.

China’s political control has tightened in recent years, particularly over feminist and LGBTQ activism. How has that affected LGBTQ lives in the country?

I think the biggest blow is toward rights-based activism. The elimination of activist groups is a huge loss for China’s feminist and LGBTQ communities, because they play a key role in improving the institutional structure through ways like advocating for legal protection for women and sexual minorities.

Without rights-based activism, the government would not be held responsible, and changes can only happen at the individual level.

But I think we should also be cautious about the whole “repression and resistance” rhetoric, because things are indeed changing. There are people trying very hard to advocate for feminism and LGBTQ politics within China’s limited but ever-changing political and cultural environment.

Can you share with our readers your plan for research and your social media output?

I am currently working on my book about feminist and queer activism and space in China. In particular, I focus on experiences of individuals working in NGOs: their gendered and racialized labor within a larger context of a transnational nonprofit industrial complex. I draw a lot from my own experiences and my reflections on both my scholarly and activism work. I will still produce videos. But because I’m busy with my work and personal life, I’d probably update less frequently. I’m also thinking about starting a new podcast with academic friends about queer social activism in China.

Other LGBTQ Stories:

Step Out of Gender Dysphoria, published in mainland China (WeChat)

In Step Out of Gender Dysphoria (走出性别困境 zǒuchū xìngbié kùnjìng), a book recently published by Shanghai Scientific and Technological Literature Press, Chinese doctor Pān Bǎilín 潘柏林, who specializes in transgender medicine and surgery at a Peking University–affiliated hospital, reflects on his 12 years of clinical experience in transgender medical care in China and provides a comprehensive guide to gender-affirming healthcare in the country.

Hong Kong Gay Games attacked by self-appointed “public morality” arbiters, but polls show they don’t speak for the people (South China Morning Post)

“Hong Kong’s self-appointed ‘public morality’ arbiters have launched another poorly aimed salvo at a perceived easy target — the local LGBTQ community as represented by the forthcoming Gay Games in November,” writes Jason Wordie. But “other than allegedly ‘educated’ elites and decision makers, the general population is unaffected by (mostly Christian) religious bigotry — opinion polls regularly signal significant public support for LGBTQ equality.”

Hong Kong’s only LGBTQ radio show canned after 17 years (South China Morning Post)

“Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK is pulling the plug on the city’s first and only LGBTQ radio programme after 17 years, a move some in the community have called a step backward.”

Queer China is our fortnightly roundup of news and stories related to China’s sexual and gender minority population.