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 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.