HETEROSEXUAL COUPLEHOOD AND “NEI WAI” IDEOLOGY IN MEDIA DISCOURSE: A FEMINIST CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study looks at how the gendered “nei-wai” ideology, pertaining to private and public sphere distinction, shapes the construction of Chinese heterosexual couple identities in media discourse. I study the gendered discourses and identities from data in the show, Love Battle, and investigate the talk of pre-marital and post-marital couples (first stage), and of the guests (second stage). I draw on a combined framework of transitivity, discursive legitimization and conceptual metaphor from the perspective of feminist critical discourse analysis.

This study finds that asymmetrical gender relations remain as the dominant trend, and the stability of gender relations is inversely correlated with the rigidity of gendered roles. Also, in terms of discourse and culture, this study contributes to a distinctive Confucian perspective on gendered discourses, so that the theorization on gender identities hinges upon the (dis)empowerment in both couple and intergenerational relations.