Abstract
In January 2018, Chinese women joined the global #MeToo movement to fight sexual harassment and sexual abuse. Unlike its Western counterpart, China’s #MeToo campaign was first introduced and promoted by a group of university students who made public allegations against offending professors. In attempting to expand the scope of the movement nationwide, campaigners have faced unique social and political obstacles. For instance, in order to circumvent rigorous online censorship, activists have to constantly adjust their communication strategies to keep the campaign alive. This chapter critically discusses the particularities of China’s adaptation of the #MeToo campaign, focusing on how it emerged, its successes and limitations, and how it operates within China’s sociopolitical milieu.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
URL to Luo’s original Chinese post: https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404191293831018113.
- 2.
The original interview was published on Renwu’s public WeiChat account in Chinese, but it has been censored. The text provided here is based on the author’s own archive of the original post.
- 3.
This is an example of such page: https://github.com/sikaozhe1997/Xin-Yue/blob/master/letter.md.
- 4.
Li, Zhen, Wu, Wei, and Wang were detained for weeks, and Zhang was asked by Guangzhou authorities to leave the city.
References
Cao, Y. (2018, August 28). Civil code draft backs the victims of sexual harassers. China Daily. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201808/28/WS5b849044a310add14f3880f1.html.
Chen, A. H. (2018, August 16). China’s top Buddhist Monk has resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. Time Magazine. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from www.time.com/5367775/china-monk-metoo-sexual-harassment/.
Denyer, S. & Wang, A Z. (2018, January 9). Chinese women reveal sexual harassment, but #MeToo movement struggles for air. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-women-reveal-sexual-harassment-but-metoo-movement-struggles-for-air/2018/01/08/ac591c26-cc0d-4d5a-b2ca-d14a7f763fe0_story.html?utm_term=.16014655696c.
Dussich, J. P. (2001). Decisions not to report sexual assault: A comparative study among women living in Japan who are Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and English-speaking. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 45(3), 278–301.
Feldman-Summers, S., & Ashworth, C. D. (1981). Factors related to intentions to report a rape. Journal of Social Issues, 37(4), 53–70.
Hernández, J. C. (2018, April 9). China’s #MeToo: How a 20-year-old rape case became a rallying cry. The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/world/asia/china-metoo-gao-yan.html.
Hu, R., & He, L. (2018, January 22). 56 Weio Jiaoshi Shiming Changyi Jianquan Xiaoyuan Fanxingsaorao Jizhi. The Paper. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from www.chinanews.com/sh/2018/01-22/8429917.shtml.
Kan, F. (2018, January 16). Jiaoyubu Zaidu Huiying Xiaoyuan Xingsaorao. China News. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from www.chinanews.com/gn/2018/01-16/8425137.shtml.
Li, M. (2004). To be a woman successful in career is not as good as to be a woman successful in marriage? Some thoughts on the gender outlook of contemporary Chinese college girls. Collection of Women’s Studies, 4(20), 25–30.
Lim, L. (2018, March 2). China’s #MeToo censorship bypassed through netizens’ creative use of language. South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2134847/chinas-metoo-censorship-bypassed-through.
Ministry of Education. (2018). 2017 sees increase in number of Chinese students studying abroad and returning after overseas studies. Ministry of Education. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from en.moe.gov.cn/News/Top_News/201804/t20180404_332354.html.
Mori, L., Bernat, J. A., Glenn, P. A., Selle, L. L., & Zarate, M. G. (1995). Attitudes toward rape: Gender and ethnic differences across Asian and Caucasian college students. Sex Roles, 32(7–8), 457–467.
Scott, E. (2017, December 7). The marginalized voices of the #MeToo movement. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/07/the-marginalized-voices-of-the-metoo-movement/?utm_term=.8d22f7a0d64d.
Strike, A. W. (2018, March 8). Disabled women see #MeToo and think: What about us? The Guardian. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/08/disabled-people-metoo-womens-movement-inclusion-diversity.
Wang, Y. (2018, September 3). As MeToo unnerves China, a student fights to tell her story. Associated Press. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.apnews.com/188ddcd956c94cb58af5b260463fe69f.
Wong, E. (2015, April 13). China releases 5 women’s rights activists detained for weeks. The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/asia/china-releases-3-of-5-detained-womens-rights-activists.html.
World Economic Forum. (2017). The global gender gap report 2017. Switzerland: World Economic Forum.
Xiao, M. (2015, May 13). China’s feminist awakening. The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/opinion/xiao-meili-chinas-feminist-awakening.html.
Yang, R. (2015). Corruption in China’s higher education: A malignant tumour. International Higher Education, 39, 18–20.
Zeng, J. (2018, February 6). From #MeToo to #RiceBunny: How social media users are campaigning in China. The Conversation. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://theconversation.com/from-metoo-to-ricebunny-how-social-media-users-are-campaigning-in-china-90860.
Zhou V., & Zheng S. (2018, January 16). Chinese students use #MeToo to take fight against sexual harassment to elite universities. South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2128341/chinese-students-use-metoo-take-fight-against-sexual-harassment.
Zuo, M. (2018, July 27). China’s #MeToo revival: Famed activists, TV host and writer named. South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2157204/well-known-activists-among-accused-metoo-campaign-gathers-pace.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zeng, J. (2019). You Say #MeToo, I Say #MiTu: China’s Online Campaigns Against Sexual Abuse. In: Fileborn, B., Loney-Howes, R. (eds) #MeToo and the Politics of Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15213-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15213-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15212-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15213-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)