Chinese media production and fandom between queerbaiting and “survival instincts”

Bibliographic Data

ID11268359
AuthorsXiqing Zheng (0000-0002-7750-064X, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume46
Issue7
Pages1437-1453
Publication date2024-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia Culture & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/01634437241241964
OpenAlexW4394970980
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited17

Using the term “queerbaiting,” I describe a set of media industry tactics that suggest queer relationships between fictional characters (or real-life celebrities) by intentional hints and jokes to attract audiences. Such tactics are used to encourage online participation by fans of female danmei (literary writings describing homoerotic relationships among male characters, generally written by female authors for a female-dominated audience) in China. By analyzing this strategy, I examine the intersection between three different cultural forces in the Chinese mediascape: the censorship of queer themes, the media industry’s attempts to profit from popular danmei stories, and fans who participate in online data labor. The heteronormative cultural environment in China turned so-called “queerbaiting” practices into a socially accepted and commercially profitable mental game denied of a physical outlet. The de-homoeroticized danmei media adaptations and the fandoms surrounding them show how the media industry and fans interact, negotiate and cooperate for their own interests

Advertising · Art · Biology · Business · Economics · Fandom · Instinct · Media studies · Production (economics · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Japanese History and Culture · Ecology

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