Lifestyle Governmentality in China
Governing the Entrepreneurial Citizen Subjects Through Lifestyle Practices on Xiaohongshu (Red)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22009447 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ran Ju (0000-0001-6388-5211, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2162-3317 • E-ISSN: 2162-3317 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Libraries (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5210/spir.v2023i0.13431 |
| OpenAlex | W4392406601 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
Xiaohongshu (Red), the Chinese biggest lifestyle sharing platform, as a collaborator and partner with China’s national cultural and political project (Wang, 2021), aligns with multiple strategies of governing, shaping and guiding citizens through lifestyle practices. In this article, I propose the term ‘lifestyle governmentality’ to capture Red as a cultural technology of citizenship that directs self-managing subjects toward the desired outcomes sought by the institutions of the official government. This research project combines a systematic document analysis of regulations, notices, and guidelines related to platform governance, discourse analysis of Red's content, with walk-through method, and in-depth interviews with Red influencers (n=12) and users (n=35). I suggest that the inducement offered by Red to facilitate and improve users’ personal life, fulfillment and success through lifestyle sharing is distinctly tied to a hybrid model of governmentality that combines neoliberal and socialist political reasoning about governance, enterprise, and social welfare
China · Governmentality · Political science · Politics · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |