Urban misogyny: the construction of the other in the discourse of laonü in China

This study traces the historical evolution of misogyny in urban China through a critical discourse analysis of the label laonü, a stigmatizing term that encapsulates complex intersections of gender, class, regionalism, migration, the state’s Household Registration System, and power relations. Shaped by China’s rapid urbanization and social transformation, the discourses surrounding laonü reflect a distinctive form of ‘Chinese-style urban misogyny’. By tracing the term’s trajectory from its origins in Cantonese-speaking migrant communities to its widespread circulation in popular media and online platforms, this research reveals how laonü discourse functions as a mechanism of patriarchal control by constructing binary oppositions and reinforcing social hierarchies that otherise and marginalize women. Central to this process is the phenomenon of ‘internalized misogyny among women’, which manifests as a form of ‘female intra-gender social disgust’, whereby women themselves engage in policing and stigmatizing laonü, thereby reproducing gendered divisions and social exclusion. Through exploring these dynamics, this study highlights the paradoxical negotiation of women’s agency within structural constraints and the politics of stigma, offering new theoretical insights into the multifaceted nature of misogyny and its enduring impact on gender relations in post-1949 Chinese society.