Structural-violence framing, de-gendering discourse, and muted misogyny: the official media’s representation of gender-based violence in contemporary china

Gender-based violence has long been a widely researched social issue in multiple contexts, and media framing of gender issues is important for public understanding and responsiveness. Considering gender-based violence is rife in contemporary China, this study is dedicated to exploring the discourses of official media’s representation of gender-based violence in China and exposing the social mechanism behind it. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this study collected data from representative Chinese official media and conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses. Research findings indicate that 1) muted misogyny is predominant when official media reports violence against women since discussions of controversial issues are under censorship; 2) a de-gendering discourse has been adopted to distract the public’s attention from debates of gender-based violence; and 3) structural violence framing may explain the social mechanism of how media present and represent the gender-based violence issues in a non-Western context. These findings shed light on the ongoing theoretical debates of media representation of gender issues and contribute to our understanding of how discourses of official media could work positively to improve women’s situation.