Contesting gender politics in the 2023 Women’s World Cup: Chinese fans’ online reactions to athlete activism and kissgate

This qualitative social media study investigates how Chinese football fans discussed gender‑related athlete activism and the sexual harassment scandal (‘kissgate’) involving Spanish player Jenni Hermoso during and after the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Using thematic and discourse analysis to analyse relevant comments on the Dongqiudi mobile app, the findings reveal strong hostility towards gender activism, exemplified by the criticism of Megan Rapinoe and the mockery of Chinese female players even when they challenged gender norms without demanding equal pay or identifying as feminists. Unlike American fans, who often claim that sports and politics should not mix when attacking athlete activism, football fans in China, where modern sport has long been bound up with the nationalistic attempts to revive the Chinese nation, dismissed feminism without relying on such an apolitical understanding of sport. By contrast, reactions to the ‘kissgate’ scandal were overwhelmingly critical of the aggressor and supportive of the victim, suggesting that the #MeToo movement may have shaped attitudes towards sexual harassment, even in male-dominated spaces – although without improving feminism’s image. The findings highlight a nuanced dynamic: anti-feminist sentiment coexists with selective support for anti-harassment efforts. This study contributes to scholarship on contemporary athlete activism by demonstrating how sports fans’ responses are shaped by nation-specific forms of nationalism and the global rise of right‑wing populism.