Performing the Nation, Policing the Body: Gendered Moral Boundaries and the Discourse of “Rubbing the Edge” on Rednote

This study examines the online controversy surrounding retired Chinese gymnast Wu Liufang, whose sexually suggestive social media performances were labeled as “rubbing the edge” (擦边). Drawing on thematic and critical discourse analysis of the 200 most-liked comments under the most engaged Rednote post on the incident, the study identifies three central themes: gendered moral policing, national embodiment, and the tension between market-driven sexual capitalization and socialist moral censorship. Findings reveal how commenters discipline Wu’s body, enforcing traditional gender norms and nationalist ideology, while negotiating anxieties about neoliberal self-expression. The term “rubbing the edge” emerges as a discursive instrument for boundary-policing that echoes the vocabulary of official content regulation, marking the limits of acceptable femininity and sexuality. This controversy highlights broader social struggles in contemporary China regarding the commodification of sportswomen’s bodies, national honor, and evolving moral frameworks in the digital influencer economy.