Author(s)

Liu Yuchen ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, 230601, China

Corresponding Author

Liu Yuchen

ABSTRACT

This study uses contentious discourse research as the theoretical framework to analyze the "avoiding men tags" phenomenon represented by #BabyComplementaryFood on the Xiaohongshu platform and the feminist practices behind it. Based on in-depth interviews and participatory observation, it is found that: At the textual level, these tags exhibit significant text construction strategies and emotional expression tendencies. At the discourse practice level, "avoiding men tags" have undergone phased development, behind which is a complex multi-stakeholder negotiation among female users, male groups, and platform/algorithm rules. Female contentious discourse practices are generated and evolved in this dynamic process. At the social practice level, this trend not only profoundly influences interactions and perceptions within female groups but also, as an important contentious discourse practice, substantially reconfigures women's participation patterns in the platform field and even in broader conventional gender frameworks. The study reveals how online tags become effective mediators of micro-level negotiations and gender discourse reconfiguration.

KEYWORDS

Contentious Discourse; Feminism; Avoiding Men Tags; Female Users

CITE THIS PAPER

Liu Yuchen, Expression of Female Subjectivity under the Perspective of Contentious Discourse Practices—Analysis Based on the Trend of Baby Complementary Food Tags on the Xiaohongshu Platform. Media and Communication Research (2025) Vol. 6: 125-131. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2025.060319.

REFERENCES

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[3] Zhou Yuqiong, Qi Fapeng. Strategic Framing and Framing Mechanisms: Construction and Dissemination of Contentious Discourse in the Wukan Incident [J]. Journalism & Communication Review. 2014, 21(08), 46-69+127.
[4] Zhou Yuqiong. Peeking into China's Social Contentious Discourse Systems and Logic through Slogans: Comprehensive Analysis Based on Environmental and Land Expropriation Events [J]. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication. 2016, 35(05), 52-68.
[5] Li Yanhong. Cultivating an Online "Contentious Public Sphere" for Labor Positions—A Case Study of a New Media Focusing on Labor Issues [J]. Journal of Wuhan University (Humanities Edition). 2016, 69(06), 90-103.
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