EVENTS

The trajectory of feminist activism in contemporary China reveals a remarkable process of adaptation under conditions of increasing state censorship and digital surveillance. While the #MeToo movement between 2018 and 2020 brought unprecedented public attention to issues such as sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and women’s rights, the movement also triggered a strong state response. Through platform regulation, account suspensions, content filtering, and the categorization of feminist discourse as a source of “gender antagonism,” the authorities significantly narrowed the space for visible feminist mobilization. This presentation makes the case that Chinese feminism has not disappeared under authoritarian pressure. Instead, it has transformed into what is conceptualized here as post-censorship feminism—a decentralized, flexible, and digitally mediated form of activism that operates beyond traditional modes of collective protest. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s distinction between politics and policing, as well as Judith Butler’s insights on the productive nature of censorship, the paper examines how feminist resistance has migrated into everyday life, affective communities, alternative digital platforms, and coded forms of communication. The speaker demonstrates how Chinese women continue to challenge patriarchal norms through lifestyle choices, mutual support, and subtle acts of non-cooperation. Rather than seeking immediate confrontation with the state, post-censorship feminism prioritizes survival, community-building, and the preservation of feminist consciousness. The analysis concludes that contemporary Chinese feminism illustrates the enduring capacity of social movements to adapt and generate new forms of resistance even within highly restrictive digital environments.

Speaker

Bidisha Seth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Culture at Visva-Bharati University, India. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Chinese Language and Literature from Visva-Bharati University, and has pursued advanced Chinese language training as a General Scholar at Beijing Language and Culture University, China. Her academic work focuses on Chinese language and literature, gender studies, feminist activism in China, comparative political and cultural studies, cross-strait relations, and contemporary Chinese society. Her publications include articles titled “From "Leftover" to "Liberated": The Quiet Feminist Revolution in Urban China” and “Feminism in a Restricted Landscape: The Rise and Impact of Pink Feminism in China” respectively.

Chair

Sabaree Mitra is Professor of Chinese in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. Her teaching and research have spanned the fields of contemporary Chinese literature and criticism, Chinese cultural history, gender issues, India-China cultural relations and regional interaction. Her latest publication is, an edited volume titled China’s May Fourth Movement: New Narratives and Perspectives, published by Routledge in 2023. Her co-edited volume, titled China’s Society and Culture: Studies and Reflections is forthcoming from Routledge in 2026. She is also the Editor of the ICS quarterly journal, China Report, published by Sage.

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