Gold diggers in the digital age: Unraveling the “Lao Nü” stereotype in contemporary Chinese social media

This study investigates the construction and perpetuation of the "lao nü" (gold digger) stereotype within Chinese digital culture, focusing on the "Fat Cat" incident that garnered significant social media attention. Utilizing Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) within the broader framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research critically examines how gender ideologies and power dynamics are articulated and reinforced in digital discourses. Data were systematically collected by analyzing popular WeChat posts related to the "lao nü" stereotype across multiple dates, capturing a wide array of public opinions and sentiments. The findings reveal that social media platforms, emphasizing specific beauty standards and materialistic values, normalize and perpetuate the "lao nü" stereotype. Linguistic and rhetorical strategies in the online portrayal of women like Tan, involved in the "Fat Cat" incident, reinforce traditional gender roles and societal power imbalances. Moreover, the persistence of the "lao nü" discourse, despite contradictory evidence, underscores deep-seated socio-economic anxieties and entrenched gender ideologies within contemporary Chinese society. The analysis identifies the coexistence of feminist and anti-feminist discourses surrounding the "lao nü" stereotype. This duality underscores the complex, contested nature of gendered narratives in digital spaces and their implications for understanding gender dynamics in contemporary China.