The ‘similar other’: the construction of African housewives in rural China in short videos

This article explores the reasons for the popularity of the top two most popular African female vloggers, Rose and Felista, on Douyin (Chinese TikTok). By analysing the textual layout, the theme (topic) of the videos, and the vloggers' daily interaction with the local people and online viewers, this article argues that the short videos emphasize their Chinese-like features, i.e. their adeptness in the local language, tradition, and custom. The African vloggers as the 'similar other' reveal that online intercultural communication between African and Chinese is shaped by social, economic, and political forces in the rural urban divide in contemporary China.