ID Mailbox, Cythia
Actually, there are only six days left until the SAT, but I’m finding it hard to keep studying. Plus, I’ve always believed that life is more than just standardized tests—it should have other things too—so I figured I’d sacrifice my social media scrolling time to write something instead. So don’t expect this to be a formal paper; it’s mostly my personal views, though I may have incorporated some ideas from academic articles as well.
I. Overview of the Phenomenon
As a heavy internet user, I’ve been addicted to Xiaohongshu (RedNote) for about two or three years now. Around 2025, I started frequently seeing content about “female power” and similar topics on the platform. In the West, as early as 2015, the #Yesallwomen hashtag appeared on Instagram. This massive wave of content reflecting women’s rise and empowerment is precisely the manifestation of digital feminism in our era. Digital feminism is the expression and organization of feminism on modern digital platforms. Thanks to the internet’s broad dissemination capabilities, these voices are better seen—one of the most typical examples being the #MeToo movement overseas. Unlike general “feminism online,” digital feminism has taken on new forms of expression through electronic media.
I roughly categorize this type of content into three groups: female achievement narratives (telling stories of women’s past and present accomplishments to demonstrate female strength), female growth narratives (conveying that women should live better lives and not depend on anyone else), and gender equality narratives (focusing on describing current inequalities between men and women). There are more categories, but I prefer to focus on these three because they encompass not only experience-sharing and marketing accounts but also various forms like film/TV clips and vlogs.
But behind this wave, there are some issues that can’t be ignored. For example, why specifically 2025? Could this form a new stereotype? Is this a change for everyone, or is it due to information cocoons? And is there capital or commercial interest manipulating things behind the scenes? Some of these questions focus on causes, some on processes, and others on the impact of the online feminist wave.
As the title suggests, I will focus on analyzing the causes of this wave. There are three core questions. First, what are the characteristics of the feminist wave under each of the three categories? Second, what is the relationship between this trend and the market? Third, what specific ideologies are reflected in these posts?
I used a secondary Xiaohongshu account (no obligation to disclose this account) to search for keywords like “feminism,” “female power,” “women’s rights,” and “gender equality,” selecting five pieces of content under each of the three categories for coding analysis. This is probably not a very large sample size, but since I’ve never done this before and this isn’t a formal paper, if judged by academic standards, I’d have to add a lot more.
II. Coding Analysis
I found some posts on Xiaohongshu. After searching, I organized these texts or videos into a table by category and extracted keywords.
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Among these, the highest likes exceeded 30,000, while the lowest were around 10. Within these, female achievement narratives basically focused on women’s historical accomplishments, including the three waves of feminism, outstanding women within those waves, and women’s contributions in specific fields. Female growth narratives focused more on the spirit women should possess, such as freedom and dreams. Gender equality narratives primarily focused on rational analysis of the difficulties women face and solutions, such as double standards and institutional discrimination. Overall, positive articles and videos were more numerous, while critical ones were fewer. Keywords like “struggle” and other confrontational terms, as well as “freedom” and other terms related to personal development, appeared frequently, reflecting the online feminist wave’s simultaneous “solidarity” and “individuality”—that is, focusing both on collective equality and individual growth.
III. Characteristics of Feminist Wave Discourse
1. Female Achievement Narratives: Emphasis on Achievement and Legacy
In the female achievement narratives I examined, frequently occurring words included “contribution,” “struggle,” and “responsibility.” The main content of these posts was about past women’s achievements, especially those during the three waves of feminism. Women’s accomplishments span various fields, including literature, fashion, and political and social activism. The linguistic features of these posts carry a strong sense of pride, telling today’s women that much has already been achieved in the past, inspiring modern women to keep moving forward, and conveying expectations for future generations to inherit these ideas.
Through these posts, we can also see that the equality pursued in past struggles was mostly at the institutional level, but there was little awareness of psychological inequality. This latter layer of inequality can be read about in detail in point three. Therefore, in a sense, these female achievement narratives also point the way for subsequent development directions.
2. Female Growth Narratives: Praise for Freedom and Dreams
In the texts of female growth narratives, keywords like “freedom” and “dreams” appeared more frequently, reflecting an emphasis on women’s spiritual growth. Among these posts, literary works and film/TV/variety show content were more common, while real-life examples were fewer. In these literary and fictional audiovisual works, women are generally given a “comeback” or “hard-working” script, and then through their own actions, they prove everyone around them wrong. In real events, stories like that of Director Fang also inspire admiration. The words spoken by women on award podiums emphasize “thinking” and “ambition,” conveying belief in women’s abilities and shattering the old illusion that “women lack ability.” “We are born strong”—this phrase embodies a confidence belonging to women’s growth.
3. Gender Equality Narratives: Emphasis on Current Inequalities
Unlike the more emotional posts in the previous two categories, gender equality narratives emphasize a more rational analysis of the current situation and ways to address it. Through words like “bias,” “inequality,” and “labels,” they reflect the ongoing difficulties women face today, including the glass ceiling in the workplace and institutional discrimination. Additionally, some men appear within this narrative—for example, a quote from Wang Xiaobo cited in a Xiaohongshu post: “A person who does not respect women’s rights cannot be called an intellectual.” This emphasis also implicitly acknowledges that previous gender inequalities truly existed.
These three types of posts have different emphases but share a common value orientation: change. The first type emphasizes past change, the second emphasizes individual change in the present era, and the third calls for change at the systemic and structural level.
IV. The Connection Between the Feminist Wave and the Market
In samples I did not use, I noticed some advertising posts creating “women’s solo living” content. On the covers of these videos, women are generally portrayed as attractive and refined, with aesthetically pleasing environments. There are even posts like “men’s vs. women’s clothing comparison reviews,” which highlight women’s clothing defects like “poor quality” and “high prices” to attract women to buy men’s clothing—but these comparisons merely pit the most ordinary women’s clothing against relatively high-quality men’s clothing, offering almost no reference value. Such posts can increase brand exposure while attracting female netizens. They appear to be about “women’s growth,” but some are purely promotional, may carry subtle negative implications, and can trigger social comparison leading to anxiety.
On the other hand, the online feminist wave can also positively influence the market. For example, under topics related to sanitary pads, many people called for improved production and quality, leading to products that “better meet needs.”
As to whether the market shaped this wave, I believe we cannot draw conclusions from these samples alone. We don’t know the origin of this wave—whether it started with stand-up comedy or something else—so we cannot give a definitive answer. Assuming the wave originated from stand-up comedy, then it would essentially be a wave that began with the market.
In short, the relationship between the market and the online feminist wave can be understood as one of mutual utilization and mutual benefit.
V. The Underlying Ideologies Revealed
The ideas behind these posts can be summarized as: self-actualization at the individual level, a sense of belonging at the collective level, and emotional mobilization at the social level.
1. The Drive for Self-Actualization
From these categories, we can see that “freedom” and “dreams” occupy a large portion, especially in female growth narratives. Humanistic psychology can explain this phenomenon. The core of humanistic psychology lies in free will and self-actualization; according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualization sits at the very top of the pyramid. By informing women that they have the right and ability to pursue what they want, these posts make self-actualization more tangible for netizens on a spiritual level. Additionally, in female achievement narratives, the women who have achieved success serve as role models, further reinforcing this value orientation, leading more people to follow and uphold this spirit in order to realize individual value.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you inferior without your consent.” This emphasizes spontaneous self-confidence and self-identity from within—precisely the spirit these posts aim to convey to all women.
2. Gaining a Sense of Belonging
Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex analyzes how women have difficulty forming a stable collective consciousness. Yet in order to secure greater benefits or rights for women, women need to unite, especially in a male-dominated world. Today, women are attempting to form this consciousness. At the ideological level of the samples, the “struggle” and “solidarity” reflected in these posts reinforce the spirit conveyed by past feminist waves and emphasize the necessity of unity, ultimately pointing toward a “girls help girls” mutual support situation. In today’s society, when a woman is sexually harassed or unfairly treated, other women step forward to defend the collective rights of women.
There’s a saying in the stand-up comedy circle: “When women get the microphone, they won’t just tell their stories.” This is not only because women share similar experiences, but also because it is an inevitable result of the feminist wave propagated through the media.
3. The Mobilization of Social Emotions
Social emotions are the emotional atmosphere generated when large numbers of individuals produce and collectively express feelings in response to certain social events, topics, or public discussions. Under such posts, women are inspired by the conveyed spirit of “struggle” and “perseverance,” and moved by the pursuit of “freedom” and “dreams,” thus forming shared social emotions in the comment sections. In communication studies, there is a concept called “emotional mobilization,” which refers to stimulating and spreading certain emotions to get more people involved in an issue, action, or discussion. Under these posts, some people gradually make changes—perhaps changing their own views or strengthening their personal beliefs. Through likes and reposts, netizens expose more people to these posts, thereby generating larger-scale group identification and prompting more discussions on related topics.
The ideas behind these posts are not simply “gender equality” or “women first.” More often, they focus on individual fulfillment, facilitate a sense of belonging, and provide a medium for mobilizing social emotions.
VI. Conclusion and Discussion (Rambling Section)
Although the three types of posts under the feminist wave differ, they all point toward a common need for “change.” The feminist trend and the market interact with each other and require further exploration. At the ideological level, this wave emphasizes self-actualization, a sense of belonging, and emotional mobilization.
Admittedly, this small study has some flaws. First, the sample size is severely insufficient. Fifteen posts are only a tiny fraction of the vast number of Xiaohongshu posts and are not representative. Second, I was subjectively selective when filtering the samples. Third, due to platform and account limitations, I did not analyze the role of information cocoons in this process. But after all, this isn’t a formal study—just a small investigation.
In my view, this feminist wave is not entirely a good thing. At first, I was actually a bit pleased, but then I suddenly realized this is not something to celebrate. I wrote a personal essay before, and I can put part of it here.
“Today, we’re talking about this!”
When I came across female stand-up comedians talking about ‘getting a seat at the table’ again in short videos, I was happy about it at first. But upon reflection, I realized there’s nothing to celebrate. This is how it should have always been.
…
The past has been very successful in shaping perceptions. When I see the word ‘dame,’ I always picture a ‘sexy and charming’ image; when ‘bar’ appears, what comes to mind is women in bars, not men getting drunk there. The impression of blondes has always been ‘dumb beauties,’ while those who don’t stand out physically are criticized. Stereotypes have been shaped very effectively. If the same kind of public opinion warfare could shape the other gender, what words would emerge? Promiscuous, unfaithful, fond of drinking and getting drunk? When men are described with these words, they find it offensive—but when men use similar words to shape women, why is it assumed that women won’t resist? Women are clearly more sensitive than men on average, yet some believe women will just accept such prejudices. In a sense, these prejudices also reveal certain people’s ignorance.
…
The desire to dominate exists in everyone. Some people always seek a sense of control by displaying their superiority. Manipulating public opinion is indeed a viable method—but what you can do, we can do too. We don’t need to tell everyone through public opinion that we are no longer what you imagined us to be; the truth will reveal itself in real life. I haven’t figured out specific solutions yet, but all I know is that we cannot give in.
That was a bit long. But since it was written nearly half a year ago, my views have certainly changed somewhat. Rather than focusing on the past, it’s better to look at the present and the future. This kind of “feminism” is a form of progress, but I believe the outcomes it produces will become another form of constraint in the new era. At the same time, I also believe that the most important thing is not group interests, but the realization of individual value. Regardless of gender or race, everyone has the right to self-actualization, to pursue dreams, and to yearn for freedom.
VII. No citations included because this really isn’t a paper—even though it reads like one
Text: Cynthia