Becoming ‘pet slaves’ in urban China: Transspecies urban theory, single professional women and their companion animals

Abstract

Urban spaces in China have traditionally been marked by hetero-patriarchy, making them key sites for exploring gendered power relations. Reflecting on the growing importance of companion animals, this study investigates the roles that these animals now play in the lives of unmarried women in urban China. Using transspecies urban theory to examine interview data gathered primarily from Guangzhou, we draw three conclusions. Firstly, as material conditions increasingly define pet keeping, companion animals have become both a class symbol and a safe refuge from the stressful demands of working life. Secondly, as professional Chinese women construct positive intimate relationships with their companions to preserve their autonomy as persons at work, they increasingly turn their backs on traditional marriage and family in an instantiation of ‘emergent femininity’. Thirdly, pets offer a new venue of online sociality for their owners. By centring women in Chinese urban studies, we argue that companion animals co-construct the living conditions of their urban, female, middle-class owners.

Gender and Age Effects on Public Attitudes to, and Knowledge of, Animal Welfare in China

“…Previous research from Canada found strong gender effects on solidarity of participants with animals [ 53 ] and also found negative associations with sexist attitudes, although in that study no gender–age interaction was found. While the same may not necessarily be true for participants in China, the role of animals in Chinese society is changing, notably for women [ 54 ], and drawing on social identity theory [ 55 ], our results suggest that young women may view animals as within their core social group, more than middle-aged males do. If young women experience a solidarity with animals that older men do not [ 53 ], this may comparatively reduce their prejudice against animals, resulting in more benevolent attitudes towards animal welfare and management.…”

“When nobody listens, go online”: The “807” labor movement against workplace sexism in China's tech industry

“…Tan et al. (2021) find that more middle‐class Chinese women in cities are keeping pets as companions and use domestic animals to demonstrate their womanhood, instead of getting married and starting a family the traditional way. Others (Liu, 2014, p: 21) find that Chinese women today emphasize “self‐worth, self‐reliance, and individual autonomy”, instead of devoting themselves to family or childcare; they believe they should be “the master of their life”, free from the control of others and even gaining the capacity to ‘training’ their partners (Peng, 2019, p: 115).…”

WeChat as the coordinator of polymedia: Chinese women maintaining intercultural romantic relationships

“…WeChat's various features and sub-features provide a convergent media space for people to exhibit their appearance, performance and reputation, which are three aspects used to judge primary trustworthiness (Sztompka, 1999). WeChat provides a plethora of digital media for showcasing ones' appearance-based characteristics (Sztompka, 1999). Specifically, we found that five participants gauge their male partners' trustworthiness by photos on WeChat, namely, the photowall of 'Moments' and video-diary of 'Channels'.…”

“…Confucian doctrines still dominate Chinese society. However, 'emergent femininity' has evolved as a result of ongoing changes in the domains of family, education and employment, when urban, middle-class women actively seek breaks from familial restrictions (Tan et al, 2021;Tan and Shi, 2020). Because these educated and professional women have acquired a higher level of individualism and cosmopolitanism (Chen and Liu, 2021), which contradicts the patriarchal marriage ideals that still exist in modern China, they have a difficult time finding ideal romantic partners among their native male counterparts .…”

“…WeChat's various features and sub-features provide a convergent media space for people to exhibit their appearance, performance and reputation, which are three aspects used to judge primary trustworthiness (Sztompka, 1999). WeChat provides a plethora of digital media for showcasing ones' appearance-based characteristics (Sztompka, 1999).…”