Women as dancing wanghong on Douyin: Affective affordances and gender performativity

This chapter has investigated how female dancing wanghong creators use the technological affordances of Douyin, typified as visual effects, interactive functionality @ and Douyin store, to produce and monetise their affective affinities with targeted audience groups. The findings show that their bodily choreographies are culturally specific to different spatial settings. Specifically, dances with sexual undertones are often created in private spaces to cater to the male gaze; female dancers strive to package themselves as likeable lovers and can be ‘taken away’ by the audience. Dancing in public is more attuned to social norms, with resultant positive qualities such as optimism and strength. Compared to physical spaces, virtual settings afford female dancers more playful and affective control over their physical performance, giving special prominence to the commodities they use and sell. More than sexpots, female dancers on Douyin embody mainstream values and can be creative and commercially valuable billboards. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Jamie J. Zhao and Hongwei Bao; individual chapters, the contributors.