Chinese TV shows with strong women characters strike a chord with contemporary female audiences
- Recent shows including ‘The Romance of Tiger and Rose’ and ‘We Are All Alone’ advocating women’s empowerment are finding large audiences in China
- According to one study on 10 popular Chinese TV shows last year, 80 per cent of viewers were women
In the recent Chinese fantasy period drama series The Romance of Tiger and Rose, women are the stronger sex. They scold men for courting attention by showing off their legs, and male children are looked down upon and considered useless. In this ancient matriarchal society, men are not allowed to study or hold official positions.
The whole premise of the show is the reversal of gender roles as we know it – and the audience in China just couldn’t get enough of it when it aired exclusively on Tencent Video between May 18 and June 1, racking up 1 billion views.
Other recent TV shows that advocate female empowerment and found a large audience in China include We Are All Alone, about how a resilient, career-minded talent manager overcomes challenges in the entertainment industry; Find Yourself, a love story between a 30-something woman and a man a decade younger than her; and Get Married or Not, which revolves around three single women in their 30s who attain personal growth by breaking social conventions.
Has Chinese television, which has been traditionally been dominated by men – especially off screen – finally found its female voice?
