TV representation of the single woman in Nothing But Thirty : traditional and postfeminist discourses from social media responses

Xu, Min and Zheng, Sharon (2025) TV representation of the single woman in Nothing But Thirty : traditional and postfeminist discourses from social media responses. Journal of Gender Studies. ISSN 0958-9236

Abstract

While single women in their late twenties or thirties in urban China have become a notable social phenomenon and attracted scholarly discussion, few studies have discussed the postfeminist media culture surrounding this phenomenon, focusing on television representations and audience interpretations. This article delves into the audience interpretation of the single woman portrayed in the highly popular Chinese TV series, Nothing But Thirty (2020), by analysing audience comments and media coverage. The audience’s interpretations reveal an unexpected intertwining of traditional Chinese perspectives on marriage and postfeminist ideas regarding relationships and gender. They propose multifaceted and demanding requirements for single women, while emphasizing the importance of the women’s own efforts. This provides nuanced insights into discussions of the makeover paradigm for single women in non-Western societies. The study contributes to discussions on TV and postfeminist representations from an audience perspective, highlighting the significance of audience interpretation in understanding the negotiation of postfeminism in Chinese TV.