Gender issues are an important way to tell a good Chinese story, show a real, three-dimensional and comprehensive China, and enhance our country's international discourse power. Gender issues, as the name implies, are gender-related issues that guide public discussion and promote the process of gender equality and social progress. "Gender equality" is the basic national policy of our country, the status of gender equality in our country, women's survival and development issues have been generally attached importance to the international public opinion. Gender issues are an important part of the story of China's path, China's system, and China's position. The world is learning about China and listening to China's voice through various media reports on gender issues in China.
Since June 2018, the National Social Science Foundation's research group on Media Expression of Gender Issues and Enhancing International Voice has conducted questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group interviews with foreigners and foreigners in China from 43 countries and regions around the world. The research group found that the credibility and influence of China's foreign-related mainstream media have been recognized by a considerable number of overseas audiences and foreigners in China. On the gender issue, our foreign media has already had a certain international discourse power. Despite this, foreign audiences' understanding of China is still relatively limited, and there are even some misinterpretations. In China, there are some problems in the media expression and communication of gender issues, which are embodied in the following four aspects.
First, the amount of gender issues reported is insufficient, and the audience's awareness of gender issues is not high
Questionnaire survey and interview show that overseas audiences have low awareness of gender issues reported by Chinese foreign-related media. The direct reason is that China's foreign media do not pay enough attention to gender issues, and the number of reports is too small, and gender issues are in a marginal position in China's external communication agenda. In recent years, there have been many hot issues and events related to gender in China, but China's foreign media have not paid enough attention to these events, or even paid no attention to them.
In the era of social media, many gender issues in China have been fermented on domestic social media, and have received attention and reports from many mainstream media and even foreign media. In this case, if China's foreign-related media, especially foreign-related social platforms, remain in a state of "aphasia" or "indifference", fail to respond to the concerns of the international community on hot gender issues in a timely manner, eliminate the doubts of the audience, and hand over the "cognitive channels" of overseas audiences on this issue to overseas media, it will lose the dominance of public opinion and bring negative impact on China's international discourse power.
Second, the content and methods of reporting gender issues are not rich enough, and women's voices are lacking
The reporting framework of gender issues in China's foreign media is relatively simple, and the reporting of issues faced by women, such as women's economic empowerment, women's employment, gender-based violence, etc., is insufficient. In contrast, even the coverage of the achievements of women's causes in China is not comprehensive enough to meet the needs of overseas audiences. In fact, media coverage of the achievements of women in their own country can inspire women in their own country and other countries to share their success stories.
In addition, the lack of female voices in China's foreign-related media reports on gender issues also affects the recognition of overseas audiences, especially female audiences. Gender issues are closely related to women, and foreign media must increase women's voice and enhance gender sensitivity when reporting gender issues.
Third, geopolitics and international politics affect the audience's cognition and recognition of gender issues
Audiences from different regions have different evaluations on the gender issues of foreign media in China. According to the questionnaire survey and interviews conducted in the United States and Canada, more than half of the respondents claimed that they had not seen the reports of Chinese foreign-related media, and they had no awareness of, let alone recognition and trust in, the reports on gender issues in Chinese foreign-related media. An interviewee from the UK admitted that she was not interested in Chinese issues and gender issues.
In contrast, audiences in Asian and African countries are higher than those in other countries in terms of awareness or recognition of the gender issues reported by Chinese foreign-related media. The interview found that the audience from Nepal, South Korea, Pakistan and other neighboring countries have a relatively high degree of awareness and recognition of China's foreign-related media reports on gender issues. Audiences from African countries also have a high degree of awareness and recognition of China's foreign-related media reports on gender issues. On the one hand, China has close relations with African countries; On the other hand, due to the relatively wide coverage of China's external communication in African countries, especially with the establishment of CGTN Africa, which launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2012, this situation is more obvious.
Fourth, the limited contact of the audience media affects the promotion of the international discourse power of Chinese media
The questionnaire survey found that 38.71% of respondents had never read the reports of foreign media in China; Among the respondents who have read foreign media reports in China, 30.3% have not read foreign media reports on gender issues. This is a very serious fact, without media contact, the communication effect is impossible to talk about.
From the perspective of foreign audiences in China, the convenience of media use is an important reason for them to choose media. Most foreign audiences in China know about China through CGTN media channels, and some respondents choose to watch CGTN TV reports because they own TV equipment. There are also respondents who listen to, watch or read the reports of China's foreign-related mainstream media through the Internet, APP and other channels. In addition, social media has become an important media channel for overseas audiences to understand China. 52.8 percent of respondents who have seen Chinese foreign-related media reports on gender issues say that social media has provided them with useful information about China and Chinese women.
It should be noted that overseas audiences, especially those in Western countries, are the main or even the only source of their understanding of China through their mainstream news media. Overseas media reports have their own content framework, and the content of reports on China is limited, and China's gender issues are not the focus of Western mainstream media. Even if there is a report, the Angle of the report also has a position and a choice.
Enhance the international voice
In the era of global communication, gender issues have increasingly become a hot topic of public opinion in the media, especially some hot gender events have been widely reported by domestic and foreign media, and have become an important object of high attention by international organizations and hot discussion by domestic and foreign netizens. The public opinion field triggered by gender issues has gradually become an important field for national discourse rights. China has become an important force in the world's political and economic development, and needs to assume the responsibility of a major country in the dissemination of gender issues, so that the world can better understand China, listen to China's voice, guide international public opinion, and enhance the international discourse power.
How to improve China's international voice on gender issues
The research group puts forward the following suggestions: It is necessary to increase the number and proportion of reports on gender issues in foreign-related media, fully set the agenda for gender issues with high international attention, and increase the content and space of topic reports; According to the social reality of our country, combined with the diversified performance of Chinese women, we should enrich the types of issues reported in our foreign reports and increase the voice of women; We report on gender issues in China for audiences in different countries and regions. Attach importance to the reporting of countries and regions friendly to China, actively win the audience of countries friendly to China, resist negative factors, and enhance the international discourse power; Strengthen communication capacity building, make full use of social media platforms, effectively tell "Chinese women's stories", and give voice to China.
In addition, foreign-related media need to strengthen exchanges and dialogues with overseas media and strengthen public opinion guidance on issues. It is necessary to further integrate media channels, improve media layout, give full play to the role of social media in leading public opinion, and pay particular attention to the use of social media to increase reports on gender issues in China, so as to influence more young overseas audiences.
Through the above ways, we can more effectively promote the external communication of China's gender issues, so as to enhance the international discourse power of Chinese foreign-related media and build a more positive national image of China.
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