Reconstructing Romance: New Ideals of Chinese Femininity in the Romantic Video Game Tears of Themis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v13i3.6921Keywords:
Feminism, Romantic Video Games, Tears of Themis, Romance, Chinese FemininityAbstract
China has experienced a wave of feminism in recent years, expressed primarily through cultural products and social media. Due to the tightly controlled political environment, much of this discourse has centered on strategies for women to attain personal and economic autonomy within the existing power structure. This essay argues that Tears of Themis, a popular, female-oriented romantic video game (RVG), exemplifies this new strand of Chinese feminism by constructing characters that challenge existing norms of romantic relationships and storylines that reveal the physical risks posed to women by economic and social inequality. By portraying an avatar who achieves romantic autonomy by putting education and career ahead of romance, Tears of Themis pushes back on the prevailing narrative that career-focus damages women’s romantic prospects. Dialogue consisting of slogan-like statements of support from the avatar’s suitors and their families constructs a feminized male ideal that reflects the values and expectations of Chinese feminists. Further, by centering its storylines on the avatar’s work as a criminal lawyer, Tears of Themis exposes how violence against women is enabled by imbalances in economic and political power. Through these creative strategies, Tears of Themis contributes to contemporary discourses of feminism and femininity in China by demonstrating how personal choices in professional and romantic relationships can become a catalyst for social transformation.
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