FEMINISM OR MISOGYNY? EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOY’S LOVE DRAMA EXPOSURE, THE FEMALE GAZE, FANDOM ENGAGEMENT, AND GENDER IDEOLOGY

The prevalence of Boy’s Love (BL) drama in recent years has challenged China’s everlasting state-manipulated heteronormative ideology and patriarchy hegemony. However, it remains unknown whether exposure to BL drama makes female audiences more feminist or misogynistic. This study approached cultivation theory from a perspective of an active audience to investigate the relationship between genre-specific media exposure, the female gaze, fandom engagement, and female audiences’ gender ideologies. Based on a survey in China, this study found that exposure to BL drama related to both increased feminism and misogyny. However, the female gaze and fandom engagement can moderate their relationships. For audiences with high-level female gaze or fandom engagement, exposure to BL drama was associated with increased feminism. Based on these findings, this research raised a concept of ‘active feminist fan audience’ to depict the female audiences who view BL dramas from a feminist perspective of desire and actively engaged in fandom activities.