The Production of Feminine Anxiety—Postfeminist Media and the “Empowerment” Narrative

“赋权”叙事已成为西方当代“后女性主义”媒介文化中一个显著性特征。这些叙事通常将女性呈现为能够通过个体选择、自我完善和对生活各个方面的积极管理来实现自主和成功的行动者。然而，对于这些看似积极和进步的表述，其在个体心理层面可能产生的矛盾效应，将结构性压力转化为个体层面的心理负担，设定理想化且难以企及的成功标准，从而使个体进行持续的自我监控和印象管理。这种焦虑不仅反映了当代女性主体性建构，亦折射出后现代性下个体所面临的更广泛的文化困境。The “empowerment” narrative has become a prominent feature within contemporary Western postfeminist media culture. These narratives typically present women as agents capable of achieving autonomy and success through individual choice, self-improvement, and the active management of all aspects of their lives. However, despite their seemingly positive and progressive representations, these narratives may have contradictory effects on an individual’s psyche. They can transform structural pressures into psychological burdens at the individual level and establish idealized, often unattainable, standards for success. This, in turn, compels individuals to engage in continuous self-monitoring and impression management. This resulting anxiety not only reflects the contemporary construction of female subjectivity but also mirrors the broader cultural predicaments faced by individuals under postmodernity.