Virtual migration and masculinity consumption: Rural men’s gender performativity on Douyin

Amid the crisis of masculinity generated by a structural marriage squeeze, this study explores how rural men in China negotiate social dignity and gender identity through mediated performance on Douyin. Drawing on digital ethnography and critical discourse analysis, 122 short videos and 585 high-engagement comments related to rural marriage were iteratively coded to examine how mediated performance, affective labour, and audience co-creation shape emerging forms of digital masculinity. The study introduces two interrelated analytical concepts: virtual migration , which captures men’s symbolic mobility through platformised self-representation, and consumption of masculinity , which reveals the affective and symbolic exchanges between male creators and their audiences. Findings show that Douyin provides both opportunities and constraints for rural men to reclaim visibility and value in a changing social hierarchy. Digital media thus reconfigure the affective politics of masculinity, oscillating between empowerment and re-patriarchalisation. The paper extends gender performativity theory within digital contexts and offers a new lens to understand how emotional economies and mediated visibility reproduce social inequality in contemporary China.