Weaponizing intimacy: Emotional proxy repression against feminist activists in China

How does the family become an instrument of authoritarian political control? This article theorizes Emotional Proxy Repression, a form of authoritarian control whereby states mobilize family members to pressure activists through emotional appeals, achieving demobilization while evading accountability. Drawing on 25 interviews with Chinese feminist activists, social media posts and movement archives, this analysis reveals three emotional mechanisms—the invocation of familial obligation, the weaponization of care, and the mobilization of shame—through which family members produce acute psychological harm, sustained exhaustion, and political withdrawal. These dynamics are shaped by patriarchal family structures and gendered expectations, making this form of repression particularly effective against Chinese women activists. The study contributes to understanding the expanding and evolving repertoire of authoritarian coercion, and the concrete manifestation of how public and private forms of oppression converge.