Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
Second Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Zhang, Jing
Area of Concentration
International and Area Studies and Chinese Language and Culture
Abstract
This thesis examines the media language surrounding female suicide in China from the Republican era and post-Mao contemporary China. Several portrayals of female suicide are identified in the primary sources, including; Chinese news outlets, influential literature, and films. All of these portrayals are based on the same belief that women are more inclined to commit suicide because they are vulnerable either to their emotions or to their traditional mindset. These portrayals are shown to have origins in notions of suicide from the Ming and Qing dynasties, although they have been reinterpreted to support the ideologies of a new set of intellectuals. More recent portrayals are based on recent mental health research, but present urban woman as immune to traditional thinking while rural women are guided by it. The portrayals seem to illustrate that are influenced by Chinese media and culture to commit suicide.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Megan Elizabeth, "Portrayals of Female Suicide in Chinese Media" (2018). Theses & ETDs. 5470.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5470