Unpacking Gender Norms in China: A Discourse Analysis of Opposition Voices to Selling Sanitary Products on Trains

Abstract

Recently, there has been an online debate about whether sanitary pads should be sold on China's high-speed trains. In this paper, the author puts a major focus on those distasteful and malicious comments by male participants in this controversy and examines how these reflect the conflicts and complexity that exist underneath gender roles for women in contemporary Chinese society. Discourse analysis is used in the study. Twenty-five social media posts and comments are systematically coded according to their tones, themes of opposition, and implied gender dynamics. As a result, it is discovered that a large number of comments exhibit gender stereotypes and are insensitive to women's needs; this reveals the general negligence about and misconceptions regarding womens sanitary needs. Additionally, the predominant tone of these comments is sarcastic and hostile, which shows adherence to traditional gender role norms and disdain for public discussion on women's health issues. Concerns about economics and practicality are also mentioned but tend to be lost amid the overall dismissal of women's needs. This study reveals how public awareness and attitudes toward women's sanitary needs are influenced by the tension between traditional gender views and progressive social thought.