The Normalization of Coercive Control in the Dating Context of Present-Day China: Evidence from Media Discourse and Young Women’s Lived Experiences

This article examines the phenomenon of coercive control within the Chinese dating context. While coercive control as a form of intimate partner violence (IPV), has been widely studied in western contexts, its manifestations in Chinese intimate relationships remain under-explored. Drawing on media discourse surrounding the Bao Li (a Peking University student who committed suicide after experiencing prolonged abuse by her boyfriend) case and semi-structured interviews with 30 young Chinese women, this article analyses how coercive control-referred to as "PUA" in the Chinese context-is localised and normalised within present-day Chinese society. This study reveals the ways in which Chinese young women experience and interpret this particular form of IPV, shedding light on how power dynamics and gender-based violence are often visible but pervasive in dating relationships.

The article considers how China's cultural and political environment facilitates the normalisation of coercive control, leaving women vulnerable to IPV. In particular, we argue that the gender norms and political propaganda in China, ranging from the daily language used within intimate relationships to the idealised concept of love and the widely disseminated political slogans of "positive energy" (zheng nengliang) and "harmony" (hexie), have worked in tandem to legitimise intimate partner-conducted and gendered violence in contemporary China. The findings will hopefully lay a foundation for feminist intervention and policy initiatives.