Author(s)

Yidi Wang ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Corresponding Author

Yidi Wang

ABSTRACT

In the past two years, a group of "netflix grandmothers" have become popular with their distinctive personal images and unique communication contents and styles, becoming a rising force in the netizen team. This paper adopts the case study method and participant observation method to analyze "Grandma Wang who only wears high heels" in TikTok from three dimensions: female discourse, female body and female media image. The study finds that the online celebrity grandmothers reflect that women's discourse power has been enhanced in the new media era, but there are still problems of lack of discourse power and alienation; netflix grandmothers are no different from ordinary online celebrities except for their age, and their bodies are objectified and regulated; netflix grandmothers show a more diversified image of older women, which helps to break stereotypes, but it should be realized that under the influence of technology, capital and patriarchal culture, the appearance of elderly women has been changed from "obscured" to "partially presented" under the empowerment of short video technology.

KEYWORDS

Netflix grandmothers, feminism, discourse power, body, media image

CITE THIS PAPER

Yidi Wang, Power, Body and Media Image: Reflections on the Phenomenon of "Netflix Grandmothers" from Feminist Perspective. Media and Communication Research (2022) Vol. 3: 11-17. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2022.030303.

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