Female members of China's online community have crossed 57.1
million - equal to the total population of the United Kingdom -
some 41.7 percent of all those surfing the Internet in the
nation.
Portals from home and abroad are vying to attract women, as
their demands for information and services over the Internet are
more extensive and diverse than male online users.
"They use it for their work or business and in their personal
lives, for themselves and their families, for both information and
shopping," says Zhang Danping, editor-in-chief with Lady
Channel at the Web portal 163.com.
To better understand female Internet preferences, the Chinese
portal worked with the Huakun Women's Survey Center associated with
the All-China Women's Federation in an online survey from March to
April that received 40,734 responses nationwide.
The survey found that depictions of women as subordinate to men,
or as sex objects or as the "third person" between couples is the
most disliked aspect of the Web, with 42.5 percent of the
respondents believing such depictions cause injury and humiliation
to women.
They also dislike media stereotypes of women with sexy images
and those that judge women based only on their appearances.
Feng Jianmin, a respondent to the survey and a freelance writer
for travel columns on many portals, says that there are numerous
so-called "true stories" online about domestic violence, rape, love
and affairs that make her uncomfortable.
"Such content spreads a distorted image of women to please men,"
says Rong Weiyi, an expert on gender studies at the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences and a consultant to the survey.
Media reports often emphasize a sensational angle in reporting
tragic stories concerning women, instead of finding a solution to
root out social injustice, she says.
The survey also found that independence, self-worth and
intelligence are the top-three qualities sought by respondents,
most of whom were 20 to 30 years old and have college degrees.
Stories about the success of women are their favorites.
Another study, by Hong Kong-based Internet survey house Iamasia,
shows that women pay great attention to online health and fashion
information.
"They find information on fitness, beauty, medical care and
fashion on the Internet and exchange ideas," says the report. "That
is more convenient for them, as most female Internet users are 20
to 40 years old and in busy work."
It also found that women are more interested in entertainment
news while men pay attention to politics, business and sports.
In addition to their preferred content, female netizens are more
enthusiastic about online shopping than men.
"Online shopping opens another window for women who are
sometimes hindered by limitations on times and places," says Lu
Bowang, an analyst with China IntelliConsulting Corp.
A survey by the China Internet Network Information Center
(CNNIC) suggests that female Internet users are the key force in
the consumer-to-consumer business. The survey cites the example of
Taobao.com, on which the majority of both buyers and sellers are
women who prefer commodities such as cosmetics, clothes and
jewelry.
"If every woman who buy goods online spends only 100 yuan in a
year, the annual transaction values would reach 5.71 billion yuan,"
says Lu.
Feng says that she has opened a shop on Taobao.com to sell small
souvenirs and jewelry she collected from around the world while
traveling.
"The business is just so-so, but I enjoy the fun of sharing
something I like with people who have the same interests," she
says.
Feng is also a frequent buyer of outdoor goods, apparel and
cosmetics. In addition to her own needs, she often buys healthcare
products for her parents.
"It's more economical than purchasing them in stores, as the
prices online are lower because there are no store rental costs,"
she admits.
CNNIC's research showed that the number of online female
Internet users is increasing faster than male users.
(China Daily August 15, 2007)
