Global Pop, National Conservatism and Gender Ideology Among Gen Z in China

Abstract

The study reveals the functions of global popular culture as an ideological interface in which national conservatism and gender ideology are reinvented among Generation Z in China. It challenges assumptions that cultural globalization equals cultural liberalization, and/or youth culture equals resistance, by arguing that global popular culture in China is deeply domestic and shaped by digital platforms, nationalist discourses, and state-oriented regulations. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks, such as globalization, nationalism and gender theory, the paper examines the process of localization, state-oriented regulations and interpretation of transnational pop forms in China. Through a qualitative approach, cultural studies, discourse analysis and textual interpretation, the study shows how global aesthetics frequently reinforce heteronormative gender norms and banal nationalism. Finally, by theorizing global pop culture as an interface, rather than an import, the paper contributes to a broader discourse on globalization, politics, and ideological reproduction in digitally mediated societies.