Role Model Women: From "Model Worker" To "Perfect Woman"

The influence of role models is significant,and the potential of women is limitless.To encourage more individuals to learn from role models,China has launched various selection activities,including the "March 8 Red-banner Pacesetter," a unique program that honors exemplary women.The "March 8 Red-banner Pacesetter" is representative of "role model women," and the media’s promotion of these individuals activates the governance model of "typical politics."It is worth noting that the "role model women" promoted by the media are not identical to the actual women they portray.Instead,they represent the media’s portrayal of female role models based on news discourse.This paper aims to explore why the media constructs a specific type of female role model and how their media images correspond to social practices.It employs critical discourse analysis to interpret the discourse logic of mainstream media’s construction of "female role models" under the guidance of typical politics and feminist perspectives.This paper focuses on the reports of the "March 8 Red-banner Pacesetter" in the People’s Daily as the research sample and identifies three types of media images of role model women: the "model worker" with excellent work,the "moral pioneer" with high moral character,and the "life pioneer" with a focus on self-improvement.Analysis of the news discourse reveals that the media images of role model women have evolved from "model worker" to "perfect woman," in terms of connotation,due to changes in social structure and ideology over time.The constructed media images of role model women represent mainstream values and reflect the social expectations of women’s roles and status.State-owned media,such as People’s Daily,plays a dual role of "political" and "professional" in reporting on role model women to promote social progress.However,the existing discourse faces challenges of identity,authenticity,and the survivor effect.Therefore,the media needs to confront the questioning of role model women discourse from multiple perspectives and adopt a more gender-conscious panoramic approach to report on the obscured gender-specific dilemma of role model women.This approach can promote women’s liberation and help society achieve gender equality,while also adhering to the principles of journalism and professionalism.