Mum Fans: Identity, Feminism and Fan Culture in Contemporary China

This book explores the phenomenon of “mum fans”: fans who identify themselves as their idols’ mothers and participate in online, data-related fan activities termed “parenting.” With over 50% active fans identifying as mum fans in China, the vast majority of whom have no children and state no desire to have children in real life, it examines their creation of a unique identity against a backdrop of conflicting and ever-evolving cultural influences.

Attending to the fact that in traditional Ch...