Page 70 - Chinese Woman Living and Working

FEMININITY AND AUTHORITY 57
(mama baobao) and Hocus Pocus (mofa wu). The Hocus Pocus link, which is set out in dark
purple and green colours, deals with horoscopes, the Chinese zodiac, fortune telling and
match making and has a bulletin board for posting messages.

www.Halfworld.com
www.Halfworld.com promotes itself as ‘the ultimate online network’ to which every
Chinese woman wants to belong. It is based in Xian and sees its role as promoting young
women’s access to information and consumer goods. To this end, the site provides
women with the opportunity to shop online. The site also provides chat rooms and
bulletin boards for women to communicate with each other and share their ideas and
advice (www.halfworld.com/channel/jianjie/ aboutus.html). Unlike many of the other
Chinese-language sites, Halfworld’s home page is very simple, employing a white
background and equal use of Chinese and English. Running along the top of the page is a
banner featuring a group of glamorous, laughing young women from a variety of ethnic
backgrounds. On the right-hand side of the page are links to the site’s contents. One link
entitled ‘Business’ contains links to other websites where one can buy clothing and pets.
Established in 1999, the site claims to be the biggest Chinese site offering quality business
services for women

www.Yesee.com
www.Yesee.com is a Chinese-language website launched in Beijing in January 2000. The
site is aimed at professional women aged 23–35 (China Trade News 2000:2). Like Cwow,
the site uses shades of blue and purple. The main menu and links are located in the centre
of the page. Categories include Mother, Trends, Relationships, People, Travel, Health
and Career, and each of these provides articles on relevant topics. According to the
website’s profile, Yesee aims to help Chinese women realise life, work and emotional
skills and become their number one preferred website. It also claims to promote
positively an Internet life-style that is ‘warm, open and free’ as well as promoting fashion,
leading trends and bringing a genuine Internet space to the attention of Chinese women
(www.yesee.com/misc/aboutus/index.html).

www.Redskirt.com

www.Redskirt.com is another Chinese language website for women, with chat rooms,
advice on issues such as fashion, relationships and work. 9
The websites discussed above provide examples of some of the identities being
constructed and promoted for Asian and particularly Chinese women. These newly
transnational female spaces have yet to win a large following among Chinese Internet
users; however, they do provide some insight into the possibilities of alternative spaces for
female interaction and learning.
The establishment of business associations for women is a significant factor in creating
greater opportunities for businesswomen in China. Likewise, Internet companies can play