Being Chinese or becoming Chinese? Discursive imaginations of Eileen Gu across media platforms

Abstract

This article examines representations and discussions of Eileen Gu, a biracial athlete who represented China in the 2022 Winter Olympics and won two gold medals and one silver medal, on Chinese state-owned and social media. Despite Gu’s unprecedented achievement, her identity drew controversy in China. This comparative study of media discourses on Gu reveals how Chinese identity is contested in a global context. The analysis suggests that state-owned and social media use different rhetoric to discuss Gu’s Chinese identity as either a state of being or a process of becoming. State-owned media highlight Chinese identity as a “being” by emphasizing Gu’s kinship and cultural ties to China, thus acknowledging her essentialized identity as a Chinese. Social media, represented by Zhihu, underscore Chinese identity as a “becoming” that is not only based on connections to China but also on reiterated performances of Chinese culture and commitment. Social media users largely negate Gu’s Chinese identity due to her perceived failure to provide sufficient evidence that she has become Chinese. The two modes of rhetoric reflect the state’s and ordinary citizens’ respective relationships with global elites, which have shaped their varied framings of Gu.