Revolutionary Women: Semiotic Analysis of Female Imagery in Chinese Cultural Revolution Posters
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63278/10.63278/mme.v31.1Abstract
This study explores the semiotic representation of female figures in propaganda posters produced during China's Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), focusing on their symbolic roles and ideological functions within the sociopolitical context of the era. By examining the symbolic meanings and their underlying cultural metaphors, this research investigates how visual elements were utilized to shape political narratives and promote revolutionary ideals. The study reveals the multifaceted roles and symbolic significance of female images in political propaganda, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping political narratives and reinforcing revolutionary ideals.The analysis reveals that women were portrayed as revolutionary protagonists, labor models, and loyal supporters of the Communist Party, embodying collective values and symbolizing the ideal of gender equality. While propaganda posters from the Cultural Revolution have been widely studied as critical media for political communication, this study uniquely applies semiotic theory to systematically analyze the symbolic construction of female figures, revealing their nuanced roles in embodying revolutionary ideals and reshaping gender norms—an aspect often overlooked in previous research. The portrayal of women in these posters as revolutionaries, labor exemplars, and symbols of collectivism underscores the deliberate alignment of gender roles with the political and ideological narratives of the Cultural Revolution, offering insight into how propaganda reinforced specific historical gender constructs. However, a comprehensive examination of how female images in these posters were crafted and deployed within visual symbol systems to articulate and propagate political ideology remains underexplored, particularly in terms of their semiotic structures and ideological implications. This paper contextualizes these visual symbols within the historical and cultural framework of the Cultural Revolution, emphasizing the interplay between gender, politics, and propaganda in shaping revolutionary narratives. The findings shed light on the symbolic roles of female representations in revolutionary narratives, providing a semiotic framework for interpreting female imagery during the Cultural Revolution.
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