Residential College | false |
Status | 已發表Published |
Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo | |
Liu, Yue1; Xian, Xuechang2; Du, Li1 | |
2022-09-01 | |
Source Publication | Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine |
ISSN | 0044-0086 |
Volume | 95Issue:3Pages:305-316 |
Abstract | Background: This article explores the social media discourse on transnational surrogacy and the issue of surrogacy more broadly considering recent news about the Chinese celebrity Zheng Shuang, which revealed that she had hired a surrogate mother in the United States and had later abandoned the surrogate babies. It aims to provide insight on how Chinese citizenry uses social media to express opinions on ethical and legal issues concerning surrogacy. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of microblogs from the social media platform Weibo posted within a month after the event was reported on January 17, 2021. The entire data set included 37,895 posts, which were analyzed for topic exploration using word frequency and keyword co-occurrence techniques, and a smaller sample of 1,000 posts was selected for an in-depth content analysis. Results: We established that the words “Zheng Shuang,” “surrogacy,” “babies,” “abandoning babies,” and “Zhang Heng” were most frequently used, with “law,” “ethics,” “justification,” “legality,” and “illegal” sharing high connections with these keywords. The qualitative content analysis further established that 399 microblogs (39.9%) expressed value judgements towards Zheng Shuang’s surrogacy, and 61.9% (n=247) opposed her surrogacy, while only 7.0% (n=28) were supportive. The major reason (n=72) against the celebrity’s surrogacy was that it was unfair and risky to surrogate children in this case. One hundred twenty-eight posts made value judgements towards surrogacy in principle, with 115 opposing surrogacy, and only two supportive posts. We also established that users with legal background had very limited presence in surrogacy discussions on Weibo, while users from healthcare professions did not engage at all in the social media debate. Conclusion: Opposition to surrogacy in Chinese social media discourse is primarily based on ethical and moral objections. The protection of surrogate children and surrogate women’s rights was the major concerns expressed by social media users, suggesting that this issue would likely be at the center of a future public debate regarding the regulation of surrogacy. We found the lack of healthcare professionals’ perspectives in social media discussions on Zheng’s Surrogacy disconcerting and suggest their inclusion in public deliberations to ensure that the public is better educated, and substantive concerns are properly addressed. |
Keyword | Chinese Social Media Content Analysis Ethics Microblogs Sina Weibo Surrogacy |
URL | View the original |
Indexed By | SCIE |
Language | 英語English |
WOS Research Area | Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics ; General & Internal Medicine ; Research & Experimental Medicine |
WOS Subject | Biology ; Medicine, General & Internal ; Medicine, Research & Experimental |
WOS ID | WOS:000965945700002 |
Scopus ID | 2-s2.0-85139139319 |
Fulltext Access | |
Citation statistics | |
Document Type | Journal article |
Collection | Faculty of Law DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL LEGAL STUDIES |
Corresponding Author | Du, Li |
Affiliation | 1.Faculty of Law, University of Macau, Macao 2.Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao |
First Author Affilication | Faculty of Law |
Corresponding Author Affilication | Faculty of Law |
Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Liu, Yue,Xian, Xuechang,Du, Li. Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo[J]. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 2022, 95(3), 305-316. |
APA | Liu, Yue., Xian, Xuechang., & Du, Li (2022). Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 95(3), 305-316. |
MLA | Liu, Yue,et al."Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo".Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 95.3(2022):305-316. |
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