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Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo
Liu, Yue1; Xian, Xuechang2; Du, Li1
2022-09-01
Source PublicationYale Journal of Biology and Medicine
ISSN0044-0086
Volume95Issue: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.

KeywordChinese Social Media Content Analysis Ethics Microblogs Sina Weibo Surrogacy
URLView the original
Indexed BySCIE
Language英語English
WOS Research AreaLife Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics ; General & Internal Medicine ; Research & Experimental Medicine
WOS SubjectBiology ; Medicine, General & Internal ; Medicine, Research & Experimental
WOS IDWOS:000965945700002
Scopus ID2-s2.0-85139139319
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Citation statistics
Document TypeJournal article
CollectionFaculty of Law
DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL LEGAL STUDIES
Corresponding AuthorDu, Li
Affiliation1.Faculty of Law, University of Macau, Macao
2.Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao
First Author AffilicationFaculty of Law
Corresponding Author AffilicationFaculty 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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