An industry was born: Investigating (gendered) livestreaming cultural production in China

Livestreaming practices are increasingly influencing Chinese people’s everyday
lives in social, cultural, and economic terms. The showroom livestreaming, known
as xiuchang zhibo, features various content entertainment from singing and
dancing to mundane everyday life activities such as chatting and eating. Whereas
e-commerce livestreaming stands for a different business mode in which brands
and retailers use livestreaming channels to promote products to their consumers.
It fascinates me that livestreaming technology enables us to put different aspects
of our social life online in real time. Therefore, this dissertation offers a critical
account of why and how individuals, institutions, and platforms come together as
components of the emergent livestreaming industry in the socio-political context of China.