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Danalee Chew

Professor Granillo

English 103

19 January 2019

C Me For Who I Am

American writer and transgender rights activist Janet Mock said, “Telling our stories, first

to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act” (Mock). Those in

creative careers, especially musicians, often use their work to tell their story. Similarly, Chinese

hip hop artist VAVA uses her song “Life’s A Struggle” as a way to document her journey to

fame with the patriarchy trying to prevent her from succeeding. Women in any field often have

trouble advancing in their careers because, by definition, the patriarchy is sexist and does not

provide equal opportunity for women to rise to power. Looking at her song “Life’s A Struggle”

through a Feminist Lens, VAVA can be seen as a figure of feminism as she continues to break

the patriarchy and oppression of China. Her music challenges more than the rights and equality

between the sexes; she promotes intersectional feminism by including other identities such as

race, culture, and government influence. By using her platform to tell her story of succeeding in

the men-dominated hip hop scene, the female rapper pushes for equality not only in China but

also the world.

The audience VAVA wants to reach with her music isn’t only limited to her fans. With

the feminist message behind her lyrics, the audience is then all of China and those who listen to

her internationally. The people who hear the song will understand VAVA’s life in a world filled

with both hostile and benevolent sexism. Though not completely obvious on a single listen of the
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song, the lyrics reveal her nonstop effort to accomplish even a fraction of what she could have if

the Chinese hip hop industry was more accepting of women. With such an emotional story, the

strongest mode of rhetoric is pathos. Her passionate rapping accompanied by the piano and

electric instrumental makes her emotions apparent even to those who do not know Chinese. The

song becomes even more meaningful to an English speaking listener when reading through

English translations.

VAVA is often called the “Rihanna of China” and “China’s Queen of Rap” for her flow,

use of beats, and meaningful lyrics. Though being compared to another artist is usually seen as

an insult, pointing out similarities between Rihanna and VAVA is a compliment to not only the

Chinese rapper’s music but also the different ways to interpret her lyrics. The two are

unapologetically themselves: strong women that do not care how they are depicted by the media

that tries to control them. In a recent award show, VAVA refused an award because she

witnessed the mistreatment of artists who aren’t originally from mainland China. Though she has

faced controversy because of this, it shows how she won’t accept the oppression of any group.

To begin, it’s important to understand the culture of Chinese hip hop. Unfortunately,

female rappers are not as common in China because they are seen as, “...the stereotypical images

of weak, less aggressive and sometimes the apparition of being prostitutes” (Khan). Some

aspiring artists may be discouraged by this. Facing these stereotypes isn’t easy, especially when

there is already a lack of female rappers to look up to. Instead of following a wave of change,

anyone who wants to follow this path must start it. In addition, the pressure to conform to the

traditional image of the perfect child who gets a stable, well-paying job can be too much to

handle. Even though it may be their dream, the guilt of disappointing one’s parents can
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sometimes make those dreams seem less important. For VAVA, she chose her dreams over

everything else. In her song, she raps, “When I left home, I was only 15 [years old]/ I fought and

became a shame to my whole family” (“Life’s A Struggle” 00:01:09-14). In an interview with

Esquire Singapore,​ the rapper brought up her mother who supported her through everything such

as dropping out of school and traveling to other parts of China to pursue her passion (Kanthor).

Rather than her supportive mother and family directly believing that she has brought shame on

them, it was others. The image most people have of female hip hop artists needs to change in

order to give aspiring talent a safer environment to cultivate their skills. VAVA is now in her

early twenties, meaning she gave up most of her youth to break the stereotypes of female C-hip

hop artists. Instead of giving up when society made it harder for her, the artist pushed through

and showed the country that female rappers do not always fit into their stereotypes.

Talking about feminism in China would not be complete without also covering the

oppression of the government and the way womanspeak is interpreted by others. The

authoritarian nature of China’s government prevents artists from speaking too openly to avoid

being blacklisted. The power the artists and other influencers hold is recognized by the

government and seen as more of a weapon to its traditional values than a way to improve and

modernize. In the ​Esquire Singapore ​interview, the artist responded to a question on government

censoring with, “To make rap and hip-hop [flourish] in China, we have to toe the Chinese party

line. This is important because we’re living in a different environment here” (Kanthor). Although

VAVA has adapted her music to be less confrontational with the government, she is still pushing

for change in a more discreet way. The lyrics detail her experiences living in a sexist society,

sharing her story with those that can empathize. Unlike feminists in America that we often see,
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aggressive tactics will probably do more harm than good for both VAVA and the progression of

women’s rights. Her lyrics can be seen as an example of womanspeak or feminine language

which is “...more diversified, more multiple in its meanings, more complex, and more subtle than

patriarchal language” (Tyson 97). Her songs are passable by the government’s standards as they

aren’t directly supporting rioting against the government and do not contain an excessive amount

of profanity. The meaning behind her lyrics is still there if the audience looks a bit further. The

government would only see the surface level meaning where it is about her life while listeners

can dissect it further to find its feminist meaning.

Slowly but surely, laws have been passed promoting equality and protect women’s rights.

However, the government still continues to suppress feminist groups such as the detainment of

five core members of China’s Women’s Rights Action Group in 2015 who were released after

gaining international attention (Hu). Though there is still a long way to go in terms of breaking

other patriarchal levels, their efforts have not been in vain. Today’s Chinese feminists often look

to its Western counterpart for guidance, but “While they share ideologies with feminist

movements in other parts of the world, they function within their unique cultural context” (Hu).

Much like how VAVA cannot be as confrontational with her message, feminist groups must not

appear too aggressive.

The lyrics of the song recognizes the unfair advantage men have over women in any

work environment, also called social constructionism. In the textbook ​Critical Theory Today,​

Tyson argues that almost everyone is socially programmed to support the patriarchy where

women are, “...[kept] powerless by denying them educational and occupational means of

acquiring economic, political, and social power” (Tyson 82). The Chinese hip hop culture is
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largely dominated by men. In the music video, a young VAVA is seen rapping against males,

maybe because they expected her to lose to them (“Life’s A Struggle” 00:02:34-50). Rap and hip

hop are seen as strong and aggressive, therefore not meant for women according to the

patriarchy. The place where they are holding the rap battles is also largely filled with men, with

only a few other women in the room. Because of their patriarchal programming, the people there

would also assume that female rappers are worse than male ones. They may think their flow or

lyricism is not as proficient, but VAVA breaks this by rapping passionately. Just because her

environment is not willing to give her an advantage does not mean that she was going to give up.

VAVA pushed back harder to crack the glass ceiling.

Furthermore, VAVA tells other women to break the oppressive society that is common in

China through the lyrics in her song. A translation of the chorus reads, “Life’s a struggle, but the

day will end/ After all the joy and sadness, there will always be more troubles/ How many

problems are we going to face every day?/ How many nights do you not sleep because of it?”

(“Life’s A Struggle” 00:01:33-43). Even if there is one victory, there is another level of the

patriarchy to defeat in China and other countries. People like VAVA who have escaped or

broken out of their social programming are attempting to have others also realize what the

patriarchy is doing to them. In a study done to observe the new feminist generation in China, it

was found that “...young women involved in the new feminist activism are in their late twenties

or early thirties” (Wang). VAVA is around this age group, being in her early to mid-twenties. A

majority of her fans are also female with varying ages. Sharing her mindset with them allows

them to slowly recognize what the patriarchy is doing and break the social programming they

grew up with.
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To conclude, VAVA is not only a figure of feminism but also embodies the feminist

movement in China. She is aware of her position as an influencer and the risk it puts her in with

the government. Sharing her experiences in the music industry through “Life’s A Trouble”

allowed any listener to understand her fight against the patriarchy. If she can support equality

while not angering the government, so can others around the world. Anyone with such a large

audience should be using their influence to support causes like feminism. People look up to

musicians, actors, writers, etc. and it’s time for influencers to use that platform for equality.
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Works Cited

Hu, Alice. “Half the Sky, But Not Yet Equal China’s Feminist Movement.” ​Harvard

International Review​, vol. 37, no. 3, Spring 2016, pp. 15–18. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117018297&site=ehost-live.

“Feminist Criticism.” ​Critical Theory Today: a User-Friendly Guide​, by Lois Tyson, Routledge,

2015, pp. 82, 97.

Kanthor, Rebecca. “VaVa: The Chinese Rapper on Her Difficult Childhood, Chinese Hip-Hop

and Government Censorship.” ​Esquire SG​, 11 May 2018,

esquiresg.com/features/vava-the-female-chinese-rapper-on-difficult-childhood-chinese-hi

p-hop-government-censorship/.

Khan, Katy. “Chinese Hip Hop Music: Negotiating for Cultural Freedoms in the 21st Century.”

Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa,​ vol. 6, no. 2, Nov. 2009, pp. 232–240.

EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1080/18125980903250848.

Wang, Qi. “Young Feminist Activists in Present-Day China: A New Feminist Generation?”

China Perspectives,​ no. 3, Sept. 2018, pp. 59–68. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=132500412&site=ehost-live.

VAVA, director. ​Life's A Struggle​. ​YouTube​, YouTube, 13 Mar. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6RiVeWznwY.