This study examines how women’s roles and gender were portrayed in magazines published during three distinct epochs of Chinese history: before (1949-1965), during (1966-1976), and after the Cultural Revolution (1976 to date). It asked: What were the most dominant roles ascribed to women and femininity in each era?

A content analysis of articles that discussed the role of women and gender published in three magazines—Women of China, Rosy Dawn, and the Chinese edition of Elle—was conducted to determine the most commonly occurring frames. Discourse analysis was employed to describe how these frames were applied over time.

The findings show congruence between the dominant ideology of the time and the frames used in articles that discussed women and gender. However, different frames, some of which ran counter to mainstream beliefs, were also found despite high censorship conditions. The results suggest more attention to the combined impact of the mainstream culture and its associated sub-cultures on media content.