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Imaged and imagined threat to the nation: the media construction of the ‘foreign brides' phenomenon’ as social problems in Taiwan

2007; Routledge; Volume: 8; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14649370601119006

1469-8447

Hsiao‐Chuan Hsia,

Philippine History and Culture

Abstract By analyzing the media construction of the 'foreign brides phenomenon,' this paper examines 'what' is described in the media, 'how' it is constructed, and 'why' this construction seems believable in Taiwan. Based on the narrative analysis of the media reports of the 'foreign brides' phenomenon, this paper argues that 'social problems' are products of 'interpretative work' accomplished by various effective narrative strategies, including overlapping media coverage, authorizing description, fabricated statistics and equivocal wording, and collaboration with governmental agencies. The Taiwanese media construct the 'foreign brides phenomenon' as a social problem. The brides are portrayed either as passive victims or materialist gold‐diggers, and prone to committing crimes, while the bridegrooms are portrayed as the 'socially undesirable,' including physically or mentally disabled, and morally inferior. Personal interaction with media workers helps deepen the analysis into the dynamic process of media construction, revealing the power struggles over reality construction. It further analyzes the national anxiety behind these media constructions, explaining why the media constantly construct the 'foreign brides' as social problems and threats to Taiwanese society. Keywords: Foreign bridessocial problemsmedia constructionnational anxiety Notes 1. The word 'foreign bride' is common parlance in the media, reflecting discrimination against Third World women. I use the term in quotes to remind readers that the term is ideologically charged. 2. This is an informal name commonly used in the media since Premier Yu announced that he would devote three billions of $NT to 'take care of foreign brides'. 3. When asked what they think of the 'foreign brides' phenomenon, most respondents, including governmental officials, members of the general public and those involved in the transnational marriages, referred to media reports to validate their arguments and concerns. Similarly, at many of the workshops and lectures where I was invited to discuss 'foreign brides' issues, the audience almost always referred to media coverage in raising their questions and concerns. Although scholars of reception studies have argued the high level of cynicism regarding the mass media, my studies and experience show that the Taiwanese audience may be cynical of the media, but nonetheless their 'gazes' of social issues are highly influenced by the mass media. Additionally, although many younger Taiwanese tend to get news from the Internet, it is worth noting that most printed media, TV and radio news programs have website versions and are widely circulated at various websites, blogs and university BBS systems. Therefore, even if the younger Taiwanese receive information from the Internet instead of conventional mass media, it is fair to argue that a good proportion of the information sources is from the mass media. 4. MPA is a community‐based organization initiated by struggles against a dam‐building project. I worked closely with this group to develop programs for empowering 'foreign brides'. Please see Hsia (Citation2006b). 5. The Sinorama Magazine is a Chinese‐English bilingual monthly magazine. The quotes from it are directly from the English version. The articles from Taiwan Daily are written in Chinese only. The translations coincide with the article in Sinorama Magazine if the Chinese wording in Taiwan Daily is the same as that in Sinorama Magazine. 6. Owing to limited space, these repetitive paragraphs are not presented in this paper. 7. KMT's organizations at local communities. 8. As of June 2006, when I looked up his publications available on Internet. whereon he has no publications related to these issues. 9. Brides from Mainland China are also highly stigmatized in the public discourse. Since this paper focuses on the media construction of the 'foreign brides' from Southeast Asia, the following discussion of national anxiety will continue this focus. 10. This policy was cancelled in November 2002 due to continuous protests by NGOs. 11. Many NGOs have 'foreign brides' present at the press conferences with tears and even with their faces covered. This may be well‐meant to raise public awareness of the problems 'foreign brides' are facing, yet it reinforces the mainstream images of the 'foreign brides' as problematic and helpless victims.