Caring masculinity as caring capital in the field of marriage : Chinese rural migrant men's engagement with digital dating

The concept of hegemonic masculinity has been used in Chinese sociology since the early-2020s to explain Chinese wealthy men's power over women in the market reform era. Scholars have also paid attention to the ways in which rural, working-class men achieve a sense of manhood, but the links between digital media and gender theory have often not been explored. To fill in this gap, this article examines the ways in which Chinese rural migrant heterosexual men sophisticatedly employ digital technology and gain advantages in the highly competitive field of marriage, translating savvy digital media usage into cultural capital. Research findings drawing upon our long-term ethnography offer substantial evidence of a relationship between men's active use of digital technology, caring practices, and the desirability of rural migrant men. As such, we develop the concept of caring capital in relation to men's ability to: master romantic online courting manners, display caring behaviors during follow-up offline courtship, and please their (future) parents-in-law. Research limitations are discussed.