If You Are the One: The Success of the Show

If You Are the One is a popular TV show produced by Jiangsu Satellite TV, with the first show broadcast on the 15th of January 2010.
History
Women in the Socialist Era
Women first found their voices in the 1920s, starting from the establishment of the Hunan Women’s League in 1921 when they pushed for voting rights and personal freedom in the provincial constitution. The Association for Women’s Rights in Zhejiang province soon followed to issue an appeal to take part in overthrowing warlords and institute democracy, and in 1923, a whole level was reached after 20,000 female silk spinning workers in Shanghai went on strike to demand for 10-hour day and wage increases. China celebrated International Women’s Day for the first time the following year with the momentum and scale in women’s movements growing faster and larger.
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) formed peasant associations, issues regarding women were at the top of the agenda. With the support of the CCP behind them, women in China were gaining new found rights; whether it would be verbally accusing the husband to physically battling men in the police force, courage fostered within women and their bold behaviour carried on through the Chinese Revolution of 1949, where women gained property rights, inheritance rights, marriage rights, divorce rights, etc.
The undemocratic Maoist bureaucracy however questioned if such radical changes for females were working towards their favour and in the end concluded that these militant women’s movements were threats to their regime. Consequently from the year 1952 onwards, the Mao regime suppressed female activism and women’s rights, allowing men to claim back their masculinity.
Women in Post-Socialist Era
The fall of the Mao Era also saw a shift to post-socialist consumerism and a capitalist society, creating further unequal distributions of power, wealth, sexual prowess, and rebellion amongst men and women. As men flexed their powers, women found themselves pinned down by men in society, especially by their husbands to conform back to normative gender roles, especially the role as a housewife serving dutifully to the husband and family household. As Deng Xiaoping reformed China’s economy by implementing privatisation and free trade, this emergence of neoliberalism played a part in liberalising females from their once oppressed lives. The concept of free trade translated into freedom of choice for women in their options for men and since then, women found themselves in a position where their own opinions can play a large part when searching for a partner.
Contestant Participation
The contestants whose infamous one-liners facilitate the popularity of If You Are The One (IYATO), elicit a devout following from a wide audience base. So how does the show attract these contestants who are known for their candor to participate on IYATO? While finding ‘the one’ may be the primary reason for participating in the show, another factor - the path to fame, may also contribute to the participants’ decision.
As marriage is increasingly being considered more like a transaction and reflective of the market economy, it seems natural that contestants are participating and joining shows like IYATO to find a suitable suitor. The social climate of China’s dating environment is one where there is a gender imbalance of one female to every four males. The term, sheng nü is thrown around by the state-controlled media, where it creates a sense of anxiety for these stigmatized women who are single and above or nearing the age of twenty-seven. Ironically, women are the ones who have the derogatory label of sheng nü attached to them, despite the surplus of men. IYATO provides these women an opportunity to find a partner and get rid of the title sheng nü. As technology progresses, dating and xiàng qing has also evolved. This evolution encourages people to seek partners in unconventional matters, and IYATO provides an opportunity to seek a future husband or wife in front of the public eye. Wu Zhengzhen, a former contestant on IYATO comments that she thought the show would be “the most effective way” to find a suitor “because a lot of people see you through this platform. And then you can pick the best admirer”. Her comments reflect the idea that dating is no longer purely between two people who love each, but rather, a transaction where “A-quality guys will find B-quality women; B-quality guys will find C-quality women…” (Mary Kay Magistad 2013)
IYATO also allows contestants to be thrust into the public eye and is highly alluring for people who wish to pursue a path as a socialite or celebrity. For the female contestants, participating in the show is an easy stepping stone to fame as each episode garners roughly fifty million viewers. IYATO is a platform for female participants to be candor about their criteria for the perfect man and due to their often cutting remarks, they are able to develop a cult following. As these contestants can be thrust into the spotlight overnight and quickly develop a loyal fan base, IYATO can be used as a springboard to propel them into avenues such as modelling, acting or hosting. Zhang Enning appeared on IYATO in 2010 for twelve episodes and through this experience, she was able to pursue a career in acting through the TV drama series “Paper Marriage”. Another contestant, Chen Yifan only appeared on the show for four episodes, went on to shoot advertisements for large corporations such as Lenovo, Nokia and China Unicom and also acted in several television drama series and films.
Success
With new found voices came new dating shows that encouraged such strong feminist behaviour.
Global success
If You Are the One has been available to international audiences since its creation, with Australia and Malaysia broadcasting the show on their own airways while audiences in other countries are able to view the show through the internet. The show’s popularity is undeniable with the show garnering 50 million Chinese viewers per episode, second only to the nightly news, which ultimately led to the Australian TV broadcaster SBS picking up the show and broadcasting a subtitled version on its SBS2 channel. Although the show is popular in both the Eastern and Western markets, a difference lies in what makes the show attractive to each market.
In China, the show is enjoyed primarily for its intended purpose, as a dating show. The show provides an insight into modern China and what the modern Chinese citizen looks for in their relationships. The show’s attractiveness to the Chinese audience revolves around its ability to capture the neo-liberal Chinese desires through the 24 female contestants. It’s also an avenue for the youth to break out of the socialist mindset and empowers them to embrace their autonomy as many of the female contestants are young women trying to take charge in their life.
In the Western market however, namely Australia, the reasons as to why the show is a success is far beyond the realms of the Chinese market. In Australia, the show’s success is mainly due to its comedic value. The cultural differences between Australia and China is the main source of comedy for Australian viewers and this is demonstrated by the fact that If You Are the One is an adaptation of another dating show “Taken Out” which actually originated in Australia but ultimately failed. The fact that “Taken Out” failed while If You Are the One is thriving is a clear indicator that culture is one of the main driving forces of its success. What makes If You Are the One comedic is that the Chinese ideologies and mannerisms are so far-fetched by Australian standards that it becomes funny for the viewers. The bluntness and shallowness of the female contestants on the show coupled with the context of the subtitling from Chinese to English makes for a great show and enables cross-cultural appreciation. In Western culture it is of paramount importance to be courteous and polite to people that you are unfamiliar with or are meeting for the first time but through If You Are the One, Australian viewers are able to experience life without those courtesies.

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