‘We are the cavalry, on the way to the rescue’: mobility-masculinity nexus among Chinese urban delivery workers during early Covid-19 lockdowns

The Covid-19 pandemic reshaped urban mobility, exposing the precarity of essential services and delivery workers’ paradoxical roles. This qualitative study investigates how delivery workers in China navigated stringent lockdowns, specifically exploring the complex interplay between their enforced mobility and their construction of masculine identities. We inductively conceptualise the Mobility-masculinity Nexus, demonstrating how mobility serves simultaneously as a critical resource for asserting identity and a site of exploitation within the gig economy. Findings reveal three distinct yet interconnected masculine archetypes—the explorer, the rebel, and the hero—forged through their engagement with urban spaces, platform algorithms, and societal expectations. While their unique mobility during the pandemic temporarily granted them urban visibility and a sense of urban citizenship, it also underscored the precariousness of their labour, subjecting them to pervasive algorithmic control and heightened health risks. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on mobilities, platform labour, and masculinity, offering a nuanced understanding of how movement, labour, and gender intersect in platform-mediated urban economies. We also raise crucial questions about the equitable distribution of mobility rights and the systemic inequalities faced by migrant workers, providing timely insights for policymakers aiming to foster more just and inclusive urban development.