https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgx3nn/china-masculinity-sissy-stars

EDIT: Wow, this blew up. Want to take this opportunity to plug my bandcamp

  • toledosequel [none/use name]
    ·
    3 years ago

    There's a vocal part of the media class that's bitching about the "feminization" of Chinese men, how they're so weak, and even Conspiracies about it being part of a foreign plot make the country vulnerable since a lot of it is associated with K-Pop. The most reactionary element is probably the Xinhua News Agency from what I've seen. Of course there is also a vocal opposition to that conservative current (the Peoples Daily ran a response to one of the XNA Op-Eds), but so far it looks like the Party is leaning more the reactionary side.

    Prominent party members like Si Zefu and Zhu Yongxin complain about how Chinese boys are becoming less masculine, and the Ministry of Education made some announcements last year / earlier this year about making Chinese youth more manly by hiring more male teachers and making Phys-Ed tougher.

    And now they're talking about how they want the entertainment industry to "boycott sissy idols"? It's strange since they've at least been paying lip service to LGBT rights. But the Party has been promoting Confucianism and traditional culture so I guess it's not that out of character.

    I'm assuming this conservative current is also represented in the public considering all the parents putting their kids Boot Camps to combat porn/video game addiction a few years back.

      • toledosequel [none/use name]
        ·
        3 years ago

        I'm just saying it's surprising for them to go after people breaking out of traditional gender roles considering their seemingly more relaxed on approach sexuality.

          • dakanektr [he/him, he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            like i honestly cant think of a single effeminate or homosexual man in media thats working class other than moonlight

            Ozark season 1 featured a "trailer park uncle" who was seduced and turned informant by a male psychopathic FBI agent

            Randy and Jim Lahey on Trailer Park Boys too.

            I'm sure there are others but I get the sentiment.

          • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]
            ·
            3 years ago

            If someone bullies a straight guy because he "looks gay," that's still homophobic, wouldn't you say?

              • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]
                ·
                3 years ago

                This is just pointless hair-splitting and frankly pretty frustrating. If you wanna argue that "technically it's misogyny and not homophobia" for whatever reason, then fine, whatever, it is, without any question, queerphobic and I'd say transphobic as well, and even if it wasn't and it was "just" misogynistic that's still fucking bad.

                      • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]
                        ·
                        3 years ago

                        Again, LGBT rights are not just about sexuality but also include presentation. I'm not interested in splitting hairs about who's being discriminated against, because these issues are interconnected, and an affront to one part of the group is an affront to the whole group. I'm not gonna drop the T from LGBT, nor the implied Q. And I'm don't really give a fuck if you think that saying men should be able to present how they want is Western chauvinism or whatever.