No ‘sissies’ in China…
In the past few days, the Chinese government has announced a few mandates related to media. These mandates include restricting the gaming time for teens under the age of 18 to 3 hours per week, and the topic that I would like to discuss — “say no to the ‘sissy’ deformed beauty standard.” This mandate is perpetuating traditional sex roles, but it also relates to the larger LGBTQ+ community.
I pulled this from the official website of the NRTA:
坚定文化自信，大力弘扬中华优秀传统文化、革命文化、社会主义先进文化。树立节目正确审美导向，严格把握演员和嘉宾选用、表演风格、服饰妆容等，坚决杜绝“娘炮”等畸形审美。坚决抵制炒作炫富享乐、绯闻隐私、负面热点、低俗“网红”、无底线审丑等泛娱乐化倾向。
Translation: Establish a culture of self-confidence. Widely spread the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, the culture of reform, and advanced socialism. Set correct beauty standards. Choose actors, guests, performances, clothing, makeup in a strict manner, say no to ‘sissies’ deformed beauty standards, etc. Say no to accumulating large amounts of wealth, celebrity gossiping, low-brow influencers such tendencies in entertainment.
What does it mean?
The word ‘sissies’ mentioned in the translation is by no means not a wrong translation of the original word. The word in Chinese has a negative connotation as well. Who are the ‘sissies’ that the document referring to? To put it simply, it refers to the majority of male celebrities who have more typically ‘feminine’ features like light skin, a demure figure, and cute. Want to look for examples? Just look at the big K-pop boy groups like BTS and TXT.
Clamping down on these ‘sissies’ is not only inciting issues related to personal freedom, but it is announcing that not abiding by traditional gender roles (or typical stereotypes related to gender and sexuality) is unaccepted in Chinese society. The stereotype of the feminine men is of course intrinsically related to sexuality and gender, because as we all know LGBTQ+ people don’t adhere to such rigid gender roles.
So… how did this happen?
Though it is enraging that the Chinese government is outright forbidding men to be well-kempt, this should come as no surprise. There is a history of sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Chinese society, and effeminate men are at the forefront of criticism from the general populous and the government. They say that these ‘little fresh meat’ are ‘not manly enough, that they are ‘affecting the resurgence of China.’ They believe that a man showing feminine characteristics signifies that they can’t take on the role of ‘the breadwinner’, hence cannot provide for the family.
Here is a clear example of how the Chinese government suppresses media related to LGBTQ+ issues:
Ireland’s performance in 2018’s Eurovision depicted a love story of gay lovers, and China completely removed this segment. They also censored the rainbow flag by blurring it. This received backlash, and Eurovision had forbidden Chinese TV channels from airing their competitions live henceforth.
Here is another clear example of how the Chinese public disapproves of femininity in men:
The government mandates schools to play a nationalist TV segment every year when school starts since the year 2008. In 2018, the show received backlash from the public because there were these ‘sisses’ on it. They say that if the teens are not strong (masculine), then the country would also not be strong.
What does this imply?
This thought process is damaging to society by rigidly defining people into these traditional roles and should be well left behind in the 21st century. Why should we hold onto sentiments that declare men are masculine and strong, and vice versa for women? Yes, men do have testosterone built into them, that is true — but every person has their personal chance to exercise their gender expression. To say that feminity in men is damaging to the natural is not a valid argument, because people’s distaste in bearing children is largely due to the consideration of resources and financial situation. To blame the lowering birth rate on feminine men is not accessing the larger societal situation in terms of the economy, environment, political environment, etc. To stick to such stereotypes is taking away individuality and equality (for both men and women) — what generations have people have been striving for.
My final thoughts
Speaking from a queer person, I think it is very unwise to censor such issues. Just based on diplomacy and foreign image, this censorship has damaged their ties with the globe, especially the LGBTQ community. In terms of the effect it would’ve had on locals, it would’ve benefited the local LGBTQ+ people to see themselves represented in some way, and improve their trust in the government.
The country is becoming a huge flaming ball of force, yet the flame is devouring and destroying itself bit by bit.
How. Ironic. Where shall we turn to now?
