By Oiwan Lam
Many cultural-political scholars have suggested that nationalism involves active control over a population’s biological traits such as health, reproduction, gender, sexuality and more. China’s recent campaign against ‘niang pao’ (娘炮), a vulgar and derogatory term which is literally translated in English to a ‘girlie gun’ or more commonly as an ‘effeminate men’ or ‘sissies’, is a classic example of such biopolitical attempts to normalize patriotic manliness.
Some online nationalists have been spreading the discourse ‘Sissies will ruin the nation’ (娘炮誤國) on Chinese social media platforms since 2018, after accusing China Central Television of choosing sissy idols for its advertisements and programs.
The online campaign spread through slogans such as ‘If youths are feminine, the nation will be feminine! Sissies will ruin the nation!’ (少年娘,则国娘!娘炮误国!). Anti-effeminate campaigners labelled sissy idols as one of the four pests that should be eliminated to preserve the nation’s strength.
They also argued that ‘sissy-style’ was not part of China’s conventional culture but an import from Japanese (e.g. Bishōnen) and South Korean (Kkonminam) cultures, and claimed that all strong countries have embraced masculine cultures.
The nationalists had limited support in its early days, with many critiques publically rebuking their claims. Critiques noted that the Chinese literati tradition has a very strong feminine culture and that many powerful Western countries respect and embrace diverse gender expression and LGBTQ+ rights.
But the campaign eventually had full governmental support. In January 2021, the Ministry of Education revealed its plan to include ‘masculinity education’ in the country’s elementary education in wake of a ‘feminization’ crisis in China’s boys. And more recently, China’s regulators stepped in to suppress the entertainment industry.
Since August, a number of celebrities have been censored and punished for their ‘immoral acts’. Popular video blogger Feng Xiaoyi was one of the crackdown targets. Feng’s account on Duoyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok was removed after his video, ‘eating a peach’ went viral online, with some users lambasting him for his makeup and facial expression.
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The incident triggered a debate and revived discourse about whether ‘sissies will ruin the nation’. Here is one example posted on the Chinese Quora-liked platform Zhihu arguing for increased censorship:
Chinese regulators expanded the restrictions on the entertainment industry on September 2 to include a ban on unmasculine portrayals. These restrictions include a ban on ‘sissy idols’ on both television and video streaming sites. The regulatory guideline stresses the need to uphold a moral and aesthetic standard in accordance with the country’s official values. The ‘niang pao’ ban states:
Following the ban, many netizens turned online to support the decision. One commentary published on 163.com blames capitalist consumerism for the popularity of ‘sissy culture’:
One pretext for the clampdown of fandom culture is ‘irrational consumption’. Near the end of August, various online platforms banned fan accounts for K-pop star Park Jimin after his Chinese fans crowdfunded millions of yuan to buy Park birthday advertisements in international news outlets and a South Korean airline. Park has also been flagged as a ‘sissy idol’ in some commentaries as he is a spokesperson for a male make-up brand.
The anti-sissy campaign stresses that the right kind of idols should be those who act on behalf of national interest. A popular opinion leader Luo Ye, for example, wrote on Weibo:
The discourse is also attached to conspiracy theories accusing the US of cultural colonialization. For example, ‘Bu-Dao-Kuan-Zhai’, a popular writer on Weibo, wrote:
In addition to ‘sissy culture’, video games and other modes of entertainment are also considered part of the US cultural imperial agenda. Starting in August, Chinese authorities banned young people under 18 years old from playing online video games on weekdays and restricted access to three hours on weekends.
However, many have continued speaking out against the anti-sissy campaign, claiming citizens should be free to do what they like as long as they don’t hurt or harm others. One pointed out on Weibo:
Another put forward a simple question:
Some question how the government is defining a sissy:
Some ridiculed the masculine anxiety hidden in the anti-sissy campaign:
Prior to the current anti-sissy campaign, the Chinese government suppressed feminist groups in April and LGBTQ groups in July 2021. These widespread campaigns against sexual and gender nonconformity, signal that the values of gender and sexual diversity may be at odds with the leadership’s nationalistic vision.
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This post was previously published on Globalvoices.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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