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An exploration of the debate on “nancy boys” in modern China

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An exploration of the debate on “nancy boys” in modern China

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Content AN EXPLORATION OF THE DEBATE ON “NANCY BOYS” IN MODERN CHINA
by
Fuyun Wei
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES)
December 2020
Copyright 2020 Fuyun Wei
ⅱ
Table of Contents
Abstract iii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 3
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 The Debate 5
1.3 Xinhua news agency vs. People’s Daily 9
1.4 From Custard Boys to Little Fresh Meat and Nancy Boys 14
1.5 Excessive entertainment and commercialization? The excessive emphasis on
appearance? 19
1.6 Gender stereotype vs. aesthetic diversity and social inclusion 27
1.7 National rejuvenation, patriotism, and youth development 33
1.8 The rise of women’s power vs. discrimination against women and femininity 39
1.9 The male/female binary gender order vs. the disintegration of gender binaries 50
Chapter 2 58
2.1 Introduction 58
2.2 A brief introduction of pre-modern ideas of masculinities in China 59
2.3 The effeminacy and the homoerotic tradition in pre-modern China 62
2.4 The transformation of Chinese traditional masculinity and the globalization
effects of Westernization 67
2.5 The power of women in the 21st century 73
2.6 The rise of LGBTQ+ power in the 21st century 78
Conclusion 84
Works Cited 91
iii
An Exploration of the Debate on “Nancy Boys” in Modern China
Abstract
In the “First Lesson of the School Year” program of CCTV in 2018, due to the appearance of
four thin and handsome male actors, the debate about men becoming more and more
feminine showed unprecedented fierceness. This paper examines China’s huge debate on
niang pao 娘炮 (Nancy Boys) in 2018 by collecting and sorting out online and major media
comments. Through looking at all the different kinds of opinions on this debate, it explores
the underlying Chinese gender order crisis. The binary male/female gender order is
disintegrating, and this debate is precisely a response to this on-gonging break-down process.
The gender order no longer just included binary male and female. Gender temperament is no
longer just male-masculinity and female-femininity. The ambiguity of gender and gender
temperament is an important manifestation of the rebellion against traditional male power
and patriarchy. In short, in the 21st century, China has countless different ideas and opinions
colliding on the Internet as a big platform. People of different ages/genders/sexual
orientations/professions all express their ideas about society, and the “Nancy Boys” battle is a
very representative conflict of opinions. Although the Internet has an amplification effect, it
can also be seen that the original gender order in Chinese society is no longer stable. Women/
youth/sex minorities and people with “untraditional” aesthetic concepts are actively fighting
for their right to speak.
1
Introduction
This thesis looks at the recent debate on niang pao 娘炮 (Nancy Boys) in China. What lies
behind this debate? What induces this argument? Why are these “Nancy Boys” being
criticized? And what are the forces around this debate? I argue what behind this debate or the
increasing discrimination is a Chinese gender identity crisis. The heterosexual male/female
gender order is disintegrating, and this debate is precisely a response to this on-going break-
down process.
After the Republic of China and the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the
mainstream of society began to emphasize manliness among males and establish ying han 硬
汉 (Tough Guys) as an orthodox model for males. Some discriminatory words such as nan
you xiao sheng 奶油⼩⽣ (Custard Boys), xiao xian rou ⼩鲜⾁ (Little Fresh Meat), niang
pao 娘炮 (Nancy Boys) and so on appeared, to describe a man who looks like a woman or
acts in a feminine manner. These terms literarily imply lack of masculinity, or worse — bu
nan 不男 (being not male).
China’s experience in the nineteenth century when confronting the West caused a
transformation in traditional views of gender and masculinity. Chinese abandoned many
1
traditional gender ideas and considered the effeminacy and homoerotic tradition in pre-
modern China as backward and inappropriate for the modern world. The experience of being
2
semi-colonized had the effect of making society respect manliness. The fear of the
Hinsch 2013, 9.
1
Ibid.
2
2
weakening male identity was “underpinned by the internalization of the dominant Western
notion of masculinity as the universal norm.”
3
The popularity of effeminate males or metrosexual men, coming from the cultural
input of Japan and South Korea to China after the reform and opening up, formed the so-
called “invasion” of foreign cultures to traditional Chinese culture. Some nationalists thus
connected “Nancy boys” with the crisis of the strength and the fate of China. At the same
time, the feminine, pretty boys are also seen as one of the bad results of western capitalism
and consumerism. For people who criticize these “Nancy boys,” the idea represents the
disintegration of gender order and patriarchy. Women, the young, LGBTQ people, and other
traditional less powerful people now can use their power and make their voices heard. This is
a challenge to traditional patriarchal hierarchy and gender order. It is also an embodiment of
the rising power of females and sexual minorities. Not to mention, discrimination against
effeminate males itself implies discrimination against women and femininity.
This thesis contains three chapters and seven sections. Chapter 1 introduces the
beginning and the development of the debate, demonstrating all the forces and voices around
this debate. Because this debate developed in the media, I will show opinions, comments, and
speeches in various kinds of media. Chapter 2 contains the main argument of the thesis,
exploring the participants, actors, and forces of the breaking-down process of the old gender
order in China. Chapter 3 presents my thoughts on the future of Chinese gender issues.
Song 2004, 9.
3
3
Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
In recent years, a group of young and handsome “Little Fresh Meat” male idols has appeared
in China. They have many fans and have become a guarantee for box office sales, but their
effeminate style which is different from the post-1949 stereotype of male images has also
made many people angry. These dislikes have risen to new heights recently. China Central
4
Television’s program kai xue di yi ke 开学第⼀课 (The First Lesson of the School Year) for
primary and secondary school students invited Wang Yuan, a member of the new F4 and
TFBOYS male idol team to appear on the show. Male idols Cai Xukun and Zhu Zhengting
also posted on Weibo for publicity.
Their effeminate appearance and make-up style attracted a lot of criticism from the
Internet, and the criticism mainly focused on their makeup, hairstyle, and behaviors. Netizens
criticized them for drawing eyeliner, applying eye shadow, applying lipstick, and dyeing their
hair, condemning them for a lack of masculinity. Some even directly bombarded them as
5
Nancy Boys and “not being man.” They thought that these effeminate boys would bring bad
influence on their children. On the other hand, some people believed that these criticisms
6
stem from gender stereotypes, and they called for social tolerance and aesthetic diversity.
7
Several official media in China also joined the discussion. The Xinhua news agency
stated that from Little Fresh Meat to Nancy Boys is a progressive progression of morbid
aesthetics. The popular image of Nancy Boys is a deliberately strengthened and distorted
BBC News 2018a.
4
Ibid.
5
Ye 2018.
6
Gui 2018.
7
4
social design. The People’s Daily commented that in addition to appearance, people should
8
pay more attention to men’s inner beauty. Exquisite, delicate, or sturdy are all people’s own
9
aesthetic choices. A rational, mature, and tolerant society should permit and encourage
people’s own choices. While focusing on the construction of masculinity, people should
10
carry forward people’s courage, strength, responsibility, and other interior qualities.
11
This chapter will consist of 8 subheadings. The first is the starting point of the recent
debate — The First Lesson of the School Year of CCTV . The second is the dispute within the
official media. Two official media outlets a comment on the debate caused by The First
Lesson. The two official media opened the prelude to the debate, and also represented some
ideas of the pros and cons. The third is my introduction to the origin and the development of
the descriptions of the Little Fresh Meat to Nancy Boys. The fourth to eighth are the different
points of view surrounding the debate. All 8 subheadings are as follows:
1. The debate
2. The dispute between two official media: Xinhua news agency vs. People’s Daily
3. The development of effeminate males’ descriptions: from Custard Boys to Little
Fresh Meat and Nancy Boys
4. Excessive entertainment and commercialization? The excessive emphasis on
appearance?
5. Gender stereotype vs. aesthetic diversity and social inclusion
6. National rejuvenation, patriotism, and youth development
Xin 2018.
8
Gui 2018.
9
Rou 2018.
10
Gui 2018.
11
5
7. The rise of women’s power vs. discrimination against women and femininity
8. The male/female binary gender order vs. the disintegration of gender binaries
1.2 The Debate
The First Lesson of the School Year is a TV special program jointly produced by the
Publicity Department of the CCP Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, and China
Central Television starting in 2008. CCTV broadcasts this program every year to the whole
country on September 1 at a prime time of 8 pm. The audience mainly includes primary and
secondary school students in China.
12
CCTV conducts the program in the form of a class meeting, simulating a school
classroom in the show. Well-known experts and scholars, social celebrities, and performing
arts stars are invited as guests to interact with the students and parents. The content of the
program is to promote positive energy and offer education to students, especially in
patriotism and nationalism.
Since 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Education has issued a clear notice every year,
requiring primary and secondary schools across the country to organize students to watch
The First Lesson of the School Year on time on September 1 and encouraging parents to
watch it together with their children. On the evening of September 1, 2016, about 200
13
million mainland Chinese students watched The First Lesson of the School Year broadcast on
CCTV . Some schools require parents to take pictures to ensure that students are watching
14
BBC News 2018b.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
6
the TV show as required. Some teachers also arranged homework for watching TV , writing
viewing feelings, and sharing information on social media. The Publicity Department of the
CCP Central Committee required The First Lesson of the School Year to emphasize
patriotism and nationalism. The 2018 program caused a lot of controversy and discussion.
The points of controversy include: 1. The Ministry of Education issued a notice
requesting the school to notify every parent and student, and some schools even required
students to upload a photo of watching with their parents. Although parents were quite
dissatisfied with this practice, thinking that the move was too coercive, they still obediently
carried it out ; 2. Parents and students waiting to take pictures found out that The First
15
Lesson of the School Year opened late because of playing Ads for 15 minutes, and they
thought that this was to deceive children to read advertisements. Parents were dissatisfied
with the program, thinking it paid too much attention to commercial interests; 3. The
16
advertisements were all about cram schools, which violated the national policy for reducing
the burden on primary and middle school students ; 4. The First Lesson of the School Year
17
invited some famous young idols. Parents thought that these Little Fresh Meat were sissy
boys and lacked masculinity, which would leave a bad example for children’s future
development ; 5. The program also invited Jackie Chan. His children have taken drugs and
18
been in jail, and he has his moral problems. Parents questioned how someone like that could
get on the show to be an example.
BBC News 2018b.
15
Ding 2018.
16
BBC News 2018b.
17
Ding 2018.
18
7
Let me talk about the first point, the notice of the Chinese Ministry of Education. The
First Lesson of the School Year is a program jointly produced by the Ministry of Education
and CCTV starting in 2008. Every year, the Ministry of Education issues a notice demanding
the school to notify every parent and student and to share the feelings after watching through
various methods. Comparing the past annual notices, we can find that apart from the different
themes each year, there is not much discrepancy in these requirements . In 2009, the
19
program required residential schools to watch together and later changed to “if conditions
permit, watch together.” And this year, 2019, in addition to requiring the school to notify
every student and parent, the requirements for organizing viewing were no longer there.
There is no longer a mandatory requirement for parents to accompany students to watch .
20
Of course, the wording of Chinese official documents cannot always be taken
literally, at least for school leaders. If too few students participate, it means that afterward,
the sharing may not be enthusiastic enough because of the low participation. And because of
this, some schools simply require the upload of photos. And this arrangement is not the new
policy for this year. As long as people search on the Internet with keywords such as “The
First Lesson of the School Year, upload photos,” people can find relevant news. At least
2018, there have been some regional education bureaus and schools, making uploading the
viewing photos as the school assignment .
21
At that time, some netizens complained, but why was 2019 so vehement? I propose
that this is related to the other points of dispute.
BBC News 2018b.
19
Xin 2018.
20
BBC News 2018b.
21
8
The second and third disputed points are about playing the ads. As a public welfare
program publicly produced by the government and national media, it broadcasts 15 minutes
of advertisement before the broadcast, and because of the administrative order, forcing
students and parents to watch together, it does not reflect the attitude of taking social
responsibility. Although the CCTV Advertising Department quickly apologized under
pressure from public opinion, it reflected an interesting media phenomenon: the
deconstruction of politics by commercialization. The original intention of this program was
to conduct patriotic education, but the insertion of commercial advertisements changed the
contents to entertainment and commercialization .
22
The fourth debated point is about inviting the young idols. According to the
explanation of the CCTV director, this should be by request of the Ministry of Education .
23
To a certain extent, the government expected to connect with the target audience through
these young idols to achieve better publicity. However, they ignored the parents, and most
parents have a fixed imagination of gender roles, so they resisted these images that are too
feminine in their eyes, worrying that the official mainstream’s affirmation of this image will
cause a negative influence on children’s gender identification . Inviting idol groups is a
24
consistent practice, but in 2018, it caused this a big controversy. This may have been because
there had been many public discussions on gender issues in the recent past, so incidentally,
parents began to pay attention to issues of gender roles.
BBC News 2018b.
22
Ibid.
23
BBC News 2018b; Gui 2018; Xin 2018.
24
9
Since then, the heated debate over China’s feminine-looking male celebrities has
flooded Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, ever since CCTV aired four
young male singers in its television special The First Lesson of the School Year on Sept 1,
2019.
1.3 Xinhua news agency vs. People’s Daily
After The First Lesson of the School Year, Xinhua news agency and People’s Daily quickly
published their comments and opinion. Xinhua news agency titled its article as “the trend of
effeminate males should be stopped, and the negative effects of pathological culture should
not be underestimated,” which showed its altitude clearly. Unlike the Xinhua news agency,
25
which used discriminatory words directly, People’s Daily not only contained much praise but
also expressed that it should respect personal choices.
26
The Xinhua news agency stated that different from the long tradition of “male playing
female roles” for artistic expression, the popular Nancy Boys style was a deliberately
distorted design for entertainment and commercial value. They labeled it a crisis of
27
masculinity. These boys looked androgynous, and they wore delicate makeup and they were
very slender and weak. Sometimes they acted coquettishly or like a girl, saying “Oh,
28
charming” or “I'm scared to death.” They act like this in movies and TV shows, as well as
29
in daily life. From Little Fresh Meat to Nancy Boys, this morbid aesthetics is progressing.
30
Xin 2018.
25
Gui 2018.
26
Xin 2018.
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
10
The Nancy Boys style developed not in a day, it was the result of beautiful appearance
consumption and the deviation of the eyeball economy, and it is a new variant of the
extravagant and grandiose style of the entertainment circle. With the help of all kinds of
31
incredible star-making movements, pretty boys have been praised as a guarantee to improve
business value, and beauty becomes nothing but beauty. Capitalist impulses and impetus have
contributed to the popularity of Little Fresh Meat and Nancy Boys.
32
Xinhua news agency continues to contend that although in an open and diverse
society, personal aesthetics are self-contained and varied, everything should have a bottom
line. And if you cross the bottom line, you will go to the opposite side — not aesthetics, but
33
the pursuit of ugliness. The entertainment trend of Little Fresh Meat to Nancy Boys
34
conveys a worrying tendency: in the hustle and bustle of “you can’t win me over with
beauty,” the self-cultivation and inner qualities of actors seem insignificant. Some people’s
35
acting abilities are terrible but they can get a high price. And in the misunderstanding of
“entertainment first,” some films, TV shows, and network platforms deliberately cater to
vulgar tastes and consume various fast-food style entertainment. For the sake of the hit of
36
fast-food style, the entertainment industry can even challenge the social order and customs,
exuding the atmosphere of the worship of money, extravagance, and decadence.
At the end of the article, the Xinhua news agency summarized the reason why the
Nancy Boys style has caused public resentment, saying it is because of the negative impact of
Che 2018; Xin 2018.
31
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin 2018.
32
Xin 2018.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid.
35
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin 2018.
36
11
this morbid culture on young people. Teenagers are the future of the country. What the
37
popular culture of a society and country embraces, rejects, and spreads is indeed a matter of
major concern to the future of the country. Cultivating youth who are in charge of national
38
rejuvenation needs to resist the erosion of bad culture, and even more, needs to nourish
excellent culture.
39
However, The People’s Daily had a different opinion. They thought that society
should respect personal aesthetic choices. They stated that appearance is not the key to the
problem, but that inner quality determines a person. The People’s Daily, for instance, gave
40
the example of the soldier Yang Mingxin. In recent years, they said, the armed police fighter,
Yang Mingxin has been affectionately referred to by netizens as “the most handsome soldier
elder brother,” from the divers who have given up their lives in the rescue process, to the
national flag escort team known as the “Chinese men’s first group,” the reason for their
attention is not because of their outstanding personal appearance, but the bravery of soldiers
who make people feel strength and spiritual charm beyond appearance. Of course, this kind
41
of spirit is not unique to soldiers. Whether it is a sports athlete struggling on the field, a
heroic captain who can turn the tide at a critical moment, or a mortal deed in ordinary life, it
constitutes a beautiful scenery of the times and cognition of the male image.
From the admiration for hot-blooded men, the People’s Daily went on to say, it shows
that appearance is not the key, but rather one’s inner qualities. In fact, there is never a
Xin 2018.
37
Xin 2018.
38
Ibid.
39
Gui 2018.
40
Ibid.
41
12
standard answer to what a man should be. Gentle, elegant, and cultured are male portraits
42
admired by Chinese tradition. From the external image, they also contain a refined and
43
elegant aspect. A person’s beauty is not in appearance but the soul, and it is a famous folk
saying. Although in the eyes of a few people, beautiful appearance can become essential, or
44
even can get some material rewards, those who can lastingly affect the social culture are still
flashy in words and deeds and attract people with their inner beauty.
Modern society has further expanded the field of aesthetics, provided a more diverse
lifestyle for people and facets for the aesthetics of men. The kind of value judgment based on
gender characteristics equates masculinity with appearance, which is a simplistic approach.
45
Exquisite and delicate, as well as sturdy and uninhibited, are people’s aesthetic choices. The
People’s Daily said that whether a person chooses to be dainty or unkempt, that is an
individual’s own choice and a rational, mature, and permissive society should be inclusive.
The focus on the construction of masculinity should also carry forward many qualities such
as courage, strength, and responsibility. In the soldiers who defend the homeland and protect
the country, in the sports athletes who win the glory of the country, and in the outstanding
actors such as Mei Lanfang and Cheng Yanqiu, nowadays people can see masculinity and
think of them as heroes.
46
In fact, in a society ruled by law that emphasizes rights and equality, different
evaluations based on gender differences have gradually been smoothed out. In the pre-
47
Gui 2018.
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid.
44
DuSir 2018; Gui 2018.
45
Gui 2018.
46
DuSir 2018; Gui 2018.
47
13
modern traditional masculinity, the people’s character such as, “Neither riches nor honors can
corrupt him; neither poverty nor humbleness can make him swerve from principle, and
neither threats nor forces can subdue him” have also been integrated into the core of modern
civic spirit to a large extent. From this perspective, the key to cultivating the masculinity
48
required by modern society is to shape a courageous and responsible internal character, form
an inclusive and open modern manner, and cultivate law-abiding and educated behavior
habits.
49
Therefore, the People’s Daily did not agree with the derogatory statements such as
the so-called Nancy Boys and “neither male nor female,” but they also called on the stars
who have a wide influence among teenagers to present a more positive and upward image
and show a healthier aesthetic. They hoped that these boys become true idols taking social
50
responsibility. Only by abandoning the artificial style and reversing the supremacy of
entertainment can we fundamentally change the morbid aesthetic to educate people and
cultivate culture. This is the same as some of Xinhua’s arguments. Both reveal their
51
concern about excessive entertainment and commercialization.
In the final analysis, the People’s Daily stated that exquisiteness and tenderness can
be one of the diversified aesthetics for men, and focusing on inner qualities to build a sturdy
and courageous temperament of the times and a self-confident and strong social fashion, it
should also be the mainstream in public communication.
52
Gui 2018.
48
DuSir 2018; Gui 2018; Liu 2019; Rou 2018.
49
Gui 2018.
50
Ibid.
51
Ibid.
52
14
1.4 From Custard Boys to Little Fresh Meat and Nancy Boys
The oriental aesthetic represented in Chinese history has inherently different aspects. From
Xiang Yu, who “could pull mountains down with main and might,” to Lin Chong, who is the
“Leopard Head,” they represent a majestic and masculine beauty appreciated in China
historically. From Wang Xizhi, who “fluttered like a cloud, just like a dragon,” to He Shen,
53
who was “fair and handsome,” they represent a fragile and elegant male beauty. There are
many sources of effeminate aesthetics, including noble interests, the influence of agricultural
culture, and the performance of scholar-bureaucrats under the rules of monarchy and
Confucian ethics.
54
In the twentieth century, external aggression and colonialism forced China to open its
doors. It was Europeans who followed Darwinism to practice fitness. Learning Western-
55
style body management became a popular concept. At that time, military and national
movements called for “the spirit of martial arts,” and gymnastics was also introduced.
56
There were also stories of Chinese martial arts masters who talked about defeating foreign
powerhouses and Japanese invaders.
After liberation in 1949, Chinese male aesthetics in the 1950s trended towards
laborers serving the people, and they were regarded as ideal incarnations of collectivism and
perfectionism. And because Soviet art had a huge influence on Chinese art, the swarthy,
57
masculine and firm male image coming from Soviet art was also very popular.
58
Yi and Wang 2019.
53
Yi and Wang 2019.
54
Ibid.
55
Ibid.
56
Yi and Wang 2019; Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002; Zhong 2000.
57
Yi and Wang 2019.
58
15
At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, the aesthetic needs of the people
across the country became diverse, but the male beauty standard was still a firm body with
big eyes and thick eyebrows. As early as 1988, before the influence of Wang Shuo, Tang
59
Guoqiang and Chen Baoguo, who are now lao-xi-gu 老戏骨 (veteran actors who were
already recognized by the audience), were nicknamed “Custard Boys” because they were
handsome and feminine. Correspondingly, there were the so-called “ugly stars” later
represented by Ge You and Liang Tian. Tang Guoqiang, who appeared in the movie “Little
Flower” in 1979, was very handsome and he had good skin like cream. He incidentally loved
cream cakes so the public laughed at him as a “Custard Boy.” Almost at the same time,
Takakura Ken, who starred in the Japanese movie “Yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare” ( 追捕
Manhunt), caused a sensation in China. And Takakura’s tough-guy image almost became
representative of the new society and newcomers in the future. With his collar raised and
60
his short-spoken character, Takakura was more conservative, so when he showed gentleness
and delicacy, it was the unpretentious and special beauty of men, but also considered the
beauty of the East. For a time, Takakura Ken became a benchmark for Chinese women
looking for a partner at that time, an ideal man in the eyes of Chinese female film fans, and
he even changed the aesthetic standards of spouse selection of Chinese women. After
61
Takakura Ken, a group of tough guys such as Zhang Fengyi and Jiang Wen appeared in
succession with a group of “ugly stars” such as Chen Peisi, Ge You, and Liang Tian, which
greatly enriched the male image on the Chinese screen. After that, a new image became
Yi and Wang 2019; Rou 2018.
59
Yi and Wang 2019; Rou 2018.
60
Yi and Wang 2019.
61
16
popular, that of men who no longer need to rely on swords to go out into the world, but more
need to be considerate and gentle. More effeminate male stars such as F4, Lin Zhiyin, and
62
Lu Han became fashionable for a time. Nowadays, they have become a part of the aesthetic
trend. At this time, “Little Fresh Meat” also came into being.
According to the concept used by the news media, the “Little Fresh Meat” stars
mostly refer to male artists whose age is stable between 14 and 28 years old. These artists
63
have debuted when they are still young, and the company packaged them into a young,
innocent, delicate, and sunny image. In general, the impression that they give to the
64
audience is always around 20 years old. Most of them display themselves in front of the
public with a fresh, simple, positive, diligent, and handsome image. They have a certain
talent basis. As Tian and King write, they present a completely natural image of a young male
who is harmless and innocent. “Little Fresh Meat” is a neutral word, even a commendatory
word.
65
Different from “Little Fresh Meat,” the term “Nancy Boys” has a strong derogatory
meaning. In Chinese culture, calling a man niang 娘 (sissy/Nancy) is a kind of humiliation,
66
and it means that a man lacks manliness, showing effeminacy in appearance or behavior.
67
Whether “Little Fresh Meat” and “Nancy Boys” belong to the same group, the definition of
the concept is vague. At first, the public jokingly called the young idol stars “Little Fresh
Meat,” which did not attach too many negative factors. Many TV programs also
68
Yi and Wang 2019.
62
Tian and Kang 2019.
63
Ibid.
64
Ibid.
65
Tian and Kang 2019; Gui 2018.
66
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian and Kang 2019.
67
Yi and Wang 2019; Rou 2018.
68
17
specifically used the title “Little Fresh Meat” to attract people’s attention. For example, the
very popular stars Li Yifeng, Lu Han, Wu Yifan, Chen Weiting, Zhang Yixing, and many
other young male stars have been titled “Little Fresh Meat.” With the large-scale appearance
of these male entertainers of the same type, some male entertainers have shown more
effeminate characteristics in appearance, movement, posture, and language. Some male
celebrities look especially androgynous or girlish with delicate makeup. The Xinhua news
69
agency stated that after the emergence of the “Little Fresh Meat” stars on a large scale,
negative news about some of the male artists kept appearing. All this negative news caused
70
the public to implant some negative labels such as “irresponsibility towards work,” “lack of
working ability,” and “depending only on their handsome appearance.”
71
“Nancy Boys” on the surface is a description of the effeminate makeup, gestures, and
behaviors of some “Little Fresh Meat” stars. It is a mockery of their bad performance and
works. In other words, “Nancy Boys” changed the label of “Little Fresh Meat,” because the
72
word “Little Fresh Meat” was no longer enough to reveal the negative comments of netizens.
To show a negative attitude towards the “Little Fresh Meat” stars, netizens put forward the
word “Nancy Boys” to express their disgust and disdain.
73
Therefore, there is a difference between “Little Fresh Meat” and “Nancy Boys.”
Although there are intersections, they do not belong to the same group. “Little Fresh Meat”
focuses on “fresh” which means young, while “Nancy Boys” focuses on “Nancy” which is a
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian and Kang 2019; Gui 2018; Xin 2018.
69
Xin 2018.
70
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin 2018.
71
Ibid.
72
Ibid.
73
18
popular saying for “not male.” A “Nancy Boy” star usually needs to have three
74
prerequisites, one is to be a young star, another is to be effeminate, and the third is to lack a
recognized masterpiece.
75
As the debate about “Nancy Boys” continues to ferment in the field of online public
opinion, the discussion of the current young masculinity appears to the forefront. The word
“Nancy Boys” first appeared in the lines of the heroine to the hero of the Taiwanese TV
series “Don’t Call Me Soft Persimmon,” referring to the weak and incompetent nature of the
hero. As the First Lesson of the CCTV education program started in 2018, the invited
76
young male guests, whom some people thought to be too girlish, made the term “Nancy
Boys” stir up thousands of waves of response. Both opposition and support flooded the
Internet.
From an etymological point of view, the original meaning of niang 娘 (sissy/Nancy)
refers to a girl, which was later extended to mean mother or woman. Pao 炮 (cannon) refers
77
to people who have extensive experience in certain areas, such as gong zuo pao er ⼯作炮⼉
(work cannon), which represents people with good working ability. “Nancy Boys” ( 娘炮)
78
literally means someone who has experience in female behavior and other female aspects.
79
“Nancy Boys” on the Internet now is mostly used to describe young men who show
femininity in appearance, character, behavior, language, and so on, with obvious derogatory
meaning. Soon, “Nancy Boys” was classified into the words niang niang qiang 娘娘腔 (sissy
Tian and Kang 2019.
74
Ibid.
75
Yi and Wang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
76
Xin and Shi 2019.
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid.
79
19
boys), bu nan bu nü 不男不⼥ (not male, not female) and other words, specifically
describing the phenomenon of an androgynous person in appearance. Therefore, even if the
stars of The First Lesson participated in many activities that did not lack masculinity and
manliness, the public still criticized them as “Nancy Boys” because of their exquisite and
effeminate appearance.
80
Social concerns about male gender and role tension have a long history. From the
appeal of “saving boys” to the condemnation of the crisis of masculinity, behind the various
remarks on the Internet is anxiety concerning the current male image. Some scholars
81
believe that there are three ideal types of masculinity: feminine pseudo-female temperament,
neutral ordinary masculinity, and masculine tough man temperament. Other scholars point
82
out that the types of masculinity are multiple, and moreover male chauvinism and dominant
masculinity, encouraged by mainstream culture, is one of the root causes of gender
inequality.
83
1.5 Excessive entertainment and commercialization? The excessive emphasis on
appearance?
“Little Fresh Meat” stars have become the darlings of China’s entertainment industry in
recent years. They represent the trend of the times and current youth culture to some extent.
In the Internet era, these stars have a huge influence and commercial value. A piece on the
internet site Weibo can easily exceed ten thousand hits, and endorsement fees at the level of
Yi and Wang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019; Liu 2019b.
80
Xin and Shi 2019.
81
Yi and Wang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
82
Ibid.
83
20
ten million yuan are commonplace. In the eyes of fans, they are not only idols, they are more
like benchmark pillars of their lives.
In the “First Lesson of the School Year” program of CCTV in 2018, due to the
appearance of four thin and handsome male actors, the debate about men becoming more and
more feminine showed unprecedented fierceness. Most people think that the “Little Fresh
Meat” and “Nancy Boys” are symbols of the extravagance of the entertainment industry and
are caused by the promotion of capitalism. The Xinhua News Agency’s article stated that
84
the wind of “Nancy Boys” was supposed to be stopped, writing that the current popular
effeminate males are the result of deliberate commercial packaging. As for entertainment
85
and consumerism, some people think that instead of viewing this trend as influenced by
“pan-entertainment,” it is better to think of it as being influenced by consumerism.
86
In the past, most of the celebrities became popular because of their works, but the
“Nancy Boys” did the opposite. The works of these stars are not familiar to the public, but
the stars are very popular at least on the Internet. The number of fans of Lu Han’s Weibo site
has reached more than 50 million. In 2014, Lu Han set a Guinness world record with his
strong fan power, because one of his Weibo comments reached 13.14 million viewers. And
87
then Lu Han started his relationship with Guan Xiaotong, which paralyzed the Weibo system.
In 2018, after the release of a new album on iTunes, Wu Yifan’s fans tried their best to
promote this new album and made it quickly occupy the top of the list. It even squeezed
European and American singers off the list. On the top ten list, Wu Yifan occupied seven
Che 2018.
84
Xin 2018.
85
Che 2018.
86
Tian and Kang 2019.
87
21
seats. These events attracted a large number of Chinese and foreign netizens’
dissatisfaction. The fan support team behind the stars is not only responsible for promoting
88
the positive energy of idols, collating and translating their works, but also dedicated to
maintaining the idol image. With the constant help of fans, the popularity of celebrities is
89
getting higher and higher, attracting the media to report extensively. Then advertising
endorsements are coming one after another, and the exposure rate increases accordingly,
which attracted more fans. Cai Xukun, who was well known by the public through this TV
90
show “Idol Trainee” in 2018, further confirmed the power of fans. The rule of the “Idol
Trainee” program is that fans determined the generation of idols. It can be said that their
successful debut came from the vote of fans. In this way, there is no doubt that there will be a
large number of fan groups. In just a few months, Cai Xukun’s fans grew from more than 1
million to more than 10 million, and he jumped into the ranks of quasi-first-line stars.
Due to the existence of the fan economy and the increasing demand brought about by
the growth of women’s independence, entertainment companies can easily perceive that there
is a huge gap in the market and take the opportunity to package male entertainers as goods
into the characters set by women’s expectations. In addition to the external image, respect
91
for women in speech, willingness to speak for women, kind and gentle, and so on are also
essential. Entertainment companies are not able to find people who both have the
professional capacity and the characters which women and youth like. So they go the
opposite way and first make “Nancy Boys” stars products with necessary characters and
Tian and Kang 2019.
88
Xin and Shi 2019.
89
Tian and Kang 2019.
90
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
91
22
handsome and delicate beauty, quickly breaking into the market to become idols. And
92
naturally, he will quickly attract a large number of fans, and the person will become a star
with its commercial flow, and then form a “commodity” for the capital operation of the
performing arts market. It can be seen from this that the “Nancy Boys” stars are put on the
93
market as “commodities,” and their appearance is the result of purposeful capital operation,
not something expected by people. As a result, public expectations of their strength,
94
performance, and character can be disappointed, and many of these stars simply become “fast
food” for teenage girls in a flash. Entertainment companies increase the popularity of
95
entertainers by buying shui jun ⽔军 (“water army”, paid posters or Internet marketers,
which mean a group of Internet ghostwriters paid to post online comments with particular
content) and re sou 热搜 (trending hashtag) among other online means. Once they become
96
popular, they will take part in commercial performances, advertising endorsements, and
variety shows, becoming the company’s money-making machines.
There are also very important factors in the prevalence of the “Nancy Boys” stars due
to the development of modern technology and new media. The development of modern
97
technology and new media provides some shortcuts for the stars to quickly become famous.
In the traditional star manufacturing process, due to lack of information and communication,
the road to fame was longer. It not only involved the accumulation of a considerable number
of film, television and music works but also the need to travel to various commercial
Han 2018.
92
Ibid.
93
Tian and Kang 2019.
94
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
95
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019; Han 2018.
96
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
97
23
performances and publicity events to attract the attention of boys and girls. If there is a
98
problem along the way, the road to fame may fail, so there is a process of continuous
accumulation and selection. With the popularity of new mobile clients, young people can
browse and watch videos online anytime, anywhere, and pay attention to various gossip news
and entertainment information rankings. Manufacturing stars only needs the company to
manipulate new media behind the scenes, promote related videos, create trending topics, and
attract attention. Overnight success seems to have become commonplace. Moreover, during
99
the operation of the new media, information, photos, and videos are all technically processed,
and some apps can also push related videos for users according to the type of video clicked.
When people click on the video of a “Nancy Boys” star, the system will automatically push
more related videos, and these videos mostly highlight the star’s image. Therefore, there will
be so-called “brushing people’s popularity,” or to the utmost extent, making more fans. In
100
addition, a factor that cannot be ignored is that under the virtual network environment, fraud
regarding data about celebrities’ huge followings, comments, and likes on social media has
become a popular weapon to make a star appear to have high commercial value. In the
101
early years, Yao Chen, a big-mouthed beauty, had more than 20 million fans and was
regarded as the peak of popularity. But Cai Xukun, who came from a variety show and did
not have a masterpiece, posted a microblog forwarded 100 million times, which made people
incredulous. Coupled with the assistance of self-media advertising articles, posts, and videos,
a person with huge and devoted fan bases and high business value was formed, which could
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
98
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
99
Xin and Shi 2019.
100
Han 2018.
101
24
be quickly spread on the Internet. The “Nancy Boys” stars use the Internet to falsify data,
make full use of the amplification effect of self-media and the Internet to promote
themselves. The popularization of the Internet and smartphones truly is a shortcut for these
102
stars to become popular.
The reason why the “Nancy Boys” stars aroused people’s resentment is that their
professional ability was perceived as not good. The “Four Heavenly Kings” ( 四⼤天王) of
103
Hong Kong were celebrities who were popular all over the country in the 1990s. Now, Liu
Dehua (Andy Lau), who is considered to be the most diligent, was also called “eye candy”
when he first debuted. In the final analysis, it still depends on talent and character to become
an evergreen tree. Most of the “Nancy Boys” stars attracted attention with their gorgeous
appearance, but their works for the audience were very few. Outside of their fans, they are
104
unfamiliar to the general public, and they are only known by their names. The commercial
105
operation of the “Nancy Boys” stars is profit-oriented, which has led to their image as more
and more one-sided. They only compete for their profits while ignoring their professional
106
ability and they are eager to achieve success. What they lack is to hone their acting skills and
abilities. Without a solid foundation, a building is bound to be difficult to achieve long-term
development, and the battle of tongues is ultimately less convincing than the good reputation
won by good work.
Market-oriented media pursues capital markets using flow data rather than social
value, and even authoritative media have become blind followers of the “Nancy Boys”
Tian and Kang 2019.
102
Xin 2018; Che 2018; Yuan 2018.
103
Liu 2019a; Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
104
Ibid.
105
Tian and Kang 2019.
106
25
cultural transmission. In an era when young people adored soldiers and scientists, the
107
mainstream media contributed greatly to shaping the image of soldiers and scientists, but in
the new media era, the right to speak in the media is decentralized. The right to speak in
108
the mainstream media declines, and the right to speak in the self-media rises. Especially in
109
the context of the popularity of the Internet, the ability of the online media to guide and
control the voice of public opinion is more limited, and the speed and depth of information
transmission far exceeds the mainstream media. For example, the number of active users
110
of Weibo exceeds 430 million people, and after Weibo’s update, the hits were almost entirely
concentrated in the entertainment industry. Compared to a country with a population of 1.4
111
billion and thousands of radio and television stations, the high-quality resources of local
artists are too few and concentrated, and the channels for training artistic talents, acting stars,
and singing and dancing idols are extremely narrow. Only very few people can succeed.
These very few people have almost monopolized the performing arts circle in mainland
China within a certain period, which is not only the focus of the media, but also the guarantee
of box office and ratings, and has become the object of market and capital competition.
112
Besides, some people have created the illusion of hotness and scarcity, which has led to the
extreme popularity of the “Nancy Boys” stars. To cope with the pressure of survival and
development, the online media is willing to publish its trending topics in response to the
pressure of the market and capital. For example, among the ten topics of Weibo, the topic of
Tian and Kang 2019.
107
Ibid.
108
Tian and Kang 2019.
109
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
110
Ibid.
111
Liu 2019a; Tian and Kang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
112
26
celebrities constitutes more than half of the daily hits. The media platform’s pursuit of
113
capital markets is much higher than the pursuit of social value. Some people think that this
114
is not the problem of the “Nancy Boys” stars themselves, but the entire media and the
industry. It is the pathological result of profit-seeking behavior in the entertainment
industry.
115
The brand-new business model created by the iterative effect of the media from the
mobile Internet has continued to amplify this psychological demand of young people,
objectively magnifying the phenomenon of “Nancy Boys.” On the one hand, the model
116
that fans offer support to, including money, stimulates the accumulation of cultural and
entertainment capital and increases the number of fans. On the other hand, the popularity
117
of the mobile Internet has also greatly increased the probability that young people will pay
attention to “Nancy Boys” stars, magnifying their influence. Moreover, the debate on
118
“Nancy Boys” by public opinion in recent times shows that although the “Nancy Boys” trend
is consumed by cultural and entertainment capital and the fan economy, it has a great
influence and has impacted the mainstream value system. At the same time, the emergence
119
of the “Nancy Boys” debate is inextricably linked to feminism, gender culture, gender
relations, and gender system.
Tian and Kang 2019.
113
Ibid.
114
Xin 2018; Tian and Kang 2019.
115
Ibid.
116
Sun 2018; Xin and Shi 2019.
117
Ibid.
118
Sun 2018.
119
27
1.6 Gender stereotype vs. aesthetic diversity and social inclusion
A documentary called “Under the Mask” mentioned an experiment that sampled the
personalities of 50,000 boys and 50,000 girls and then drew the bell curves for the boys and
girls versions. Then people found that the overlap of the two curves is as high as 90%.
120 121
This suggests that most human beings, both men and women, are similar in temperament,
and there is no real dualistic difference. The difference between men and women lies
122
mostly in the difference in chromosomes and physiological structure. Thus, the so-called
123
“Nancy Boys” and “Tough guys”, femininity and masculinity, can be seen as caused by the
acquired social environment — the influence of popular culture, the education method of
parents, and so on. Therefore, “strong as a man” and “crying like a woman” are unscientific
terms.
124
However, when the “Little Fresh Meat” stars appeared on the “First Class of the
Year” program jointly promoted by the Ministry of Education and CCTV , they attracted a lot
of parental resentment and criticism. Parents generally thought that the Ministry of Education
and CCTV , which are authoritative departments, invited “Nancy Boys” stars to sit on the
show, which would mislead the children’s aesthetic orientation and gender concepts.
125
Because the image of these stars was too “feminine”, it was not conducive to the
understanding of the correct male image for young people. In the storm of public opinion,
126
netizens also started to talk about the “Little Fresh Meat,” saying that they were acting
Rou 2018.
120
Ibid.
121
Ibid.
122
Ibid.
123
Rou 2018; DuSir 2018.
124
Che 2018.
125
Che 2018; BBC News 2018b.
126
28
neither like a male nor like a female, smirking on the stage and insulting the manliness male
image. Netizens even abused these people with extremely bad words to show their contempt
for them. The other side were the loyal fans of the “Little Fresh Meat” stars. They firmly
stood on one the side of protecting the “Little Fresh Meat” stars, forming a growingly heated
debate. Some opinions using insulting terms such as “Nancy Boys” to define a person’s
gender temperament or aesthetic choice is an extremely irresponsible act, and people’s
diversified lifestyles should be respected. To fans of the “Little Fresh Meat” stars, the
127
outside world misunderstood their idols. Some fans said that they don’t think of their idol as
“sissy”, but felt “a beauty that transcends gender”.
128
Xiao Xuan, a 21-year-old college student, told BBC China that everyone can have
their style and pursuit. It is not necessary to restrain themselves with traditional masculinity.
“Make-up is a manifestation of a boy’s focus on his image. It is not wrong”.
129
From the perspective of gender experts, criticisms of “Nancy Boys” on the Internet
originate from gender stereotypes. Ding Yu, an associate professor in the Department of
Sociology and Social Work at Sun Yat-sen University, explained to the BBC China that some
things that people often say in daily life are gender stereotypes: “For example, what should
you do as a boy, what should a girl do. The things behind “should” are stereotypes. It can’t
accommodate anything different from the original concept”. Sociologist Li Yinhe believes
130
that everyone has different male and female degrees, “Human nature is rich and colorful, and
everyone should be free to fall between any extreme points of extreme masculinity and
Yi and Wang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019; Liu 2019b.
127
BBC News 2018a.
128
Ibid.
129
BBC News 2018a.
130
29
extreme femininity. At one point, we cannot force everyone to fall on an extreme point”.
131
She also called for the diversification of aesthetic standards, “boys can be refined or rough,
and girls can be feminine or masculine.” Ding Yu pointed out that society should be more
132
tolerant of people with different temperaments: “People are not carved out of a template, he/
she will always have different looks, personalities, and temperaments. Why should men be
required to show all the same (temperament), can’t there be anything else?” There is often
133
a group of people in public opinion circles who believe that they occupy the majority of the
crowd, that is, the mainstream. And those who disagree with their views and behaviors are
heterodox. They demand that those who are thus heterodox either obey or be muted.
134
People should pay attention to and respect the right of the minority, and protect their
opportunities to express themselves.
A netizen on Sina Weibo commented that if a man wants to dress up as a woman, he
will respect it. But this should not be the mainstream aesthetic, and public figures, in
particular, should avoid it. However, some netizens claimed that such views fall into
135
gender stereotypes and lack diversity. Weibo user Huiyu commented: “There should not be
only one standard of male beauty or masculinity. You can choose what you like, and you
should tolerate what others like. This is enough. Diversity makes the world beautiful”.
136
“Requiring that boys have to be masculine is like saying girls must be sweet and gentle,”
another netizen commented.
137
BBC News 2018a.
131
Ibid.
132
Ibid.
133
Che 2018.
134
Ding 2018.
135
Ding 2018.
136
Rou 2018.
137
30
Of course, males and females have different factors of their genders, but at the
moment, statements of masculinity or femininity cannot fully grasp the core issues that are
now controversial. This is because the relationship between men and women is no longer
138
as distinct as in pre-modern society. After many years of pursuit and struggle for equality
between men and women, it is normal for men and women to show more mutual
understanding and mutual tolerance. Men have some thoughtful and delicate
139
performances, and it cannot be said to be a bad problem. As for femininity, there are also
many kinds. Feminism has sharply criticized female stereotypes as a fixed temperament for
many years. Now some male actors have a richer temperament, and they cannot simply be
taken lightly. On one hand, this is also a manifestation of some local trends, on the other
hand, it is also the demand of women and young audiences. There is nothing wrong with
140
some actors showing more femininity. For example, in traditional Chinese opera, there have
always been female roles played by men. Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and other outstanding
Chinese opera actors show femininity in their lives, but the noble characters they played have
also been highly respected by society. Judging this problem only from the perspective of both
sexes may not be able to accurately grasp the debate.
It is exaggerated to say that the young men in the whole society have feminine
concerns. Now, both male peacekeepers and Chinese male athletes at the Asian Games
141
have received social attention and support. Movies and TV shows that promote male
manliness have also received widespread attention in society. Therefore, people cannot
Zhang 2018.
138
Ibid.
139
Ibid.
140
Zhang 2018; Gui 2018.
141
31
simply say that feminization has become the trend of Chinese young men. Women also
142
have responsibilities and social missions, and their contribution to society is huge. Just
labeling the performance of some young male actors as feminization simplifies the problem.
Normally, many female audiences have different opinions about simply criticizing “Nancy
Boys.” People should avoid a simplified expression of gender issues at the moment. People’s
criticism nowadays often is that some young actors do not show upright and positive style,
are over-influenced and controlled by commercialization, often appear vulgar and tasteless,
deliberately cater to some bad performances, and lack broader social responsibilities. This
143
situation cannot be simply reduced to feminization. The criticism of these performances is
not just a feminine generalization, but a deviation from perceived standards in a certain
feminine performance.
Che Yu points out that in these disputes, one of the most important questions is often
not clarified. What kind of male is considered a “Nancy Boy” and why on earth are these
effeminate males being criticized? Are men with eyeliner, lipsticks, and unisex clothing
144
“Nancy Boys?” For example, the heroes in the “Water Margin” have the habit of wearing
flowers. It was an aesthetic expression of the Tang and Song dynasties, and a symbol of
social status. Can they be regarded as “Nancy Boys?” Leslie Cheung’s femininity and
145
handsome looks were why he was called ge-ge 哥哥 (Brother) instead of “Nancy Boys.”
Some people say that the man who is acting like a woman or a girl is “Nancy Boys.” Then,
what is acting like a woman or a girl? So, is a sensitive and indecisive man a “Nancy Boys?”
Zhang 2018.
142
Ibid.
143
Che 2018.
144
Che 2018.
145
32
To judge whether a man is a “Nancy Boys,” should we look at the outside or the inside?
146
People’s judgment standards are rarely unified. Therefore, the debate will only continue in
different dimensions and times.
However, capital will naturally flow to areas or projects that people have already
cared about, and will not become the dominant factor for creating a trend. Although capital
147
can also help, the flow of capital is more susceptible to this trend. The accumulation of
148
capital is more like a result than a cause. Many factors influence the gender order and
individual gender performance. The key lies in individual choices. Moreover, when social
149
civilization develops to this day, especially in areas where the economy is relatively
developed, people care more about spiritual needs. They need more emotional caring that can
resolve loneliness and show mutual understanding. Men who are just tough and masculine
often don’t have such emotional value. Increasingly, people need to be warm, delicate, and
flexible.
150
Over the past few decades, the standard of male beauty has been changing. Zhu
151
Shimao was the typical representative of the local male model in the early 1980s. He has
attracted attention for the film “Herdsman” released in 1982 and became the prince charming
and dream love in the hearts of countless girls. Zhu Shimao was popular because he met
152
almost all the standards for male models of that era. With big eyes and bushy eyebrows, he
looked like a good person at first glance. Having served as a soldier, the image on the screen
Che 2018; Xin and Shi 2019.
146
Che 2018.
147
Ibid.
148
Ibid.
149
Che 2018.
150
Ding 2018.
151
Ibid.
152
33
evoked a strong emotion of patriotism. In the 1990s, Hong Kong actors Zhou Runfa (Chow
Yun-fat) and Andy Lau were sought after by both men and women. They have appeared in
many films as wisecracking gangsters and suave thieves, and they are the spokespersons for
the aesthetic standard of that era. Then, the popular idol drama liu xing hua yuan 流星花园
153
(Meteor Garden) swept across the mainland and changed many Chinese people’s aesthetic
standards for men. The male stars of that series had long and dyed hair, fair skin, and
154
beautiful feminine faces, winning the hearts of school girls. In the same period, with the
advent of Japanese and Korean idol dramas, Korean idol boys with dainty and delicate
features were favored by young Chinese audiences. Some commentators said that China’s
economic growth, the improvement of people’s living standards, and global fashion trends
are the reasons that caused people’s aesthetic standards to change. “After China’s opening-
up, more people have been exposed to the beauty standards of Japan, South Korea, and the
West. Gender neutrality has been a global trend in recent years,” Ding said.
155
1.7 National rejuvenation, patriotism, and youth development
Excessive publicity of these actors is not conducive to the physical and mental development
of young people, and it is especially harmful for them in forming a correct gender conception
and male image, claimed some parents. Angry parents harshly criticized the youthful
156
celebrities with fierce words, mocking them with words like “beautiful girls who can’t have
children,” and calling on relevant authorities to ban the effeminate stars, in case the next
Ding 2018.
153
Ding 2018; Yi and Wang 2019.
154
Ding 2018; Yi and Wang 2019.
155
Che 2018.
156
34
generation would adopt their example. This kind of “Nancy Boys” trend exudes a decadent
157
“pan-entertainment” atmosphere and is eroding the young people who are responsible for the
national rejuvenation. The consequences are incalculable.
158 159
Mr. Feng is the father of a five-year-old boy. He expressed that he was very worried
that his son would behave in a feminine way in school under the influence of the “Nancy
Boys” stars. Other voices urged society to respect people’s rights to be as feminine or
160
masculine as they choose. “It is important to stay true to your heart,” said a mother of a 4-
year-old boy, adding, “I will give my son all my support as long as he chooses a path he
likes”.
161
Not only are netizens and fans arguing, official media, paper media, and academics
are also participating in this debate. On the one hand, some people think that the “Nancy
Boys” phenomenon is a popular trend catering to cultural consumption. People should be
alerted and reflective of the current male image in literary and artistic works. The Chinese
162
nation must not lose its lofty, majestic, and rational spirit — manliness. Some people use
163
the World Cup football players to ridicule the “Nancy Boys,” praising the collision of
muscles, sweat, and blood among football players. They believe that football is masculine
and more suitable for the country’s development. Those “Nancy Boys” should be driven
out.
164
Ding 2018.
157
Tian and Kang 2019.
158
Ibid.
159
Ding 2018.
160
Ibid.
161
Yuan 2018.
162
Ibid.
163
Shu 2014.
164
35
What is behind this debate or the increasing discrimination, I hypothesize, is precisely
the manifestation of the Chinese identity crisis. The experience of being semi-colonized has
made society respect hegemonic masculinity. If these are traces of group consciousness left
from the period of the Republic of China, then for modern China, the trend of effeminate
males comes from the cultural input of Japan and South Korea to China, especially the
Korean entertainment and aesthetic culture. This has formed the so-called “invasion” of
165
foreign cultures into traditional Chinese culture. Nationalists thus connected “Nancy boys”
with the strength and the fate of China. At the same time, the effeminate trend is also
166
considered to be one of the bad results of western capitalism and consumerism.
167
When the word “Nancy Boys” is frequently used, the phenomenon that some men are
becoming more and more feminine is being demonized. Children’s growth and education
have always been a likely cause of parental anxiety. Some parents, especially some male
parents, because they dislike effeminate males, just see the delicate appearance of some
people and have not thoroughly understood them. They feel that these people cannot be
models and will “poison” their children. These parents seem to be suffering from “deluded
paranoia” and always imagine the impact of the outside world on their children as extremely
serious. Some parents said that personal choices should be respected, but effeminate males
168
can only stay in private space and cannot display their personality publicly, and especially
Tian and Kang 2019.
165
Rou 2018.
166
Yi and Wang 2019.
167
Che 2018.
168
36
they cannot let their children see it, thus affecting their children. This view is a kind of
169
ridiculous. Can those men who love to dress only hide in their small rooms?
170
Some people are more concerned about the niang character of “Nancy Boys.”
Obviously, niang is just a name for women (usually means mother, sometimes referring to
young women, such as Nie Yinniang). How did it become a derogatory term for cursing
people? This is contempt for women. What is even more unreasonable is the sentence that
171
has been repeatedly quoted — shao nian niang ze guo niang 少年娘则国娘 (If the young
males are sissy, the whole country will be sissy and weak). Who stipulates that the country
172
can only be “he,” is the gender female miserable? Some people commented that
173
unreasonable people like to rise to the national level. If people disagree with him, he says
174
you are not patriotic. But it is not convincing to apply such a “high-level” sentence of “If the
young males are sissy, the whole country will be sissy and weak.” How is young people’s
dress is related to national rejuvenation? The original sentence comes from Liang Qichao’s
175
“Speaking of Young China” made in 1900, after the failure of the Reform Movement of
1898. Ironically, this paragraph was just mentioned in the TV drama “Moving Towards the
Republic” (zou xiang gong he, ⾛向共和). Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao put forward
176
reform proposals, but the first objection was that they could not change their costumes. The
reason is that if the clothes are worn incorrectly, it will endanger the mighty, masculine, and
Che 2018.
169
Ibid.
170
DuSir 2018.
171
Ibid.
172
Ibid.
173
DuSir 2018; Rou 2018.
174
DuSir 2018; Rou 2018.
175
Ibid.
176
37
strong nature of our country, and the country will not be a country. In the end, two
177
conclusions were drawn: Qing men’s costumes are very stylish and the costumes cannot be
changed, otherwise, it is forgetting one’s roots. However, you also know the result. The Qing
court was wearing self-proclaimed masculine clothes. What about fighting power? Some
people stated that one person is always entangled in the criticism of others’ dressing to find a
sense of existence. How disempowered and unmanly is this?
178
The star factories in Korean performing arts circles and the models of Japanese idols
have a huge impact on the “Nancy Boys” trend, especially the male and female groups in
Japan and South Korea. Most of the young stars will make their debut with large-scale
179
star-making methods. It has attracted countless fans. Despite the gradual decline of Korean
influence in China recently, the mode of operation of star factories and idols has been widely
used in the production process of domestic “Nancy Boys” stars, especially the effeminate
beauty trend. Earlier Korean waves were evaluated as de-gendered or neutralized. For
180 181
teenagers who are in adolescence, they are full of curiosity in life, and they like challenges.
“Post-millennials” are mostly independent, pursue novelty, love music and dance, especially
the strong rhythm and stage shock performances. The styles of Japanese and Korean
182
entertainment can meet the needs of “post-millennial” teenagers. Some teenagers regard
chasing idols as a very big goal and being worthy of showing off. Some young people are
183
influenced by blind obedience and comparative psychology. To integrate into the trend group,
DuSir 2018
177
Ibid.
178
Tian and Kang 2019.
179
Tian and Kang 2019.
180
Ibid.
181
Ibid.
182
Tian and Kang 2019; Han 2018.
183
38
they start to like idols like other students to declare their fashion status. By pursuing strong
rhythmic music, exaggerated dress, cool dance, they want to gain recognition from peers.
184
The excellent living conditions also provide sufficient financial support for the
“post-95” (born after 1995) and “post-millennial” to chase their idols and to become fans.
185
Most of them are only children. The family meets their requirements as much as possible.
The seemingly crazy behaviors of picking up stars at the airport and following the car are
commonplace for them. The family gives them a lot of space to do what they like. Paying for
the idol and choosing “Nancy Boys” stars as the idols will not incur family opposition.
186
The Korean media noticed that many Chinese netizens pointed the spear of the
“Nancy Boys” wind directly at South Korea. The Korean media stated that thinking that the
idol culture exported by South Korea was the culprit leading to this phenomenon was an
unfair act. South Korea’s “Asian Economy” argued that using Korean language, handsome
187
and pretty boys are called hua mei nan 花美男 (pretty boys like flowers), which sounds more
pleasant than “Nancy Boys.” South Korea is a country with a system of compulsory
188
military service. Every healthy adult male must be enlisted in the military. No matter how
famous the idol is or how popular he is, it is necessary to shave into closely cropped hair to
get training in the army. Many Korean men subconsciously think that they can only be a real
man after returning from the army. Korean media also cited an example that, at the
189
recently concluded Russian World Cup, South Korean goalkeeper Zhao Xianyou was very
Tian and Kang 2019.
184
Ibid.
185
Ibid.
186
Yang 2018.
187
Ibid.
188
Yang 2018; Han 2018.
189
39
eye-catching among a bunch of players because his hair was not messy in the 90-minute
game, and many netizens called him the “beauty master.” But it is such a fair-skinned and
190
thin-body goalkeeper who repeatedly created a slam in the game to save the Korean team.
The media report also discussed ordinary Korean men, saying that whether they are on
campus, in the workplace, or even on the street, most Korean men are neat and clean in
appearance and well-dressed. Many people regard this as basic etiquette, not to please
others. If cleanliness and attention to appearance are also classified as “Nancy Boys,” then
191
most Korean men may have to be given this name.
192
1.8 The rise of women’s power vs. discrimination against women and femininity
In today’s society, the main consumers of entertainment and fashion circles are women. They
have options and dominance that they never had before. They no longer need to passively
accept standards established by males, and they can influence the supply of the market
through their aesthetic standards and emotional needs. Therefore, when some women like a
style that is exquisite in appearance, elegant in taste, and delicate in emotion, the market
creates such fashionable products, entertainment programs, and even male artists. Perhaps
193
we can regard some men’s increasing “feminization” as a trend that some men are constantly
changing to meet women’s aesthetic standards and emotional needs. From this perspective,
these so-called “Nancy Boys” are indeed the male images created by women. When
194
Yang 2018.
190
Ibid.
191
Ibid.
192
Che 2018; Sun 2018.
193
Che 2018.
194
40
women gradually grasp the dominant role of social aesthetics, such temperament can easily
be amplified. This will naturally be seen as a “feminine” trend.
Among them, this kind of discrimination also contains the disintegration of the
traditional Chinese gender order. In ancient times, the tenderization of scholar-officials
195
could be regarded as a kind of obedience to monarchy and patriarchy, Yang argues, and the
gentleness and humility of masculinity revealed the submission to family and state.
196
However, the modern feminine masculinity trend that is gradually popular is affected by
young women, young men, LGBTQ people, and others under the guidance of capital and
consumption. This is a challenge to traditional monarchy and patriarchy, and a challenge to
197
hegemonic gender order. It is also an embodiment of the rise of female power. Not to
198
mention, discrimination against effeminate males itself implies discrimination against women
and femininity. Some people say they don’t understand why niang became a negative
199
word. Doesn't this word mean mother? So what they want to attack are feminine traits. Why
are feminine traits bad? If a woman acts like a man, people will praise her, but when a man is
effeminate, people laugh at him. Do these people subconsciously think that men are superior
to women?
200
The audience of the “Nancy Boys” stars is mostly women, including junior high
school students and college students. Most of these girls like the “Nancy Boys” stars because
of their external appearance — clean, humble, hardworking, and frank, which meets their
Tian and Kang 2019.
195
Yang 2004
196
Che 2018
197
Xin and Shi 2019.
198
DuSir 2018; Liu 2020.
199
Liu 2020.
200
41
expectations for male images. Some women said that they “started to love them for the
201
pretty face, and finally became fans for their inner quality”. In their eyes, these idols were
202
not only handsome and talented; some women said directly that “pretty face value is
everything.” Although the tough guy stars can attract some female fans who need a sense
203
of security, nowadays women are more and more independent, the demand for the sense of
security of the tough-guy image will become weaker and weaker, making the tough guy
image unfavorable. More importantly, contemporary women dare to pursue their rights and
204
are good at expressing their needs, which makes the market begin to pay attention to
women’s demands. The prevalence of “Nancy Boys” stars is the result of women’s
independence. Some people complain that the “political correctness” of feminism has also
205
made many opposition voices rest, because once one criticizes “Nancy Boys,” the person will
be caught in a kind of discrimination against women and become the target of feminist
attacks by stars’ female fans. Director Feng Xiaogang was reported by the media to have
206
bombarded the “Nancy Boys” actors and was quickly overwhelmed by Internet saliva. It can
be seen that even a director who is more powerful than the actors has difficulty escaping
public opinion. Some people think that the “Nancy Boys” stars were praised by others, but no
one dared to scold them. Over time, a public opinion field suitable for the development of the
“Nancy Boys” stars was formed.
207
Tian and Kang 2019.
201
Ibid.
202
Tian and Kang 2019; Xin 2018; Yuan 2018.
203
Ibid.
204
Tian and Kang 2019.
205
Tian and Kang 2019; Yuan 2018.
206
Han 2018; Ye 2018.
207
42
At present, much of the discussion on “Nancy Boys” is centered on the topic of
breaking through the gender image, but we can find that the gorgeous rock stars of the 1960s
made efforts and breakthroughs in gender openness (with long hair, wearing skirts, painting
bright lipstick, acting bisexual, etc.) more than current actors. Nowadays, under the eyes of
208
the public, the popular idols are more of the “flower beautiful men” who are active in the
stage, film, and television shows. The gradual popularity of these pretty boys is not due to the
evolution of the gender image, but by-products of the idol industry’s refined body
consumption. In the beginning, there were only some well-dressed and graceful images of
209
prince charming, which were different from the tough guys who were too untrimmed to meet
another aesthetic need, but still within the traditional male aesthetic framework. For example,
the popular Hong Kong and Taiwan “Custard Boys” from the 1980s to the 1990s, such as the
Little Tigers and Lin Zhiying, were often fashionable and handsome, participating in
passionate singing and dancing performances and idol dramas. During this period, male
210
celebrities began to have a distinction between skilled stars and idols. Among them, the
“idol" is often regarded as having some derogatory meaning and an expression of a lack of
acting or singing skills. Therefore, from the early media reports, it is often seen that certain
211
idols tried to turn to the declaration of having professional skills as if getting rid of “just
having a pretty face.” For example, Gu Tianle (Louis Koo), who appeared in the TV show
212
“The Legend of Condor Heroes” and became popular with his handsome image, quickly got
A 2018.
208
A 2018; Xin and Shi 2019.
209
Ibid.
210
Han 2018.
211
A 2018.
212
43
rid of the label that the media attached to him as a “Custard Boy” and began to broaden his
acting path.
Later, as people’s pursuit of the body increased, young and fit bodies began to
flourish as a carrier of pleasure and self-expression. The closer it is to a perfect image, the
213
more the body has a higher exchange value. Close-ups of the body of male stars are more and
more common in TV series and movies, attracting the audience’s attention and consumption.
Thus, the exquisite beautiful male image was born. People have strict appearance
requirements for beautiful men. As the name implies, they are “flowers” and “beauty”:
flower-like age, delicate facial features, soft, smooth and fresh skin, red lips and white teeth,
and fashionable dressing. These pretty boys’ body should not be overly burly or fat or
bloated, but tall, slender and well-proportioned. The best condition is skinny with clothes on,
yet brawny when nude, as most internet media write.
The long-haired F4 in “Meteor Garden” is a prominent representative of the beautiful
man in the early years. They cut irregular bangs, wore exaggerated fancy shirts, the top
buttons were undone to expose their chests, and they were willing to wear jewelry
(necklaces, rings, etc.). This was a great male aesthetic impact in the social environment at
the time. At one time, countless young men began to imitate this trendy dressing. Later, the
flower boys’ culture gradually progressed and evolved from the stage to TV series. TV
214
series produced in South Korea, where the idol industry is extremely developed, is widely
praised in the East Asian region where the aesthetics are similar. The handsome men with
shapely and long legs constructed in the play have become attractive for many female
A 2018; Yi and Wang 2019.
213
Han 2018; A 2018.
214
44
audiences. Korean idol dramas have almost 360-degree angles for the appearance of male
protagonists: facial features, height, weight, clothing, hairstyles, makeup, and even leg and
armpit hair must be managed and modified, breaking through the expression of traditional
manly masculine stereotypes. By now, male celebrities wearing bodysuits with prominent
215
body lines, eyeliner, and foundations have become one of the popular images, and their facial
features, clothing, and makeup are also getting more and more attention and discussion.
The male body is carefully segmented into organs with no emotion — forehead,
eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, chin, hands, legs, and so on. The media is happy to discuss the
216
various details of the male star’s body: “The media selected TOP10 celebrities who have the
most beautiful eyes”, “Counting the male stars who have the most favorable lips that make
people want to kiss”, “Ten long-legged male stars” and other headlines emerged endlessly.
217
The anatomical approach allows no part of the male body to escape the viewers’ attention.
The topics where a male celebrity is the best at dressing up or where a male celebrity can best
show his body’s strengths also emerge constantly. The objectification of men is happening
now. As a result, the eyeliner of Lu Han and Huang Zitao both became hot spots on the
Internet. Some netizens joked that just as Lu Han could not give up the frontal bangs in the
costume drama, Huang Zitao must live with his eyeliner everywhere.
It can be seen that the transformation of the aesthetic of male stars is accompanied by
the emphasis on the appearance of male bodies and the development of consumption.
218
Under such an atmosphere, people’s desire for body-viewing is becoming stronger and
A 2018.
215
Ibid.
216
Ibid.
217
A 2018; Yi and Wang 2019.
218
45
stronger. In the well-known South Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun”, the scene
starring Song Zhongji topless exercising in the gym became a hot topic on Weibo on the
night of the broadcast, exceeding the plot and becoming the biggest breaking point. It
profoundly demonstrates the pursuit of body aesthetics in the visual age — the body has long
become the focus of eye-chasing.
219
Nowadays, the descriptions of idols and the skilled are outdated, and the handsome
male stars are beginning to be called liu liang xiao sheng 流量⼩⽣ (stars with huge fan
bases and social media data). Although the male stars occasionally claim that good works are
the most important, it is undeniable that in this era of “pretty face first,” maintaining the
image is one of the focuses of their careers. They are passionate about selfies and image
220
management, willing to show their body charm, and even willing to share their skincare
experience. The idol has moved from the original unwillingness to admit to the current
initiative, and actively takes appearance as part of his competitiveness. Male idols have
221
come to the world earlier than most men in society, which women have become accustomed
to: a world where the body is constantly being examined and consumed.
222
But this also means that the current stars must experience the physical anxiety that
many women face daily. Body standards are becoming stricter and stricter, defining what
223
kind of body is beautiful or ugly, thin or fat, and requiring them to be responsible for what
they look like. The result of this flood of idealized hyper-real images is that the difference
between the real body and the fictional body is obliterated, and the management and
A 2018; Yi and Wang 2019.
219
Tian and Kang 2019.
220
Ibid.
221
A 2018; Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
222
Ibid.
223
46
modification of the body are sought after. Male stars have to change themselves through
224
fitness, clothing, cosmetic surgery, etc. The gym has become a common scene in celebrities’
selfies or TV series imaginations. In programs such as “Idol Trainee,” players praise each
other’s makeup. Before the concert, to maintain their figure, many idols only eat chicken
breasts and vegetables. Obesity, cellulite, and hair loss are all seen as signs of “no self-
control and inability to manage one’s body.” Once the male star who fails to maintain his
225
figure appears in the airport photo or street shots, he will be widely ridiculed. In the eyes of
another group of people, this physical anxiety became the evidence of the male stars’ sissy
traits — they still believe that the body under examination belongs only to women.
226
Through an equal body examination, consumption in the male body era seems to have
become one of the keys to the advancement of women’s rights and gender equity. Laura
227
Mulvey, a well-known contemporary feminist film theorist, director, and producer, believes
in her famous thesis, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” that male audiences obtain the
pleasure of gazing at women in two ways. One is to identify male characters in the movie
228
and satisfy the libido best through the gaze of the male characters; the other is to act as an
audience in the cinema and directly project the gaze of desire on the female characters
through the camera. By staring at the female characters in the movie, they become the object
of desire of the male audience. Therefore, for feminism, criticizing the “male gaze” is a
major task, and establishing a gaze back at men is also the focus of resistance. If you can
229
A 2018.
224
Ibid
225
Ibid.
226
Ibid.
227
Mulvey 1999.
228
A 2018.
229
47
reconstruct a way of viewing, it means that you have the right to speak, make your voice
heard, and gain influence and a dominant position.
The rebelliousness and subversiveness of traditions possessed by this kind of viewing
are undeniable, but another obvious fact is that most of the idol dramas and idol worship
produce hegemonic male-female relations and traditional male-female social images.
230
When discussing the pretty and young male stars, the public often vetoes their male identity,
calling them “Nancy Boys” and thinking that their sexual orientation is mostly homosexual
(thinking that dressing is due to orientation or gender identity). But the fact is that these
231
“Nancy Boys” basically perform very clear heterosexuality in idol dramas.
American sociologist R. W. Cornell said in his book Masculinities that compared with
heterosexuality, gay masculinity is advanced and modern. Therefore, in many idol dramas
232
and on the stage, young male stars’ dressing style is quite similar to gay men. Perhaps it is
just a fashion and advanced embodiment, which is used as a supplement to their status.
Although they look beautiful and delicate, they are often set as powerful men in film and
television programs. There are even a lot of film and television dramas that will show the
233
traditional heroic rescue code. In contrast, the heroine is mostly a vulnerable object that
needs care, and needs to be loved in her daily life by the hero, and rescued and helped in the
event of a crisis. It can be seen that many women only appreciate the soft and beautiful men
who look weak. They still hope that the heroes on the screen will show toughness, strength,
and even domineering temperament in personality, which is the same as the men in
A 2018; Han 2018.
230
A 2018.
231
Cornell 1995.
232
A 2018.
233
48
traditional patriarchal society. It does not have a real aesthetic conflict, and the difference is
only in appearance preferences. Women are still the fans of “traditional men”.
234
Of course, other male characters are preferred by women. Nowadays, “non-traditional
masculinity” such as gentle, cute, innocent, and even some shy characters are more and more
common in idols. In the star industry, this type of image creation mainly responds to the
235
emotional needs of fans, complements their real life, eases their anxiety, and projects what
many women hope to see in real life but fail to see. In particular, on the one hand, these
236
idols are in the center of the entertainment circle, but they are still shy teenagers who are pure
and simple and have a blank emotional experience. This type of character with great contrast
on and off stage is called fan cha meng 反差萌 (contrast cuteness), that is, because of such a
contrast in personality and stage performances, it gives people a sense of freshness and wins
more attention and love. Moreover, since the idol’s image is simple, kind, and delicate, it is
237
easy to be hurt and needs protection. This “protection desire” is a big reason why female fans
are willing to pay. One of the most typical ones is the teenage idol group TF boys, whose
238
female fans call themselves “mom fans,” “aunt fans” and “sister fans,” which means to like
and protect the stars as children who are not grown up. Take one of the fans’ online speeches
as an example, “There are always adults attacking them, but they have done nothing wrong.
They are modest, polite, and gentle. I think I should do something, and I start to want to
protect them, so I gradually became a fan.” To protect their idols, fans often spend a lot of
239
A 2018.
234
Tian and Kang 2019.
235
Ibid.
236
A 2018.
237
A 2018.
238
Ibid.
239
49
money. They compete for the number of concert tickets, top posts, movie sales, birthday
celebration gifts, etc. The purpose is to use their power to help the “weak little” idols to
survive in the complex entertainment circle. In the power structure of “fans have the final
decisive rights,” fans feel that they are in charge, and therefore, they are more willing to
pay.
240
Obviously, this “strong-weak” relationship is built on imagination. The influence of
241
fans as a whole on idols may be huge, but their personal power is not worth mentioning. The
idols with rich financial resources are much stronger than the fans, and their public image
also comes from the promotion of the brokerage company. The experience of subverting
242
the status and image of traditional men and women is a dream created by the idol industry.
243
In the industry, SM, South Korea’s largest star-making company, and Japan’s famous
men’s idol company, Jennis, all love to create young male stars with fresh and pure
temperaments. Many of them were shy in their early debut, known for their cuteness. This
244
image can continue until they are middle-aged. In all major idol trainee shows, “brothers”
began to appear one after another, hoping to get generosity from “sisters.” In addition,
although others are far from being called “brothers,” they still have a youthful appearance
and can barely pretend to be a young actor. They also actively begin to show weakness,
hoping to get more fans. “Sisters” are no longer easy to tell who is the boy in the heart — just
as the physical anxiety is brought to men, now this system, cunningly brings another kind of
A 2018; Tian 2018.
240
A 2018.
241
Ibid.
242
Ibid.
243
A 2018; Ye 2018.
244
50
anxiety to the emotional consumption of women. When women found out that the idols
245
were not the same as what was showing on the stage and their dreams were empty, they often
lamented the famous saying that “Chasing the stars with true feelings is to be retaliated
against” that has been circulating on the Internet for a long time. But at the next moment,
246
they were happy to devote themselves to the next true feeling.
The effeminate stars shaped by the idol industry are thriving in such a complicated
environment: the expansion of body consumption and the rise of female sexual desire, the
anxiety of sexual relations in reality, and the obsession with perfect objects. What will
247
happen in the future? No one knows. But it seems that no matter what gender you want to
find comfort, freedom, and equality in, this hugely funded and vague cultural industry is
nothing but delusional.
248
1.9 The male/female binary gender order vs. the disintegration of gender binaries
“Nancy Boys” is a derogatory term used to describe a type of male image found disgusting
by some people. We still need to clearly understand that the images of effeminate males and
“Nancy Boys” are completely different concepts. “Nancy Boys” represent men who are more
active in showing femininity. However, in public opinion circles, who creates the
discriminatory term “Nancy Boys” to attack effeminate males? Why do they hate such
images? Many women respect and support the diversity of male images. However, men are
often more excited and indignant about this topic. They do not understand why there are
249
A 2018.
245
Ibid.
246
Ibid.
247
A 2018; Tian and Kang 2019.
248
Che 2018.
249
51
people who like such “Nancy Boys” and effeminate males, and they express disgust and
criticism of the “feminine” images. In particular, some men who may have lacked getting
women’s favor were particularly fierce. Women’s needs for men are inherently diverse.
250
Although resolute and tough men are liked by some women, today, gentle and delicate men
are more welcomed by women who want more fulfilling emotional experiences. This
251
makes many men feel threatened. Also, the failure to accept male diversity is a manifestation
of defending male power. Men are also victims of patriarchal influence. The patriarchs
252
believe that men should be masculine and rough. If feminine and delicate males appear, they
will feel that the behavioral order and relationship model that they created is being
challenged. What’s more, in the current social environment, such effeminate men are more
253
popular than themselves, and more easily obtain resources and attention. These patriarchal
men must be deeply anxious about this.
People are stating that “Nancy Boys” are different from “Custard Boys” and “Little
Fresh Meat,” the most important of which is the impact of the prevalence of subculture on
mainstream culture. Tian Feng and Kang Jia contend that since ancient times, Chinese
society obeyed the male/female binary gender order. Even in this era of multiculturalism in
254
the 21st century, most people in China still recognize that men are the image of a tough man
shouldering the responsibility of the country. And the education of parents is usually to
255
explain that men who have tears do not flick, and boys cannot wear heavy makeup,
Che 2018.
250
Ibid.
251
Che 2018; Xin and Shi 2019.
252
Ibid.
253
Tian and Kang 2019; Han 2018.
254
Ibid.
255
52
otherwise, they are sissies. The advent of online society has made the subculture loved by
256
young people come into the mainstream, and this in turn has become the target of capital and
market competition. The competition between mainstream culture and subculture will
inevitably appear. Tian thinks that the “Nancy Boys” controversy shows the split between the
rise of youth subculture and mainstream culture.
257
According to statistics from Baidu, as of mid-September 2018, there were a total of
50,100 articles under the heading “Nancy Boys,” which contained a total of 43,126 articles
with masculine, tough, muscle, responsible, strong, manly, etc. ideas, accounting for 86% of
the total. It can be said that most of the netizens and online media who are cruel to “Nancy
258
Boys” take the traditional masculinity as the core of masculinity and as a reference point, as
the media called for: “We must cultivate and promote masculine culture”.
259
For a long time, to ensure that the legitimacy of patriarchy is widely accepted by
society, hegemonic masculinity has been formed, which places men in a dominant and
women in a subordinate position. Cornell once proposed the theory of multiple
260
masculinities and divided masculinity into four types: hegemony, subordination, collusion,
and marginality, which provideds an effective theoretical framework for studying the
masculinity type in a patriarchal society. Zhou Yaohui points out that under the western
261
hegemonic masculinity paradigm of “advocating physical strength and sexual conquest,” the
Chinese male image in the movies emphasizes self-discipline by diluting the characteristics
Tian and Kang 2019; Han 2018; Rou 2018.
256
Tian and Kang 2019.
257
Xin and Shi 2019.
258
Xin and Shi 2019; Xin 2018.
259
Xin and Shi 2019.
260
Connell 1995.
261
53
of masculinity, such as sexual desire, and trying to construct an alternative ideal male
temperament. Some scholars through in-depth analysis of fitness activities and fitness
262
people’s narratives believe that fitness shapes the male body and builds tough and confident
masculinity. In addition, some scholars believe that a culture in which men are superior to
263
women has a gender-constructive influence for those who grow up within it. While men
264
are under pressure and expectation at home, they also gain power that women in the family
do not have. As far as the domestic masculinity theory is concerned, some scholars have
constructed the theory of yin and yang based on traditional Chinese philosophy and cultural
concepts, placing men and women in a set of binary oppositions. From the outside of the
group, yin is female and yang is male. Song Geng pointed out that women are inferior to the
male of yang in the gender relationship because they belong to yin, and yin is just a synonym
for subordination and low status. Because the theory of yin and yang is too fluid, some
265
scholars have developed the theory of wen/wu (cultural attainment/martial valor) on this
basis. Kam Louie believes that wen means superb literary literacy, educated manners, and
high education, etc., and wu has traits such as strong physique, fearless spirit, and superb
fighting skills. And possessing both wen and wu is the most ideal type of Chinese
266
masculinity.
267
Under the influence of patriarchy, keywords such as masculinity, manliness, and
responsibility were extracted from cultural concepts and traditional philosophy and became
Xin and Shi 2019.
262
Ibid.
263
Ibid.
264
Song 2004.
265
Louie 2002, 2014.
266
Ibid.
267
54
the main component of hegemonic masculinity and the label of male characters. The “Nancy
Boys” of the feminine style is incompatible with this. “Nancy Boys” are detrimental to the
268
essence of hegemonic masculinity. When femininity is placed in the male body, it is not only
a provocation to hegemonic masculinity but also a deeper denigration of hegemonic
masculinity over femininity. As Bourdieu points out: “When we want to ban a person’s
269
taste, we are safeguarding the social order of domination.” Because hegemonic
270
masculinity can not stand the feminine temperament embodied in men, they will try their best
to disassociate themselves from “Nancy Boys” to maintain the dominance of men in the
gendered society. At the same time, they men will demonize the “Nancy Boys” and try to get
rid of this feminine temperament from masculinity through insults and ridicule under cyber
tyranny.
271
The emergence of this dispute represents the impact of the development of
multiculturalism and individualism on the traditional gender order in China. The gender order
no longer just included binary male and female. Gender temperament is no longer just male-
masculinity and female-femininity. The ambiguity of gender and gender temperament is an
important manifestation of the rebellion against traditional male power and patriarchy. The
formerly silenced subcultures and sexual minorities also want to speak up, want to express
themselves, and fight for their own living space and rights. Others, especially young people,
also want to show their individuality through different cultural expressions.
Xin and Shi 2019.
268
Xin and Shi 2019; Yi and Wang 2019.
269
Xin and Shi 2019.
270
Ibid.
271
55
Some people commented that the stars shown in the “First Lesson of the School Year”
participated in many activities that were not lacking in masculinity, and they were still
criticized as “Nancy Boys” because of their exquisite appearance. So why does the
272
judgment of masculinity shift from internal to external? Simplifying the standard of judgment
is an effort of traditional male hegemony. Only by stigmatizing any feminine signs can the
273
patriarchy rule be maintained. What they did not see is that the refinement of men around
274
the world has already become an irresistible trend. But this does not mean that men
275
become neutral or even feminine. In a gender-neutral society that may come, what should be
done is not to denounce exquisite boys, but to reiterate the importance of inner masculinity,
or more neutrally, virtue. Male and female temperaments are not very different, so it is not
wrong to call out mascule virtues, such as self-confidence, courage, and firmness when
facing risks, and still admire gentlemanly manners, responsibility, etc.
276
So why are men constantly more and more refined? Ten years ago, the vast majority
of boys thought that male makeup was a ridiculous thing. Now, from the “Little Fresh Meat”
who put on makeup on the TV screen, to a large number of male beauty bloggers appearing
on Weibo and other video sites, and then to the handsome and delicate internet celebrities in
short videos, a completely different kind of trend is emerging — male beauty make-up is
getting more and more attention.
277
Liu 2020.
272
Yi and Wang 2019.
273
Ibid.
274
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
275
Ibid.
276
Yi and Wang 2019.
277
56
Some scholars have argued the reason behind this phenomenon: in a post-modern,
consumer-oriented society, the construction of masculinity no longer focuses only on
production. Consuming the right and appropriate products to have the right appearance has
278
become an important way for a man to prove that he has manliness and masculinity.
279
Attention to appearances, consumption, and other matters that belonged to women in the past
has now become the interest and an important subject of men. Consumption is a necessary
280
means and method for constructing and achieving these new masculinities. From the
perspective of world history, masculinity is the gender consciousness and aesthetic
consciousness of an agricultural society and the emergence of the Cold War era. The machine
industry replaces traditional agriculture, and hot weapons replace cold weapons, which
constitutes the first round of masculinity. Afterward, the productive society gave way to
281
the consumer society, and the body became the battlefield of consumption, rather than the
body wrestling on the battlefield, soldiers killing enemies in modern electronic warfare with
precise guidance only need to tap the keyboard in front of them. The “Nancy Boys” on the
282
level of image and behavior is the result of excess body, which does not have to continue to
be used for physical production or war. From jewelry to bags, to cosmetics, from the western
hemisphere to the eastern hemisphere, under the influence of consumption upgrades, star
effects, and the popular culture of seeking beauty, men around the world have ushered in an
exquisite era. Delicacy is no longer an exclusive term for women.
283
Yi and Wang 2019.
278
Ibid.
279
Ibid.
280
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
281
Yi and Wang 2019.
282
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
283
57
As early as 1994, British journalist Mark Simpson put forward the word metrosexual
in an article published in The Independent newspaper to describe the new urban men. The
284
word is composed of “metropolis” and “sexual” and describes men in the city who care about
appearance and quality of life. According to Simpson’s definition, metrosexuals generally
have the following traits: male, living in a metropolis, advocating fashion and popular
culture, liking to maintain themselves, being young people (25-30), loving food, highly
accepting of new things, being sensitive to popular things, but not blindly following the
crowd, having an aesthetic point of view, continuously learning, regularly purchasing of
fashion magazines; being keen to maintain body and mind, often going to beauty shops, gym
consumption; respecting women, loving life, being lively and cheerful, and having distinctive
personality. The term was subsequently widely used in newspapers, magazines, and other
285
media. Lillian Alzheimer in her article “Metropolis Man: The Future of Men?” points out that
metrosexual is considered to subvert the traditional concept and expectation of men and their
emphasis on appearance and enjoyment of life is reflected in their daily lives. The most
286
important change is that men’s repulsion of women’s traits has gradually decreased, and they
have begun to accept what was previously defined as women’s patents. It can be seen that
287
no matter in the East or the West, the definition of exquisiteness is never a single dimension.
Delicateness should be understood as an attitude towards life. In appearance, exquisite boys
pay attention to image management, have multiple aesthetics, and pursue a high-quality life,
Yi and Wang 2019; Xin and Shi 2019.
284
Ibid.
285
Ibid.
286
Yi and Wang 2019.
287
58
and they also pay attention to the inner. They are inclusive but distinctive, respect women and
sunny, which is also an excellent manifestation of masculinity.
288
Chapter 2
2.1 Introduction
As I showed in the first chapter, many people commented that “Nancy boys” do not fit into
the traditional Chinese gender order of male/female binary opposition. However, it was
China’s difficulties in the nineteenth century when confronting the West that led to a
transformation in traditional views of gender and masculinity. Chinese abandoned many
289
traditional gender thoughts and considered the effeminacy and homoerotic tradition in pre-
modern China as backward and inappropriate for the modern world. The experience of
290
being semi-colonized made society respect hegemonic masculinity. The fear of the
weakening male identity was “underpinned by the internalization of the dominant Western
notion of masculinity as the universal norm.”
291
For people who criticize these “Nancy boys,” they represent the disintegration of the
old gender order and patriarchy. Women, the young, LGBTQ people, and other traditionally
less powerful people now can use their power and make their voices heard. This is a
challenge to traditional patriarchal hierarchy and gender order. It is also an embodiment of
the rising power of female and sexual minorities.
Yi and Wang 2019.
288
Hinsch 2013, 9.
289
Ibid.
290
Song 2004, 9.
291
59
This chapter consists of 5 subheadings, including my main argument of the thesis,
exploring the participants, actors, and forces of the breaking-down process of the old gender
order in China. The five subheadings are as follows:
1. A brief introduction of pre-modern ideas of masculinities in China
2. The effeminacy and the homoerotic tradition in pre-modern China
3. The transformation of Chinese traditional masculinity and the globalization
effects of Westernization
4. The power of women in the 21st century
5. The rise of LGBTQ+ power in the 21st century
2.2 A brief introduction of pre-modern ideas of masculinities in China
Gender discourses are in essence cultural, historical, and ideological.

There is no definitive
292
universal masculine structure because different socio-cultural constructions formulate
different kinds of masculinity. Even in one culture, masculinity is a multifaceted notion.

293 294
In Chinese culture, gender as well as masculinity have had very different meanings
compared with those in modern European/American culture. The Western binaries male/
295
female and heterosexual/homosexual are not largely appropriate when analyzing gender and
masculinity discourses in pre-modern China.

Generally speaking, the West tends to use a
296
series of fixed binary oppositions in social and sexual relations and identities. Among these
oppositions, male/female is of great significance, fundamental, immutable, and
Song 2004, 1.
292
Louie 2002, 2. See also Gilmore 1990 for more explanations of no fixed and universal masculine model.
293
Song 2004, 5.
294
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002; Louie 2002; Song 2004.
295
Ibid.
296
60
hierarchical. Thus, for Western gender ideology, Geng Song concludes that “Masculinity is
297
defined by the repudiation of femininity. The fear of being feminine and the fear of being
homosexual are the central constituents of the modern notion of masculinity in the West.”
298
However, pre-modern China features the absence of male/female and heterosexual/
homosexual dichotomies. In the Confucian classics and official historiographies, there are
mostly ungendered figures; in popular dramas and fiction, the macho heroes are
desexualized. Gender and sexual differences in pre-modern China apply the correlative
299
yin/yang 阴/ 阳 binary — “the more yang essence the more masculine, and the more yin
essence the more feminine.” The yin/yang theory is by no means merely a male/female
300
binary, since its implications are much wider and varied. The two forces depend on each
other to be complete and emphasize their dialectical, interchangeable, interdependent, and
dynamic relationships. Each person is both yin and yang, and the man/woman identity
301
suggests which of the two forces accounts for the most. Confucianism, especially under
302
Dong Zhongshu in the Han dynasty, revised the harmonious, balanced, and relatively flexible
yin/yang into a hierarchy in which yang is in the dominant position and yin is submissive.
303
Therefore, yin and yang refer to different power hierarchies, demonstrating fluid relations
within power and political interactions. In short, “gender discourse was more power-based
than sex-based in pre-modern China.” The yin/yang shows up in complementary and
304
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002, 26; Song 2004, 127.
297
Song 2004, 127.
298
Song 2004, 12.
299
Louie 2014, 22.
300
Song 2004, 129.
301
Ibid.
302
Song 2004, 129-131.
303
Song 2004, 12-13.
304
61
hierarchical relationships, not just between males and females. For example, when facing
their superiors that were in the yang position, Chinese scholars or officials would put
themselves in the yin position, even though they were all males, just like wives in front of
their husbands.
305
Besides the classic yin/yang philosophy, Kam Louie puts forward the dyad wen-wu
⽂- 武 (cultural attainment-martial valor) to theorize Chinese masculinity. Unlike the
306
typical Western concepts of maleness, which were mostly macho men with strong physical
strength, traditional China had both macho heroes and cerebral men as male masculine
models. What is more, the softer and cerebral males, such as caizi 才⼦ (the talented
307
scholar) and wenren ⽂⼈ (the cultured man), were dominant rather than macho heroes.
308
The wen-wu dyad, excluding women, is only applicable to men in pre-modern China, which
could offer a perspective to analyze Chinese masculinity within the political, public, and
hierarchical male realm. In addition, this paradigm can explain “wen’s primacy over wu”
309
exclusively among males even though any man was supposed to possess both attributes. In
Confucianism, wen is always superior to wu. In the wen-wu dichotomy, wen often
310
represented more elite masculinity while wu referred to non-elite masculinity. This wen-wu
311
dyad can be a great supplement to grasp Chinese masculinity, however, it cannot replace the
classic yin/yang construct because of its limited application. The wen-wu binary is incapable
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002, 26; Song 2004, 131; Yang, 2004.
305
Louie 2002, 2014.
306
Louie 2002, 8-9.
307
Ibid.
308
Louie 2002, 14-19.
309
Ibid.
310
Ibid.
311
62
of explaining various types of masculinity in the representations of love and sexuality, and
312
it neglects the dynamic and interchangeable relations in the yin/yang theory. For example, the
aforementioned case that Chinese scholar-officials put themselves in the yin position in front
of their superiors can only be explained using the yin/yang model. Furthermore, it is not
enough for the wen-wu dyad to probe into the homoerotic tradition in pre-modern China.
313
The yin/yang, wen-wu binaries give a better understanding of the effeminacy in
Chinese literature and culture, which help us grasp Chinese traditional masculinity that is
away from the Western modern male/female and heterosexual/homosexual dichotomies. As
for the effeminacy and male-male intimate relations in pre-modern China, I will explore them
below to see the transformation of gender and masculinity discourses from imperial China to
modern China and the effects of the West on modern China.
2.3 The effeminacy and the homoerotic tradition in pre-modern China
With the development of homosexuality studies and the improvement of the living
environment, many homosexual studies in China have begun to “find roots,” dig out the
homosexual phenomenon in traditional Chinese society from historical documents, and
search for historical and cultural origins of the legality of homosexual identity. In this
process, some scholars believe that traditional Chinese society and culture hold a “tolerant”
attitude towards homosexuality. For example, Li Yinhe believes that homosexuals did not
face severe persecution and extreme hatred in China, but did face neglect and contempt in
Song 2004, 14-16. See Song 2004 for more explanations on the limitations of the wen-wu dyad and the
312
advantages of the yin/yang theory.
Ibid.
313
63
mainstream society. In her view, the gentle attitude of homosexuality in traditional Chinese
314
society has historical and cultural reasons, such as the secular mentality and national
character of the Chinese, and the cultural factors that emphasize fertility, so that people
would not persecute homosexuals, as long as they had children. Zhang Zaizhou pointed out
that ancient China generally held a “neutral attitude” towards homosexuality, and this attitude
has a certain degree of social and cultural stability and continuity, and no significant changes
have occurred in the past thousands of years. Nan feng 男风 (the male fashion) existed in
315
pre-modern Chinese society in an “ambiguous state.” As long as a man could marry his wife
and have children, his private life would not be subjected to moral censure. However,
316
because the traditional agricultural society emphasized the stability of the family order and
the unity of values, and homosexuality is a destructive factor, society would not treat
homosexuality with support. In the history of law, the traditional Chinese society only had
laws punishing sodomy (anal sex between men without compulsion) during the Qing
Dynasty, and such laws were abolished at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In ancient China,
317
allusions to same-sex eroticism such as fen tao 分桃, duan xiu 断袖, mi zi 弥⼦, qi yu 泣鱼,
long yang 龙阳, and lou zhu ai lu 娄猪艾瞫 were widely circulated, and the literati’s account
of the phenomenon of the male fashion did not resemble Western society’s religious
condemnation. Even where there was mockery of the male fashion, it was not based on
318
religious arguments similar to Western society. Pan Suiming, from the perspective of
319
Li 1998.
314
Zhang 2001.
315
Ibid.
316
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002, 67.
317
Zhang 2001.
318
Hinsch 2013.
319
64
constructionism, believed that ancient China never regarded sex as a biological instinct, that
pure sex did not exist, and that sex was only explained by social construction and cultural
interpretation. Homosexuality is not severely punished because it is interpreted as a variant
320
form of an intermingling of yin and yang, that is, “using men as women.” Because the yin
321
and yang philosophy recognizes its subjective possibilities, society tolerated same-sex
relations.
It is worth noting that the above explanations are all from male perspectives, and the
discussion is mainly about the phenomenon of gay men. In traditional society, the three
macro structures of the family system, imperial examination system, and male residence
(such as doing business, traveling, etc.) were the main channels of social mobility in the late
period of the Chinese empire. Social and life circles were mainly among men. Gay men
322
were tolerated or even accepted — at least among the elite, as long as such behavior did not
affect reproductive obligations. In the Qing Dynasty, tolerance of male and female
323
prostitution shows an overall laissez-faire attitude towards male sexuality. The law
324
defaulted that men could purchase sexual services from women or men. Although the
combination of Neo-Confucianism and Manchu strict moralism in the late Qing Dynasty
increased opposition to homosexuality, these oppositions were limited to marriage-related
sexual behavior, not a condemnation of homosexuality itself. In addition, although still
325
bound by patriarchy and fertility missions, a basic fact is that in pre-modern Chinese society,
Pan 2006.
320
Ibid.
321
Mann 2000.
322
Li 1998; Zhang 2001.
323
Hinsch 2013; Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002.
324
Ruskola 1994.
325
65
lesbians were not strictly regulated, let alone regarded as pathological and criminalized. In
326
the archives of the late Chinese empire, including medical papers, and legal provisions, there
is no discussion of love and desire between lesbians. When researching the “illegal sex” and
related cases in the judicial system of the Qing Dynasty, Sommer found that in any legal
provisions of the Qing Dynasty or earlier, lesbian behavior was not involved at all. Needless
to say it was not forbidden. Basically, female eroticism is regarded as an immoral gray
327
area without talking about it, and it was not demonized as a sin. The emotional and physical
intimacy of women is not the object of moral admonition. Confucian precepts about women’s
morality are mainly aimed at sex, adultery, incest, etc and a common premise of these
disciplinary actions is promiscuity involving men. In other words, the main body that breaks
the law is male, and women are only secondary participants, which does not even have legal
qualifications in this respect. Similarly, traditional legal provisions do not criminalize
328
women’s same-sex behavior. There is little or no recognition of the social and psychological
facts of lesbians desire. The absence of women’s eroticism in traditional Chinese moral and
legal provisions shows that it did not constitute a major source of male anxiety.
329
Chinese culture neither supports nor accepts homosexuality, and the family-kinship
system and the pressure on the marriage of men and women set a limit for homosexual
practice in imperial Chinese society. People may gossip, but they rarely took practical action
against homosexuality. Homosexuality was not considered evil or sinful. The common
attacks on gays (gay bashing) common in European and American countries did not exist in
Ruskola 1994; Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002.
326
Sommer 2000.
327
Ruskola 1994; Sommer 2000.
328
Sommer 2000; Pan 2006.
329
66
imperial Chinese society. Therefore, the word homophobia in the Western sense may
330
appear to be over-explained in the context of China’s reality — it seems that Chinese culture
opposed homosexuality because it was a sin or perverted; or it seems to be under-explained
— it seems that the Chinese understand homosexuality as a generic or essential type. In both
senses, homophobia does not capture the uniqueness of Chinese cultural attitudes. When
interpreting homosexuality, one should first understand “sex” from the perspective of
sociality.
331
In general, before the introduction of European sexology, Chinese society’s attitude
towards indigenous homosexual concepts (the male fashion) was neutral. Traditional Chinese
society and culture neither completely denied the value judgment of homosexuality, nor
regarded it as a perversion or reversal of sexual desire, nor did they compare it with disease
and require correction or criminalization. The repression of the state and society was because
they cannot lead to legal childbirth in marriage. The objection to homosexuality was not to
treat it as a special, well-defined category and identity, but to be disciplined, punished, and
regulated by including it with all illegal sex.
332
From the rhetorical stereotype to use allusions of handsome men such as Song Yu and
Pan An, these images of male beauty originally were interpreted in the homoerotic discourse.
However, because the homosexual/heterosexual binary nearly did not exist in pre-modern
Chinese society and culture, male same-sex desire and tradition had a great influence on the
configuration of male beauty in heterosexual discourse. Song Geng illustrates the social
333
Louie 2002; Zhou 2003.
330
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002; Pan 2006.
331
Ibid.
332
Song 2004, 140.
333
67
norms of effeminacy and androgyny in the shi ⼠ (scholars and officials) by using the
discourse of caizi 才⼦ (talented and handsome). He uses the character of Student Zhang in
the famous play The Western Wing to clarify the fragility of scholars. Student Zhang is
delicate and frail, and easily gets sick from emotional frustrations. Song Geng contends
334
that “he is by no means masculine in terms of the contemporary Western dominant discourse
on masculinity.” Pre-modern Chinese aesthetics of the male body are characterized by the
335
“rosy lips, sparkling white teeth, jasper-like face” ( 唇红齿⽩，⾯如冠⽟), and male beauty
that is often said to resemble a beautiful woman.
336
2.4 The transformation of Chinese traditional masculinity and the globalization
effects of Westernization
Although the homosexual sex act has existed for a long time, the label of “homosexuality”
has not had a long history. In 1869, the Hungarian writer Karl-Maria Kertbeny first used the
term homosexual to express homosexuality. Since then, homosexual/homosexuality began to
spread in Europe through the work of psychiatrists and sexologists. At the end of the
nineteenth century, Western sex science became “an expert discourse, a classic of new
knowledge, and a provider of the truth of our bodies.” Its appearance was no less than the
337
discovery of another “natural law.” As an enlightenment plan applied to the interpretation
338
of the body, it not only reshaped the original sexual relationship but also invented a
Song 2004, 43-60.
334
Song 2004, 60.
335
Huang 2006, 135; Song 2004, 126.
336
Wang 2011.
337
Wang 2011.
338
68
taxonomy that produced new norms and truth. It classified gay men as other groups, thus
artificially constructing a new binary classification system. It is this heterosexuality/
homosexuality dualism that dominated the ideology of sexology in the 20th century and has
been affecting today’s Eastern and Western world.
339
Gay discourse is an important part of Chinese modernity discourse. In the process of
modernization, the introduction of Western systematic sexual knowledge or sex science has
become a catalyst for the new meaning of sex. The emergence of homosexual discourse in
340
China in the early 20th century was the result of this western sex science participating in the
process of knowledge construction and reconstruction of Chinese modernity. Throughout
341
the 20th century, sex in China was a cultural product of unequal dialogue with Western
powers. In the early period of the Republic of China, the homosexual desire began to be
342
called tong xing ai 同性爱 (homosexual love) and tong xing lian 同性恋 (homosexuality).
This title was not a continuation and invention of traditional Chinese culture, nor was it
homosexuality in European sexology from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of
the 20th century. It is generally believed that the term of tong xing lian is translated from
343
Japanese. In traditional Chinese society and culture, there is no such term for same-sex
sexual behavior that can be used for both men and women. People usually called gay men fen
tao 分桃, duan xiu 断袖, long yang 龙阳, han lu 旱路, tu zi 兔⼦ and so on, and use the
terms mo jing 磨镜, dui shi 对⾷ and so on to covertly refer to lesbian. With the translation
344
Wang 2011; Hird and Song, 2013; Kong 2010.
339
Sang 2003.
340
Ibid.
341
Rofel 2007, 95.
342
Wang 2011.
343
Pan 2006; Zhang 2001.
344
69
and introduction of Western sexology, the Chinese character xing 性 was also given new
meanings. Before this, xing 性 had no meaning of sex. In Confucianism, the original meaning
of xing 性 was human nature. For example, “the desire for food and sex is a part of human
nature” ( ⾷⾊，性也) in the Mencius. And in the phrase “People by birth all have good
human nature. By nature they are similar, but in their actions, they become far apart.” ( ⼈之
初，性本善；性相近，习相远) in Three Character Classic, xing 性 means “human
nature.” It was not until the 1920s that the modern usage of xing 性 had the dual meanings
345
of gender and sexuality in English, making it similar to sex in English. At this time, a large
346
number of European sexologists and their works were introduced into China, including
Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis, Ivan Bloch, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Freud, and
Edward Carpenter, etc. Influenced by these Western medical authorities and sexologists’
thoughts, the pathological terms of homosexuality such as sexual inversion and sexual
perversion also began to be introduced into China and were widely adopted by public
intellectuals at that time.
347
The change of homosexuality in Chinese society under the guidance of Western sex
science has a social and cultural foundation. In pre-modern society, there was no consensus
on the sex between men, nor was it generally accepted or even respected. In addition to the
near-commendatory names such as fen tao 分桃 and long yang 龙阳, there were also neutral
titles such as duan xiu 断袖 and han lu 旱路. Also, there are tu zi 兔⼦, pi jing 屁精, and
Wang 2011.
345
Sang 2003.
346
Wang 2011.
347
70
other derogatory references. At the same time, there is also a negative understanding of
348
this male fashion in history and society (for example, it was once regarded as a bad omen for
the dynasty, that is, nan chong luan zheng 男宠乱政 “the emperor favored a certain man
resulting in the detriment of the court). It is these domestic views that have become the
349
basis for Chinese culture to accept modern Western homosexual thoughts, and they are
combined with the Western pathological definition of homosexuality, which is used to
explain the morbidity of the nation, and to condemn gay men for causing political turmoil
and national disaster. Western sexology turns homosexuality into social deviancy, which
350
reduces it to an individual psychological problem. In China, sexology, as a form of modern
knowledge, regards homosexuality as a social and ethical issue. The pathology of
351
homosexuality in China is also related to a deep structure in Chinese culture. The structure of
“somatizing and consociation” in Chinese personality traits makes Chinese culture lack
psychological symbolic medium, which is not comparable to over-psychological
contemporary American culture, or even to India or Japan. For Westerners, it is a personal or
emotional problem, but it is transformed by the Chinese into a physical disease or
externalized into an interpersonal, moral problem.
352
In the 1930s and 1940s, with the deepening of the national crisis, the Sino-Japanese
War, and the civil war and other factors, the development of homosexual thoughts in China
finally cut off the systematic introduction of Western sex science since the early 20th
Pan 2006; Zhang 2001.
348
Ibid.
349
Wang 2011.
350
Kang 2009.
351
Sun 1991.
352
71
century. After 1949, gay discourse almost completely disappeared and retreated from the
353
public domain. In addition to making general assumptions about sex, reproduction, and
354
heterosexuality, marginal traits were excluded from public attention, and they were
constructed as signs of biological perversion, disease, or moral degradation. The inherent
355
characteristics determined by “nature” became the only acceptable form of expression. It
belonged to the heterosexual monogamy boundary. Any violation of this boundary would
lead to disease, fertility disorders, and family disorders. After the 1950s, with the
strengthening of centralization, all media, publishing, and educational institutions from the
central to the local level were controlled. The official discourse reflected the systematic
356
deployment of state power through medical, judicial, and educational means. In this process,
medicine gradually established itself as the main producer and promoter of official
discourse. Until the late 1980s, after the reform and opening up, medical thoughts about
357
homosexual pathology in the PRC that had long been outdated in the West gradually emerged
in the public domain. These stale ideas have even influenced some Chinese people to this
day. Because of this, especially before homosexuality was deemed non-pathological in
358
2001, the treatment of homosexuality can be described as varied. After entering the 21st
century, with the intensification of globalization, the survival status and social situation of
Chinese homosexuals began to be closely related to the fate of Western gays.
359
Wang 2011; Kang 2009.
353
Kang 2009; Pan 2006.
354
Ibid.
355
Wang 2011.
356
Ibid.
357
Ibid.
358
Wang 2011; Kong 2010.
359
72
With the introduction of heterosexuality/homosexuality dualism from the West,
masculinity/femininity binary opposition also had a great influence on Chinese masculinity
discourse. Also, the transformation of masculinity from traditional norms was interwoven
with Westernization and modernization of China. Louie states that modern China believed
360
that modernity requires “the scientific man, one who is able in body and mind.” What’s
361
more, Chinese early modernizers promoted a kind of manhood with “more robustness and
physicality among men,” which is a huge shift from pre-modern Chinese masculinity that
stresses both wen and wu or even wen over wu. Liang Qichao’s famous line “shao nian
362
qiang ze guo qiang” 少年强则国强 (if the young males are strong, the whole country will be
strong) was changed into “shao nian niang ze guo niang” 少年娘则国娘 (if the young males
are sissy, the whole country will be sissy and weak) by the public to humiliate “Nancy Boys”
in the debate. Scholars think that nationalism is one of masculine representation with strong
political expression, and China also follows this idea. The emphasis on male strength with
363
a strong enthusiasm for sports and physical fitness continues to exist in the twentieth century,
and strong male bodies are still related to nationalism. In addition, femininity and
364
effeminacy are related to the decay of the nation. In the Cultural Revolution, “both feminism
and femininity were rejected,” manhood with strong physical strength was praised at that
time. And for the netizens who oppose “Nancy Boys” in the current debate, they were
365
Louie 2014, 21.
360
Ibid.
361
Louie 2002, 2014.
362
Hinsch 2013.
363
Hinsch 2013; Evans and Strauss 2010; Hird and Song 2013.
364
Brownell and Wasserstrom 2002.
365
73
hugely influenced by Maoist manhood and considered manhood in terms of traditional and
orthodox Chinese masculinity.
2.5 The power of women in the 21st century
Unlike the nü han zi ⼥汉⼦ (women like men) who describes women’s independence and
strong strength, the term “Nancy Boys” itself has a strong derogatory meaning to describe
men who have soft and delicate appearance and effeminate beauty, which is both an insult to
them and a denial of female power. The obscurity and dwarfing of female images even
366
contain certain gender discrimination. However, many people in the current society,
including some women, do not have a sufficiently clear sense of gender equality. Their
367
evaluation of “Nancy Boys” is based on their inner sense of psychological superiority.
This lack of gender equality awareness is related to China’s historical social structure
on the one hand. The social power structure with men as the main body strengthens the men’s
strong physique and sense of control and oppressive power, while women have always been
in a weak position, so their image often has the meaning of obedience and self-dwarfing.
368
This concept has been deeply ingrained in society. Even in a civilized and open society, the
phenomenon of sexism has not completely disappeared. On the other hand, the construction
of social culture has exacerbated the differentiation and confrontation of the gender
temperament of men and women. In the concept of gender that people receive from an
369
early age, men tend to be strong and courageous, while women are gentle and docile. This
dualistic gender education will define the characteristics of men and women in the future.
DuSir 2018; Louie 2012.
366
Liu 2019a.
367
Edwards and Zhou 2011.
368
Lo 2010.
369
74
Before young people fully possess independent self-awareness and aesthetics, traditional
social concepts have shaped them earlier, but as Che describes, the excessive respect and
unity of traditional gender concepts is an obliteration of personality and an injustice to
children.
370
Looking further, the discussion of sexism and male and female rights may only be
one of the reasons for this dispute within public opinion. On the one hand, the crusade
against the “Nancy Boys” aesthetic stems from some people’s dissatisfaction with the
female-led consumer culture and entertainment star-making mechanism. On the other hand,
in today’s increasingly diverse social and cultural environment, traditional conservative
values and pluralistic and open values are bound to have a strong collision: the former is
eager to maintain traditional rules and return to the old moral path, while the latter
emphasizes the individual’s independent consciousness, inclusive development, and
advocates the pursuit of freedom. The conflict between two different concepts also
371
promoted this aesthetic dispute to a certain extent.
In fact, any type of aesthetic domination often reflects social problems under certain
structural imbalances: it may be the singleness and inferiority of the aesthetic culture, may be
the closure and imprisonment of the public opinion field, and there may even be spiritual and
social bullying of people in the category of marginal aesthetics. But regardless of whether
372
he is a “Nancy Boy” or a masculine tough guy, a social environment with both civilized
Che 2018.
370
Fitzsimmons and Lent 2013.
371
Li 1998.
372
75
literacy and cognition does not require stereotyped aesthetics, nor will it criticize individuals
for their subjective choices in appearance.
As modern nation-state concepts of governance penetrate more and more into daily
life, in peacetime, gender and personal anxiety also spread. Patriarchy enters the public
affairs of the nation-state dominantly and solidifies the rules of gender. At the micro-level,
373
males become intermediaries of patriarchal codes, causing feminists to talk about the lack of
male empathy under a patriarchal structure. Because showing weakness and understanding
374
are both heterogeneous feminine traits, they are to be eliminated. But not every man can meet
this standard. This generates modern anxiety.
Another notable global phenomenon is the rise of the feminist movement and
heterosexual dominance being challenged, and the legitimacy of men’s dominance over
women is weakening. Urbanization, automation, and post-industrialization are gradually
dispelling the masculinity of the past, and the men begin to sit in the office without intensive
physical labor. Patriarchal structures have vent holes for men. The new masculinity that this
situation inevitably spits out is more neutral, less aggressive, and more feminine. However,
the popularity of this temperament still benefits from the reverse construction of
consumerism. Its consumers naturally benefit from the urbanization of young women.
375 376
They consume the “Little Fresh Meat” from the popular culture industry as the main body
and seek divergence from the hegemonic heterosexual model, to find a less oppressive, more
moderate equality.
377
Boretz 2011.
373
Boretz 2011; Evans and Strauss 2010.
374
Fitzsimmons and Lent 2013.
375
Ibid.
376
Tian and Kang 2019.
377
76
With the advent of the mobile Internet era, everyone has become a self-media. On
social networks, any individual may have a certain number of fans, and the decentralization
of discourse will bring about the development of deconstruction. Rebellion against
authoritarian values is now mainstream, and feminism, as one of its important branches, has
also gained tremendous development in this era. In addition to the fact that each self-media
378
can have a certain number of fans, the mobile Internet also provides these fans with a
stronger bond than ever before. On a social networking platform, a voice can always
379
quickly find similar people who have the same ideas as themselves and form a group that
emits the same voice in the online world. With this development, the right to speak is thus
formed. This breaks the situation where the right to speak is controlled by men in the past,
and women can speak freely and are no longer under the control of men. On the mobile
380
Internet client, women can make their voices heard anytime, anywhere, and women’s right to
speak rises rapidly.
At the same time as the rise of women’s right to speak, people also quickly felt the
rise of a new value, such as a buzzword that is particularly hot recently — zhi nan ai 直男癌
(straight male cancer). The term “straight male cancer” stems from a netizen’s scorn or
381
ridicule of masculine men. Most of them are heterosexual, and according to their standards,
women in society are required to suppress their needs and ideas and follow their rules. Only
women who meet their requirements can become standard women. According to the remarks
such as “Girls don’t have to have too much ability, just marry well,” “Women should be
Liu 2020.
378
Engebretsen 2014.
379
Liu 2019b.
380
Che 2018.
381
77
married, teach children, and should not go to work,” “Women should be decent, not wearing
clothing that is too exposed” and so on. Straight men refer to men who only like women
382
under any circumstances, and refer to the majority of men in the society. Women refer to the
traditional values represented by “straight male cancer” as a disease, which is incurable,
showing how strongly women reject male power, even hate and curse it. “Straight male
383
cancer” reflects a new concept of a group, that is, this society can no longer treat women as it
did traditionally. Faced with the various demands imposed on women by male power, women
have long been dissatisfied and fought against them. “Straight male cancer” is just one of the
expressions of this new concept.
“Little Fresh Meat” refers to young men with outstanding looks. Although the term
appeared later than “straight male cancer,” its usage rate does not lost out to the former at all,
and it is even more popular. Obviously, the people who use the word most are women. “Little
Fresh Meat” is what women call their favorite male stars and celebrities. Women once
sharply criticized men for materializing women, but the male-beauty consumption
represented by the term “Little Fresh Meat” is for women materializing men. For example,
384
the current star-making factories will make young male stars according to a type favored by
women, tall, thin, and with fair skin. Now all the male idol groups in Korea are handsome
little boys who debuted at the age of seventeen or eighteen. This is the typical standard of
male beauty led by women.
Che 2018, Liu 2020.
382
Ibid.
383
A 2018.
384
78
In the final analysis, people have emotions and desires, and they all have their
aesthetic orientations. Whether you are a man or a woman, to attract others, or to show
yourself, anyone will want to show others their good sides and want to leave a good
impression on others. Then a subject will actively reveal in front of others what he thinks that
person will like or appreciate, and shows what he thinks other people will like. This is not all
required, and it is voluntary, that is, self-materialization. This point should also be
385
irrelevant to the gender of men and women because the rise of male beauty consumption now
shows that men are also materializing themselves. Another important reason is determined by
the relationship between supply and demand. If a product’s main target group is men, then
386
it will inevitably cater to the needs of men. Conversely, if the target group is women, then it
will certainly please women’s needs. A typical example of Western Hollywood is the James
Bond film series, where James Bond is surrounded by beautiful women, each of which has an
angel face and a devil figure, while in the female-oriented target group such as the domestic
TV series “Scarlet Heart,” all the handsome guys, one by one, either become a good friend
with the heroine or at least like her. This is especially obvious in the Korean remake.
2.6 The rise of LGBTQ+ power in the 21st century
Since the late 1990s, under the trend of “queer globalization,” Chinese homosexuality has
changed from disease, perversion, and “politically incorrect sexual relations” to non-
pathological and non-criminal subjects and interpersonal relationships. As a consequence
387
Yi and Wang 2019; Fitzsimmons and Lent 2013.
385
Ibid.
386
Wang 2011; Hird and Song 2013.
387
79
of modernity, Chinese homosexual discourse experienced a process of evolution from
tolerance to restraint to tolerance again in the 21st century. However, the current homosexual
narrative has a discourse monopoly phenomenon, and the subject’s autonomous discourse,
knowledge, and voice are suppressed by the grand narrative, which is not only from the
heterosexual society but also from the gay community itself.
388
2009 was once referred to by the media as the “Year of Gay China.” China Daily
389
reviewed the major events and activities related to homosexuality that were planned and
participated in by the LGBT community in this year with a full-page story and a large
number of pictures. This included the magnificent gay wedding photography in Beijing’s
Qianmen Street, the “Beijing Queer Film Festival,” which brought together people from the
Taiwan Strait to the gay “Pride Week” in Shanghai, the second gay and relatives association
in Guangzhou, the China Queer Video Tour Exhibitions, and the World Outgames Gay
Games in Copenhagen. At the beginning of the new century, the existence and identity of
390
the gay community in China seemed to be completely new. They independently carried out
community training, established gay groups around the country, cooperated with the
government in the prevention of AIDS, and presented in the public domain various positive
gestures.
391
Since the late 1990s, some changes have taken place in the legal status, medical
classification, and survival status of homosexuals in China. At the national level, the 1997
criminal law revision canceled the crime of hooliganism, which was originally quite random
Wang 2011; Hird and Song 2013.
388
Wang 2011.
389
Wang 2011.
390
Kong 2011.
391
80
in actual execution. From then on, the crime of hooliganism that used to punish homosexuals
as a legal basis no longer existed in Chinese criminal law. This was the decriminalization of
homosexuality in China. In April 2001, the “Chinese Psychiatric Classification and
Diagnostic Criteria (Third Edition)” (CCMD-3) published by the Chinese Psychiatric
Association removed homosexuality from the classification of psychiatric diseases, which is
generally regarded as a sign of non-pathological homosexuality in China. The public’s
392
awareness of this phenomenon has also increased significantly. In academia, different
disciplines have conducted useful explorations and research on homosexual issues from their
respective perspectives and positions.
At the same time, in the general trend of “global queering,” activists in the Chinese
gay community have broken through the boundaries of territories, and communication with
sexual minorities at home and abroad has become more frequent. The gay community
provides homosexuals with cultural support for identity, and people of insight in the
community have begun a “self-narrative of existence,” that is, by themselves conducting
various academic research on the LGBT community to reduce social prejudice and stigma in
mainstream society and gain more social recognition and visibility. The gay community
393
began to consciously appeal for its legitimacy. This phenomenon was also observed by
overseas scholars who focused on Chinese studies. The American anthropologist Lisa Rofel,
who had conducted a field survey of the gay community in Beijing, wrote: “In the
mid-1990s, a large number of people in China’s metropolises identified themselves as
homosexuals. The semi-public space became very eye-catching as the number of
Wang 2011.
392
Ibid.
393
81
homosexuals surged. Many gay bars, weekend cultural salons, gay hotlines, books, and video
materials from overseas, various conferences, and more formal parties have also emerged. At
the same time, some gay people communicate with other gay people around the world
through the Internet. The emergence of this gay scene is transnational. In the big cities of
China, especially Beijing and Shanghai, gay and lesbian people from all corners of the world
live here.”
394
The phenomenon of gay attacks that is more obvious in Western society is relatively
rare in Chinese society, and ordinary people suffer fewer insults related to sexual
orientation. Because of this relative invisibility, they have obtained some freedom and
395
protection. But prejudice in Chinese society still exists, and many people regard
homosexuality as unjustified and offensive. Article 2 of the “Interim Provisions on the
Determination of Obscene and Pornographic Publications” of the State Press and Publication
Administration clearly states: “specifically describe obscenely sexual acts of homosexuality
or other sexual perverts, or specifically describe the acts of violence, abuse, and insult related
to sexual perversion are obscene publications.” Under this rule, it is very difficult to
396
publish and display many literary, film, television, and other artworks involving gay people.
More importantly, China’s speech review is not carried out under any legal framework, and
the prohibition of related expressions is not based on the law. There is no way to file a
lawsuit, so the content of the prohibition of expression is often more extensive than the legal
provisions suggest. In addition, many people are skeptical about the decriminalization of
397
Rofel 2007.
394
Evans and Strauss 2010.
395
Wang 2011.
396
Wang 2011; Kam 2013.
397
82
homosexuality in China. Some scholars believe that the new Criminal Law of 1997
disaggregates the crime of hooliganism into several crimes, among which the legislature has
no intention of rectifying homosexuality. China’s decriminalization of homosexuality is
398
the result of homosexuals borrowing some symbols of the West to escape rogue
stigmatization. This is a strategy that uses strong discourse to justify gay rights. But this
strategy may cover up the fact that China is not sensitive to sin and the non-crime of
homosexual sex.
399
After the recent “Nancy Boys” dispute, the National Academy of Social Sciences,
Xinhua News Agency, and other state-level academic institutions and media have frequently
called for “tough guys,” which reveals the situation of the increasingly conservative and
tightening restrictions on LGBT issues in the Chinese mainland. The Chinese government
400
has always maintained a “no support, no opposition, no advocacy” attitude towards the
LGBT community, allowing members of the LGBT community a certain space to speak for
themselves. For example, it was founded in 1999 as a “community of the way” forum for
401
gay groups. Over the next 18 years, a total of 730,000 posts and 21.1 million replies have
been accumulated, witnessing the Chinese gay community gradually stepping onto the
ground.
402
However, in the past five years, the authorities have restricted this group more and
more. In June 2017, the officially recognized China Internet Audiovisual Program Service
Association formulated the “General Principles for the Auditing of Internet Audiovisual
Wang 2011; Kam 2013.
398
Ibid.
399
Liu 2020.
400
Kong 2011; Lo 2010.
401
Kong 2011; Lo 2010.
402
83
Program Content,” which included gay and incest, sexual perversion, etc. in “abnormal
sexual relations.” In the same year, the relevant online platforms and contents were
403
successively deleted or banned, including the above-mentioned “community of the way”
forum. All their posts and replies disappeared on the Internet overnight, as if they had never
appeared. The executive director of the non-profit organization “Gay Friends Association”
and the staff of the “Beijing Gay Center,” which had been established for nearly 10 years,
said that their activity videos and materials could not be reviewed, and cooperation with third
parties was rejected.
404
Against this background, we have seen various Chinese media’s attempts to ban the
“Nancy Boys” and revitalize an old idea of manhood. Perhaps it is just a point where LGBT
issues are getting tighter and tighter. Why is China getting tighter and tighter in this respect?
In addition to the difficulty of changing traditional ideas, some people speculate that under
the current background of encouraging fertility, the popularity of homosexuality will become
an obstacle. The cause is not known, but society should provide a broad stage where
405
everyone can be themselves without interference or discrimination, and the attitude of
belittling or hating minorities must not spread. Official institutions and the government must
protect the rights of minorities when formulating policies.
Liu 2020; Lei 2018; Roberts 2018.
403
Ibid.
404
Zheng 2015; Liu 2010.
405
84
Conclusion
Recently, a TV program has raised social concerns about the effeminate tendency of Chinese
men. The show tried to show the affinity of primary and secondary school students with the
image of “Little Fresh Meat,” but it caused a violent debate in society, especially by parents,
who called it the “Nancy Boys” culture. This evident craving for an older masculinity can be
seen as the collective unconsciousness of old patriarchal culture, and the hope of parents that
their boys will demonstrate a more conservative masculinity.
406
This anxiety is not a phenomenon of isolation in China, but a global phenomenon.
Many sociological analyses have shown that after a long time in Japan, which advocates the
“Bushido spirit,” the indifference trend also occurred, entering a generally low-desire social
spiritual state. European and American societies have also seen the marginalization of
407
masculinity under the norms of democratization and pluralistic society. The strange trend
408
is that men are more like women, and women are more like men. Corresponding to this trend
of a decline in an older masculinity, feminism and women’s status and role in politics and
society are increasing day by day. This triggered widespread anxiety about world political,
social, and cultural changes and even alienation, especially among males.
409
Gender politics issues accompany the history of human political civilization. As early
as Plato's Republic, there was the issue of male and female guardians. From the
410
perspective of the city-state system, Plato put forward the idea of equality between men and
women and female guardians. On the surface, it is an advanced feminist perspective, but in
Yi and Wang 2019; Yau 2010.
406
Tian 2018.
407
Hird and Song 2018.
408
Tian 2018.
409
Tian 2018.
410
85
fact, the role and equal status of female guardians were designed according to the standards
of male guardians. This homogenization is no longer a matter of male power and female
power, but overall the philosophy of masculinity is still affirmed and institutionalized. The
411
masculine standard of the guardian effectively maintained the masculine power order and
laid the foundation of the masculine temperament of Western classical political philosophy.
412
But Plato seems to be aware of this declining trend of masculine guardians. He discusses the
issue of political evolution through the corruption of city-states and the decline of polities.
He maintained a high degree of vigilance against the desire to conquer rational sovereignty in
political evolution and conceived a complete set of ideal state construction plans to
counteract.
Compared with Plato, Machiavelli, the father of modern politics, was also sensitive to
political decline and masculinity alienation, and used his book The Prince and national
rationality to fight against the “goddess of fate.” Behind the philosophical resistance of
413
Plato and Machiavelli, there is a deep fear of the desire and impermanence of the “goddess of
fate.” Its essence is the fear of the collapse of the power order of the masculine guardian or
monarch, and it is a kind of symbolic castration fear.
414
In general, the continued construction of Western rationalist political philosophy,
especially sovereign philosophy, is the philosophical affirmation of manhood and the
continued resistance to the “goddess of fate.” For this kind of resistance, Western
philosophers created ideas of the “Leviathan,” “Chivalry,” “Scientism,” and “rational
Tian 2018.
411
Tian 2018; Hird and Song 2018.
412
Tian 2018; Wang 2011.
413
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
414
86
state.” However, this ideological and institutional construction of rational philosophy has
415
also endured tremendous pressure and challenges. Facing a long-term confrontation between
irrationalism and deconstruction, it finally fell into spiritual failure after two world wars in
the 20th century.
416
The cultural pluralism and correct political values after World War II promoted a
denationalized female political philosophy that implied absolute pacifism. This
417
development of pan-feminine democratic politics is the excessive consumption of equality
and pluralistic values by human beings. The consequence was the disintegration of the
overall value of conservatism and traditional virtues. But in fact, Western democratic
418
values inherently contain the deconstruction of holism and power order. The logical
mechanism has been clarified as early as in Plato’s Republic: democracy respects all interests
and equality and recognizes all differences and pluralism. The result must be the collapse of
virtue and order, and the marketization and absolute legalization of desire. The flattening
419
effect of consumerism, postmodernism, and globalization in contemporary culture fits
precisely with this pan-democratic value and its ultimate pursuit, and its price is the collapse
of universal virtue and a crisis of identity. These can also be regarded as the failure of
420
rational philosophy and the establishment of the sovereignty of the “goddess of fate.”
As a result, there has been another philosophical and political resistance to the
“goddess of fate” in the last ten years. Philosophically, there is the classical conservatism of
Tian 2018.
415
Ibid.
416
Ibid.
417
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018.
418
Tian 2018.
419
Yi and Wang 2019; Tian 2018; Hird and Song 2018.
420
87
Western political theorist Leo Strauss, and there is a general revival of conservatism in non-
Western cultures. Politically, the world seems to be back in the era of strongman politics.
421
Trump was elected in 2016 and Hillary Clinton lost the election. This election event is not
only a matter of political rotation of political parties in the United States but also a problem
of masculinity reconstruction in contemporary political culture. Trumpism has rationality,
vulgarity, straightforwardness, and cunning in the masculinities, puncturing the atmosphere
brought about by the pluralistic political culture. The election battle debate between Trump
and Clinton and the European and American human rights debate between Trump and Merkel
have a special metaphorical and symbolic meaning for male strongmen against the “goddess
of fate.”
422
Similarly, Putin in Russia, Abe in Japan, Duterte in the Philippines, and Erdogan in
Turkey all have some sort of masculinity and charisma-based political temperament. These
strongman leaders all have clear nationalist values and fighting spirit, and even have the
imagination and impulse of “imperialization.” These manifestations are incompatible with
423
pluralistic democratic value norms, but they have received sustained and strong support from
the “hidden voters” who have been suppressed and silenced for a long time. In American
424
politics, despite the continuing Trump scandals, the more criticized by the establishment and
the media, the higher Trump’s public support. Those “castration” Americans have long-lost
seen masculinity and bluntness in Trump. Although it may be only appearance or even
425
deliberate deception, it has satisfied the aesthetic empathy of ordinary people to relieve their
Tian 2018.
421
Ibid.
422
Ibid.
423
Ibid.
424
DuSir 2018.
425
88
powerlessness and weakness. In the political sentiment analysis, Trump’s toughness is the
collective emergence of American lost men.
426
This has caused the re-masculinization of world politics, and its impact is
fundamental. First, the rising threat of war, that is, the male appeal of political power, needs
to be baptized through war and requires specific conquering facts to soothe, and this is a
threat to peace. Second, the weakening of constitutional norms, that is, these political
427
strongmen have the urge to reform and break through the established constitutional
normative framework of their countries. Although some local systems may appear
innovative, the resulting constitutional fluctuations and political instability are also
significant. Third, the reversal of globalization, that is, the basic thinking of these political
428
strongmen to maximize the interests of their own country or imaginary empire, and for the
existing rule system and principles of globalization since World War II, it is not self-restraint
by law-abiding ethics, but self-reliance by spoilers. Fourth, this kind of political-
429
philosophical reconstruction and political style reconstruction that resorts to re-masculinity
may not necessarily achieve ultimate success, because the pluralistic democratic culture and
globalization of human rights since World War II have been deeply rooted in the people.
430
Relying on a relatively stable constitutional structure and public culture, it has a lasting
resilience to this reverse impact of masculinity. Fifth, it promotes the resurgence of global
conservatism and its political institutionalization and accelerates the third wave of
DuSir 2018.
426
Wang 2011; Economy 2018.
427
Economy 2018.
428
Wang 2011.
429
Wang 2011.
430
89
democratization of the global reversal. Sixth, for the political and cultural reconstruction of
431
such disorder, Eastern culture and Chinese civilization must and should make unique and
constitutive contributions.
Of course, this re-masculine political culture and the fluctuation of world governance
are still normal historical cyclical phenomena that represents periodic conflicts and
adjustments of norms and forces. The long-term application of a certain norm may bring
432
dogmatism and rigidity, and relying on the norm itself cannot identify and overcome the
crisis. At this time, it requires some existing forces to break the existing norm. Although this
kind of breaking cannot achieve fundamental success, it has caused a deep development of
normative reflection, which is helpful to establish a new set of integrated normative systems
that can accommodate new forces and heterogeneous demands. When this cycle of male
resistance and institutional change reaches its climax and ends, it is the beginning of a new
round of pacifist normative cycles. It seems that in the end, it is always the victory of the
“goddess of fate,” and re-masculinization is nothing but an opportunity and motivation to
resist progress.
433
In short, in the 21st century, China has countless different ideas and opinions
colliding on the Internet as a big platform. People of different ages/genders/sexual
orientations/professions all express their ideas about society, and the “Nancy Boys” battle is a
very representative conflict of opinions. Although the Internet has an amplification effect, it
can also be seen that the original gender order in Chinese society is no longer stable. Women/
Minzner 2018.
431
Yi and Wang 2019; Wang 2011.
432
Yi and Wang 2019; Wang 2011.
433
90
youth/sex minorities and people with “untraditional” aesthetic concepts are actively fighting
for their right to speak.
91
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Creator Wei, Fuyun (author)

Core Title An exploration of the debate on “nancy boys” in modern China

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Publication Date 09/20/2020

Defense Date 09/17/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag gender study,masculinity,modern China,OAI-PMH Harvest,premodern China,sissy boys,youth research

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Birge, Bettine (committee chair), Goldstein, Joshua Lewis (committee member), Rosen, Stanley (committee member)

Creator Email 3026742189@qq.com,fuyunwei@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-370380

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