Anyone in China who wanted to know could know that Wang Yaping was out of period on Monday.

Before Wang's historic mission, the Chinese space agency had discussed the special needs of female astronauts in space.

Among other things, about the fact that menstruation can lead to difficulties during a spacewalk and that you will take this into account when planning your time.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for China, North Korea and Mongolia.

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On Monday night, Wang Yaping became the first woman in Chinese space history to take part in an external mission in space.

After a good six hours, she and her colleague returned to the fuselage module of the future Chinese Sky Palace space station.

Like her predecessors in other space nations, Wang Yaping was celebrated for its premiere in China and presented as a role model.

However, the appreciation was in a way that did not go down well with all women in China.

The Chinese space agency announced that the 41-year-old former military pilot would be supplied with cosmetics and sanitary towels.

Wang will certainly feel better when she can wear make-up, said a spokesman for the agency for the China News Service.

Other state media also pay a lot of attention to the astronaut's appearance.

For example the fact that her ponytail stands up because of the weightlessness in the space capsule.

State television thinks that is "wonderful".

A reporter from Xinhua News Agency complimented Wang before she left.

She looked so pretty when she was first in space, he said.

"Tell us if you wore make-up?" The astronaut took it calmly.

The lack of gravity in the space station feels like plastic surgery, she joked.

Stereotypical image of women in the state media

In an interview with the party newspaper Global Times, however, she attached importance to the statement that the requirements for women in their job are no less than for men. As an example, she referred to the astronauts' demanding underwater training, in which they had to do heavy physical exercises for six hours without surfacing. After becoming an astronaut, she achieved so much that she never thought possible, Wang said in the interview.

The newspaper found nothing about falling back seamlessly from this statement into traditional role models: “Wang Yaping has learned many skills, for example cutting hair. She helped cut the hair of the crew on the Shenzhou 12 flight, ”it says, without any hint of irony. It also seems worth mentioning to the author that she bought New Year's gifts for her two male colleagues before the flight. Xinhua interviewed Wang's daughter, who had promised the astronaut that she would bring a star from her six-month mission; the longest ever in Chinese space travel.

China's state media are notorious for their stereotypical image of women, which has long since ceased to keep pace with the self-image of most young women in the big cities.

On the contrary: The government is increasingly insisting on a return to conservative family values ​​because it hopes (probably in vain) to be able to counteract the high divorce rate and the falling birth rate in this way.

On the other hand, there is regular contradiction on the Internet.

As in the case of the coverage of Wang Yaping.

One user named Crystal Zhuang summed up what many wrote on the Weibo social network: “She has so many strengths, but all they talk about is her hair, her face cream, her period and her daughter.

Some people can think of nothing more to a woman than her physical characteristics. "

Giggle in the ground station

On the subject of menstruation, however, there were other voices. "What's wrong with people worrying about an astronaut's period?" Wrote one user. “I wish there were more people, then it would no longer be a taboo.” A similar post received at least 40,000 likes: “That we talk about it openly is progress. I remember times when girls had to hide it because their period was considered dirty. ”A year ago, women's rights activist Jiang Jinjing even started a campaign against menstruation becoming taboo by handing out sanitary towels and tampons in public places. When doctors and nurses pointed out in interviews during the Corona outbreak in Wuhan that the hospitals had failed to provide them with these products,this caused a wave of indignation and willingness to donate.

Wang Yapping's premiere in space was the dominant topic on the Chinese Internet on Monday night.

Posts under the relevant hashtag were viewed more than 550 million times.

The astronaut herself did not let the debates about herself spoil her mood.

She caused a general giggle in the ground station when she radioed her historic sentence to Earth a little prematurely: “I'll be right outside the spaceship.

I'm fine. ”Actually, she shouldn't have said that until after she left the spaceship.

Her colleague Ye Guangfu, who was not allowed to come this time, picked up the joke and said, “I'll be outside the spaceship next time.

I'm doing well."