Beijing has declared war on "sissies".

The Chinese television regulatory authority on Thursday 2 September published a plan aimed, in particular, at banning from screens "too effeminate" male celebrities (or "sissy idols" for the Chinese), reports the South China Morning Post .

The regime's offensive is officially aimed at putting more "emphasis on traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture and socialist culture" on television, according to the document which details the action plan.

And male pop stars or internet celebrities who resort to makeup and sport an overly effeminate look do not fit into this holy cultural trinity.

Hang on to the singers with earrings

This is nothing new.

In 2019 already, Chinese television had started to crack down.

At the time, she had blurred the ears of Chinese boy band singers who wore earrings.

Not masculine enough in the eyes of Chinese censors, The Guardian had told.

The regime takes a dim view of these "effeminate" stars, in part because this "fashion" is perceived as an import phenomenon capable of influencing young people.

Xinhua, the regime's official news agency, began to deplore, in 2018, the ravages of a cultural movement in Asia - mainly in South Korea and Japan - which promoted beauty standards that were too feminine for women. men and who threatened to "turn young Chinese people into a generation of sissies."

It is no coincidence that some of the first Chinese artists to be criticized by the official media - such as singers Jackson Yee and Xiao Gui - have openly admitted to being influenced by South Korean groups like BTS.

Clearly, Beijing does not want K-pop or J-pop (South Korean and Japanese popular cultures) - and the values ​​they convey - to make their home too much in China. President Xi Jinping indeed considers that "artists must be irreproachable because culture has a central role to play in guiding society towards socialism", recalls Xiaoning Lu, specialist in interactions between the cultural and political spheres in China. Chinese Institute of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, contacted by France 24.

And too much femininity is not an "irreproachable" attitude for a male artist, in the eyes of the Chinese leader and those around him.

It would be a "bad" model for the youth because "the leaders are afraid that if the men become too effeminate, it will give the impression that we are a nation of weak which cannot compete with its adversaries", assures Song Geng, researcher at the University of Hong Kong, interviewed by the South China Morning Post.

"This is an idea still anchored in the minds of the older Chinese generation: the stronger the youth, the stronger the country appears," said Xiaoning Lu.

Put the "fan economy" in line

For her, the authorities' latest offensive against show biz "witches" is, above all, part of a larger framework for bringing the entertainment industry into line. The government has been carrying out "since May an operation aimed at cleaning up the 'fan economy' [the ecosystem that has developed around the communities of fans of an artist, Editor's note]", underlines Xiaoning Lu. A large number of these idols young people belong precisely to these "too effeminate" male stars that the government cannot see.

By blacklisting these artists, the government hopes to inflict a heavy blow on these communities which "spiral out of control", writes the South China Morning Post. In recent months, the official media - such as the Global Times or the Xinhua News Agency - have not missed an opportunity to denounce the "toxic" atmosphere in these communities. "They insult each other, harass their idol and disturb other communities," lamented the Global Times, for example, in mid-June.

In addition, "these fans are spending crazy sums to support their favorite bands or singers, and this is something that bothers the authorities," says Xiaoning Lu. In 2022, this "fan economy" is expected to weigh more than $ 20 billion. in derivative products, donations and other contests organized around these stars, according to The Paper, a news site close to Chinese power.

For the authorities, "these stars have not amassed their fortunes by doing something constructive," said Xiaoning Lu. And at a time when combating inequalities has become one of the priorities displayed by Xi Jinping, these stars accused by the 'State of having built their fortunes on the backs of their fans are the perfect targets to demonstrate that power is hunting "undue" enrichment.

And if, in the process, this can allow the media to highlight examples of "more robust, energetic and brave" males - which is the definition of a masculinity more acceptable to the authorities - it would be the icing on the cake. cake.

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR