China trying to promote more “manly” men in their country

Interesting read from the BBC about China’s apparent desire to turn their boys into more “manly” men.

A notice from China’s education ministry has caused a stir after it suggested young Chinese men had become too “feminine”. The message has been criticised as sexist by many online users – but some say China’s male celebrities are partly to blame.

For a while China’s government has signalled concern that the country’s most popular male role models are no longer strong, athletic figures like “army heroes”. Even President Xi Jinping, a well-known football enthusiast, has long been seeking to cultivate better sports stars.

So last week, the education ministry issued a notice with a title that left no doubt about its ultimate goal.

The Proposal to Prevent the Feminisation of Male Adolescents called on schools to fully reform their offerings on physical education and strengthen their recruitment of teachers.

The text advised recruiting retired athletes and people from sporting backgrounds – and “vigorously developing” particular sports like football with a view to “cultivating students’ masculinity”.

via BBC

The communist Chinese government apparently has an image they want to promote, and deviation from their “norm” is frowned upon.

But as Si Zefu hinted last year, for young Chinese men the appeal of being strong and fearless soldiers, policemen or firefighters is waning.

The “little fresh meats” phenomenon continues to be a proven success, but young male celebrities come under increased scrutiny, and find it difficult to be anything that departs from the squeaky-clean mould.

In recent years, media have struggled to allow young male stars to appear on Chinese screens with tattoos or earrings. And one of China’s top pop stars came under fierce criticism online in 2019 when he was pictured smoking.

via BBC

“Little fresh meats?” Wut?