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While China wants young boys to be soldiers, it is not everyone's ambition

A notice from China's education ministry has caused a stir aer 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 Laughter and loss: One street's
been seeking to cultivate better sports stars. Covid-19 stories

So last week, the education ministry issued a notice with a title that le 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".
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anything other than squeaky clean, "socially responsible" stars.

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But there were some earlier signs suggesting such a move was coming. Last
May, a delegate of China's top advisory body, Si Zefu, said that many of China's
young males had become "weak, timid, and self-abasing".
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There was a trend among young Chinese males towards "feminisation", he carbon Britain?
claimed, which "would inevitably endanger the survival and development of
the Chinese nation" unless it was "effectively managed".

Si Zefu said the home environment was partly to blame, with most Chinese
boys being raised by their mothers or grandmothers. He also noted that the
growing appeal of certain male celebrities meant that many children "did not
want to be 'army heroes'" anymore.

So, he suggested, schools should play a greater role in ensuring young Chinese
get a balanced education.
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'What are men afraid of?'
The overwhelming majority of Chinese reaction to the notice has been
negative. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese have taken to social media to
voice their anger, with many branding the government's message sexist.

"Is feminisation now a derogatory term?" one Weibo user asked, receiving over
200,000 likes. Another said: "Boys are also humans… being emotional, timid
or gentle, these are human characteristics."

"What are men afraid of? Being the same as women?" one asked.
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Boybands like TF Boys are wildly popular, but media ask if they are good role models
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"There are 70 million more men than women in this country," another claimed.
"No country in the world has such a deformed sex ratio. Isn't that masculine
enough?"

Another said: "None of these proposals have come from women."

They might be right there - much has been written previously on how China's
top leadership is significantly male-dominated.

From some in the media, though, there was a positive reception for the drive. 'The smells and tastes we still miss,
The Global Times newspaper noted it had "won some support". long aer Covid'
On social media platform Sina Weibo, comments pointed towards China's male
celebrities being to blame, largely those who are known as "little fresh meats"
(小鲜肉). This is a buzzword that refers to young, Chinese male icons who are
seen as squeaky-clean, well-groomed, and with delicate features.
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Boyband TF Boys and Chinese singer Lu Han fall into this category, as do many
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President Xi, a known football fan, visited Manchester City's football ground on his 2015 UK visit Follow Reece Parkinson as he takes on the
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While figures like basketball player Yao Ming have found overseas fame, it is
notable that football specifically is included in the proposal.
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That should not come as a surprise. President Xi has previously spoken of his
hopes that the country will become a "world football superpower" by 2050.
'Beast from the East Two' to bring
But repeated attempts to try and up China's football game have failed, and snow and ice 1
have been mocked as an apparently impossible task. This was the response
two years ago when Marcello Lippi, who led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World 'Erratic' Trump will not get
Cup, resigned as coach of China's national football team. intelligence briefings 2
Meanwhile, the government has been on a drive in recent months to introduce
and promote new role models for young Chinese. One killed and nine injured in spate
of stabbings 3
Where women are concerned, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a good
opportunity to demonstrate the significant role of women as front-line
Reforms planned for NHS in
workers.
England 4
And China's achievements in space last year were a great opportunity to
promote figures like Zhou Chengyu, who became a viral sensation as a 24-
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year-old space commander.
summer holiday hopes 5
But as Si Zefu hinted last year, for young Chinese men the appeal of being
strong and fearless soldiers, policemen or firefighters is waning. Vaccine chief 'optimistic' about
The "little fresh meats" phenomenon continues to be a proven success, but
over-50s May target 6
young male celebrities come under increased scrutiny, and find it difficult to
be anything that departs from the squeaky-clean mould. The country that's rejecting the
Covid vaccine 7
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. Coronavirus: Daily update 8
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