China attempts "masculine" mandate

China is changing. A recent article in the NBC network on line addition discussed the case of a 13-year-old boy in Shanghai. Bu Yunhao was being bullied in his middle school, avoided on a class trip, called too girly and made fun of for the pitch of his voice when as class monitor he attempted to perform his duties. He was accused of spending too much time with girls and having alternative agendas when befriending boys. While Yunhao's classmates may have stopped bullying him, the Chinese government recently decided to define masculinity themselves. A recent announcement from the government states the government will “encourage masculinity” primarily by encouraging physical contact such as boxing. Authorities are also condemning pop cultural icons that don’t fit the prescribed mold while critics state they feel the government definition emphasizes what many consider to be outdated and damaging stereotypes for men and boys. According to an articvle published in NBC News "Boys don't need masculinity education," said Lü Pin, the founder of China's largest feminist advocacy media channel, Feminist Voices, which was banned by Chinese censors in 2018. "The concept of masculinity forces every man to be tough, which excludes and harms men with other types of characteristics," she said. "It also reinforces men's hegemony, control and position over women, which goes against gender equality." In January, China's Education Ministry published plans to "cultivate masculinity" in boys from kindergarten through high school. The initiative involves hiring and training more gym teachers, testing students more comprehensively in physical education, making health education compulsory and supporting research into issues like the "influence of the phenomenon of internet celebrities on adolescents' values." Chinese officials recently have warned that the nation is experiencing a national “masculinity crisis." "Chinese boys have been spoiled by housewives and female teachers," the adviser, Si Zefu, said in May. Boys would soon become "delicate, timid and effeminate" unless action was taken, he said. He added the "feminization" of Chinese boys "threatens China's survival and development." This idea comes as most girls enter universities and regularly outperform boys on academic and standardized tests in China. Similar to the term “Tough Guise” coined by American Author Jackson Katz, (

)officials state men need to toughen there stance caused by the rising economic status of women and increasing feminism. China's preoccupation with its people's physical prowess began during the period from 1839 to 1949 when the country was repeatedly colonized or beaten in war by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Japan. But unlike America, where dissident voices can decry governmental ideals, it leaves on to wonder, in China, what’s next. And if these decrees are mandated, what effect it will have on men and women of the next generation. Chris Alcorn Catena,