(Newser)
– China’s government banned effeminate men on television and told television on Thursday to promote “revolutionary culture,” expanding a campaign to tighten control over businesses and society and enforce official morale, according to the P. President Xi Jinping has called for “national rejuvenation,” with tighter control of the Communist Party’s business, education, culture and religion. Businesses and the public are under increasing pressure to align with the government’s vision of a more powerful China. Now, broadcasters must “end the resolution of sissy men and other abnormal aesthetics,” the National Radio and Television Administration said, using an insulting slang term for effeminate men – “niang pao or, literally, “girlie guns.”
This reflects the official concern that Chinese pop stars, influenced by the sleek, trendy looks of some South Korean and Japanese singers and actors, do not encourage young Chinese to be masculine enough. Broadcasting agencies should avoid promoting “Internet celebrities vulgar” and admiration for wealth and celebrity, the regulator said. Instead, programs should “vigorously promote an excellent traditional Chinese culture, a revolutionary culture, and an advanced socialist culture.” Broadcasting agencies should also prevent artists from “violating public order” or “losing morale,” the regulator said. Programs about celebrity children are also banned. (As part of this cultural boost, China also stated that children can no longer play video games on school nights.)
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