Gender-bending boys stir debate
By Liu Xin, Wei Wei and Zhang Zhenge |
June 2, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE "He" that dresses like a "She" and constantly blurs the lines of division between male and female has ignited a fierce debate in China.
Liu Zhu wants to be a television star after having earned some fame in a television talent contest that he was eliminated from.
The 19-year-old young man who looks and sounds every bit like a young woman was a smash hit on "Happy Boy," China's all-male talent show equivalent to "American Idol."
His name returns more than 19 million results hits on leading Chinese search engine Baidu while his blog has received 3 million hits.
In a previous talent show this year, Xu Long, a boy known as "Tongtong," also became famous because of his cross-dressing.
Thanks to them and the sensation they have created, there is a buzzword in China: "Weiniang."
The word has entered Chinese from the Japanese word "Nisemusume" and refers to comely boys with a female appearance after they dress up. The Japanese word is popularly used in comics and dramas. But the boys are not necessarily homosexuals.
Bu Wenxi, a "Weiniang" from Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, says most people cannot understand the preference to cross dress. Most of his friends are male. He says he doesn't appreciate Liu Zhu parading himself for the media.
"Cross dressing is just a personal preference and you don't have to go around telling everyone that you are 'Weiniang.' Liu just wants to be famous and all he has done is sell himself," Bu said.
Many girls respect "Weiniang" with their open-minded perspectives.
"But they are, at most, a unique male friend and not a girl friend," said Jin Wen, a 25-year-old woman.
Dr Li Wendao, a psychologist at Capital Normal University in Beijing, wrote a book, "Saving Boys," published in 2009, that expressed deep concerns about the problems of Chinese boys. Feminization was one of the problems.
"Boys and girls should learn from each other while maintaining their own gender traits. Blind imitation can only result in the erosion of their abilities," Li said.
Liu Zhu wants to be a television star after having earned some fame in a television talent contest that he was eliminated from.
The 19-year-old young man who looks and sounds every bit like a young woman was a smash hit on "Happy Boy," China's all-male talent show equivalent to "American Idol."
His name returns more than 19 million results hits on leading Chinese search engine Baidu while his blog has received 3 million hits.
In a previous talent show this year, Xu Long, a boy known as "Tongtong," also became famous because of his cross-dressing.
Thanks to them and the sensation they have created, there is a buzzword in China: "Weiniang."
The word has entered Chinese from the Japanese word "Nisemusume" and refers to comely boys with a female appearance after they dress up. The Japanese word is popularly used in comics and dramas. But the boys are not necessarily homosexuals.
Bu Wenxi, a "Weiniang" from Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, says most people cannot understand the preference to cross dress. Most of his friends are male. He says he doesn't appreciate Liu Zhu parading himself for the media.
"Cross dressing is just a personal preference and you don't have to go around telling everyone that you are 'Weiniang.' Liu just wants to be famous and all he has done is sell himself," Bu said.
Many girls respect "Weiniang" with their open-minded perspectives.
"But they are, at most, a unique male friend and not a girl friend," said Jin Wen, a 25-year-old woman.
Dr Li Wendao, a psychologist at Capital Normal University in Beijing, wrote a book, "Saving Boys," published in 2009, that expressed deep concerns about the problems of Chinese boys. Feminization was one of the problems.
"Boys and girls should learn from each other while maintaining their own gender traits. Blind imitation can only result in the erosion of their abilities," Li said.
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