China has issued a ban on “sissy” men appearing in any media in the country as part of a crackdown on “abnormal esthetics.”The country’s National Radio and Television Administration is seeking to limit depictions of “sissy idols” and “effeminate men,” Variety reports. The new edict, sent to China’s broadcasters, is part of the Communist Party of China’s (CCP) efforts to limit celebrity culture and its resulting influence on the country’s younger generations. The broadcast ban used a derogatory term for effeminate men — “niang pao,” which translates to “girlie guns” — and stated that broadcasters should “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics.”Homosexuality isn’t illegal in China, but neither is it widely accepted. China’s censors regularly edit or ban LGBTQ content, including cutting depictions of Freddie Mercury’s gay relationships in 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Earlier this year, LGBTQ people in China criticized authorities after dozens of LGBTQ accounts were removed from social media platform WeChat.

Source: MetroXpress September 07, 2021 15:33 UTC