Sex, lies and video games: the heated debate over sexism and misogyny in China
Advertisement
These are among the cases fuelling heated debate, and outrage, on Chinese social media in recent months over sexism, misogyny and
gender stereotypes.
The discussion started in April when a court in Datong, Shanxi province upheld the guilty verdict and three-year prison sentence of a man who had raped his fiancée the day after they got engaged. The case centred on whether the bride price he paid of 100,000 yuan (US$13,900) and a gold ring was considered marital consent and a tacit agreement for sex.
In June, there was anger over stereotyping and sexism after a Chinese online game originally called Revenge on Gold Diggers shot to the top of gaming platforms on day one. Players of the game are male characters being pursued by manipulative women who only want one thing: their money. The backlash prompted the game's creators to change the name to Emotional Anti-Fraud Simulator the day after its release.
It did not end there. The same month, media reported that a dowdy, 38-year-old cross-dresser had lured hundreds of young men into having sex, which he secretly filmed before selling the videos online. Days later, a 21-year-old Chinese student was expelled from a university in Dalian, Liaoning province for having a one-night stand with a Ukrainian gamer attending an event in Shanghai. The man had posted intimate photos and videos of the student, one of his fans, on social media, calling her 'easy'.
Advertisement
In the case of the cross-dresser the discussions initially focused on lurid details of the videos. But that shifted to a debate over why the men involved, including the cross-dresser, had their identities protected by the authorities yet the student, a woman, was publicly shamed by the university.
According to experts, the intense discussions around sexism and misogyny prompted by these cases are part of a broader phenomenon of 'gender antagonism' that has emerged in China over the past few years. And the echo chamber effect on social media has only amplified these tensions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Ex-Huawei employees sentenced to jail for stealing semiconductor-related secrets
A Shanghai court sentenced 14 former Huawei Technologies employees to jail for stealing chip-related business secrets from the company, the state-owned Securities Times newspaper reported on Saturday. According to the report, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court on July 28 sentenced 14 employees of Zunpai Communication Technology, a start-up founded by engineers from Huawei's chip development unit HiSilicon , to jail terms of up to six years on top of financial penalties. The court has not published the verdict on its website and it is not known whether the engineers will appeal the ruling. Huawei did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The case sent shock waves through China's semiconductor industry and highlighted the issue of intellectual property theft on the mainland. According to the Securities Times report, Zhang Kun, a former researcher at HiSilicon, left Huawei in 2019 and founded Zunpai in March 2021 to develop Wi-fi communication chips. Zhang managed to persuade some of his former colleagues to join him at the start-up. Huawei Technologies quickly took action against Zunpai. According to a legal document published in August 2023, Shanghai HiSilicon Technology, a Huawei subsidiary, applied to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court to freeze 95 million yuan (US$13.1 million) worth of assets under Zunpai and its subsidiaries.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong prohibits financial dealings with 16 national security fugitives
Hong Kong authorities have introduced new punitive measures targeting 16 overseas activists wanted for alleged national security offences, prohibiting anyone from funding them and cancelling most of the absconders' passports. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung exercised the powers under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance on Monday to impose new measures against 16 absconders involved in a group called the 'Hong Kong Parliament'. Authorities have deemed the group to be subversive and accused it of violating the Beijing-imposed 2020 national security law The 16 targeted activists include Victor Ho Leung-mau, Chin Po-fun and Chan Lai-chun. The government has prohibited anyone from making available or dealing with funds and certain activities in connection with the immovable property of all 16 wanted activists, while also banning any joint ventures or partnerships with them. It also cancelled the Hong Kong passports of 12 of the 16 absconders.
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong customs sets up armed escort team as drugs pile up in secret warehouse
Hong Kong customs will set up an armed escort team and boost collaboration to quickly dispose of tonnes of confiscated drugs kept in a secret warehouse, otherwise some substances may take 35 years to destroy, the agency's chief has revealed. Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat told the Post in an exclusive interview that his department had sped up procedures for disposing of confiscated drugs to enhance efficiency and as a measure to improve internal operations. The head of the Customs and Excise Department also warned that more illicit cigarettes were being smuggled into Hong Kong as tobacco control policies were set to tighten. He said the number of cases of passengers intercepted by customs while trying to smuggle in cigarettes had risen by 50 per cent year on year in the first half of 2025. 'Last year, we had 19,000 cases of cigarette smuggling by passengers. At this increasing rate of passenger smuggling, we could reach 30,000 cases this year,' Chan said. As for illegal drug seizures, customs recorded a 24.3 per cent year-on-year drop in the first five months of 2025. There were 433 drug seizures involving 162 arrests from January to May, compared with 572 in the same period last year, with 167 arrests. But the drug busts have created another issue: storage of the contraband in a secret, secure location until it can be disposed of following stringent procedures.
