Authorities in China have been cracking down on mainstream culture with a series of strict new regulations in attempt to reshape the nation's youth population. The most recent of these regulations included a ban on presenting LGBTQ+ storylines and "effeminate" male characters in all forms of media, ranging from video games to films to television.
Since General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Xinping took power in 2013, the CCP-controlled government has attempted to apply radical changes to the country's culture and entertainment industry. Its newest restrictions, outlined in a report from South China Morning Post and outlined by PCGamer, aim to censor LGBTQ+ content and representations of "effeminacy," labelling them as a "wrong set of values" to include within all forms of popular entertainment.
Amidst its slew of entertainment restrictions, the Chinese government has specifically targeted video games. Chinese officials recently met with representatives of internet technology companies Tencent and NetEase to discuss combatting online video game addiction. Following the meeting, the country announced plans to implement new legislature that limits minors to gaming no longer than three hours a week. Earlier this year, Tencent even introduced facial recognition AI software to prevent specific individuals from exceeding their weekly quota.
Since then, Chinese officials have elaborated on new content guidelines they plan to enforce across the entertainment industry, including a ban on LGBTQ+ content in video games and more. According to various reports and english.gov.cn, the official English language website of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, stories with values including "gay love" and "effeminacy" are to be avoided in the gaming industry.
"The authorities ordered the enterprises and platforms to tighten examination of the contents of their games," stated the latter report. "Obscene and violent content and those breeding unhealthy tendencies, such as money-worship and effeminacy, should be removed."
Beyond video games, Chinse authorities have also taken steps to ban iconography of effeminate men from TV. According to The Diplomat, China has also banned what state-media has described as "sissy males" and "vulgar Internet celebrities" from TV, telling broadcasters to instead promote “revolutionary culture" that fosters entertainment further in line with the Communist Party's morality and values. In fact, China's National Radio and Television Administration recently dictated that all media will shift to promote "traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture and socialist culture," stirring rumors that many international movie stars could soon see vilification and discrimination for violating China's new regulations.
These newest cultural restrictions fall in line with the Chinese government's perspective of LGBTQ+ community. In China, members of the LGBT community face a myriad of legal and social challenges, and same-sex couples still cannot marry or adopt. Regarding effeminacy, experts have commented that the crackdown is due in part to a prevalent perception that effeminate males are "physically weak and emotionally fragile," and therefore unable to defend their country from threats.
Source: PCGamer, The Diplomat