CHINESE "MANLY" MEN

NEW CHINESE EDUCATION POLICY TO MAKE BOYS MORE "MANLY"

Last week, China’s education ministry issued a notice regarding a new education policy that would encourage boys to become more ‘manly’

The notice also suggested that young Chinese men had become ‘too feminine’, which did not sit well with netizens

The notice titled ‘Proposal to Prevent the Feminisation of Male Adolescents’ was said to be systemized to ‘cultivate masculinity’ among young boys

The suggested policy emphasizes reforming the physical education courses that schools offer and improve the recruitment of teachers

People also pointed out that China has one of the most deformed sex ratios with 70 million more men than women

Facts like these have been pointing out how China is potentially a male-dominated country. Positive responses from the media said that China’s male celebrities are often seen as ‘squeaky-clean, well-groomed, and with delicate features’, thus raising questions on their masculinity 

It has also been reported that the country’s President, Xi Jinping, himself is a football enthusiast and plans to revamp the country into a ‘world football superpower’ by 2050

It should be noted that the policy specifically points to the cultivation of football as a sport in schools, probably in tandem to achieve this goal

The Real Boys Club started a new debate about what it means to be a man in the past year and thinks that “life in a society with androgynous pop idols, overprotective mothers, and female teachers” will feminize the boys

The said proposal to reform the education system has definitely created waves on social media