A screenshot of blogger Feng Xiaoyi's ‘eating a peach’ video. via Zhihu. Many cultural-political scholars have suggested that nationalism involves active control over a population's biological traits such as health, reproduction, gender, sexuality and more. China's recent campaign against ‘niang pao’ (娘炮), a vulgar and derogatory term which is literally translated in English to a ‘girlie gun’ or more commonly as an ‘effeminate men’ or ‘sissies’, is a classic example of such biopolitical attempts to normalize patriotic manliness. Some online nationalists have been spreading the discourse ‘Sissies will ruin the nation’ (娘炮誤國) on Chinese social media platforms since 2018, after accusing China Central Television of choosing sissy idols for its advertisements and programs. The online campaign spread through slogans such as ‘If youths are feminine, the nation will be feminine! Sissies will ruin the nation!’ (少年娘，则国娘！娘炮误国！). Anti-effeminate campaigners labelled sissy idols as one of the four pests that should be eliminated to preserve the nation's strength. They also argued that ‘sissy-style’ was not part of China's conventional culture but an import from Japanese (e.g. Bishōnen) and South Korean (Kkonminam) cultures, and claimed that all strong countries have embraced masculine cultures. The nationalists had limited support in its early days, with many critiques publically rebuking their claims. Critiques noted that the Chinese literati tradition has a very strong feminine culture and that many powerful Western countries respect and embrace diverse gender expression and LGBTQ+ rights. But the campaign eventually had full governmental support. In January 2021, the Ministry of Education revealed its plan to include ‘masculinity education’ in the country’s elementary education in wake of a ‘feminization’ crisis in China's boys. And more recently, China's regulators stepped in to suppress the entertainment industry. Since August, a number of celebrities have been censored and punished for their ‘immoral acts’. Popular video blogger Feng Xiaoyi was one of the crackdown targets. Feng’s account on Duoyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok was removed after his video, ‘eating a peach’ went viral online, with some users lambasting him for his makeup and facial expression. The incident triggered a debate and revived discourse about whether ‘sissies will ruin the nation’. Here is one example posted on the Chinese Quora-liked platform Zhihu arguing for increased censorship: 娘炮文化可以存在但是绝对不能成为主流，试想一下当我们的国家男生都想他这样细皮嫩肉天天都在吃个桃桃，我们的国家是否还有战斗力，是否还有民族精神… Niang Pao culture can exist but can’t be mainstream. Just imagine if all the men in our country are acting like this, with such soft-skin eating a peach in such a manner, can our country have strength in a fight? Can we still retain our national spirit? Chinese regulators expanded the restrictions on the entertainment industry on September 2 to include a ban on unmasculine portrayals. These restrictions include a ban on ‘sissy idols’ on both television and video streaming sites. The regulatory guideline stresses the need to uphold a moral and aesthetic standard in accordance with the country's official values. The ‘niang pao’ ban states: 坚定文化自信，大力弘扬中华优秀传统文化、革命文化、社会主义先进文化。树立节目正确审美导向，严格把握演员和嘉宾选用、表演风格、服饰妆容等，坚决杜绝“娘炮”等畸形审美。坚决抵制炒作炫富享乐、绯闻隐私、负面热点、低俗“网红”、无底线审丑等泛娱乐化倾向。 Hold firm on the principle of cultural confidence, promote the Chinese conventional culture, the revolutionary culture and progressive socialistic culture. Establish the correct aesthetics in programs and be careful in the selection of actors and guests, the presentation of performance and make-up style. Eliminate ‘Niang pao’ and other abnormal aesthetics. Suppress extravagance lifestyle, celebrities’ privacy scandal, negative hot issues, vulgar ‘online celebrities’, aesthetic absurdity and other forms of debased entertainmentization. Following the ban, many netizens turned online to support the decision. One commentary published on 163.com blames capitalist consumerism for the popularity of ‘sissy culture': 社会经济发展，女性的消费力飙升，她们更愿意为自己欣赏的男性买单。于是，“娘炮”应运而生。他们阴柔帅气，会唱会跳，妆容精致，让人作呕，却很得“姐姐”们的喜欢… Women’s consumption power has surged thanks to economic and social development. They are more willing to spend on products represented by the kind of male image that they like. This gives rise to ‘sissy idols’. They are handsome and feminine. They can dance and sing. Their make-up is so darling and disgusting. But they are appealing to the ‘big sisters’ … One pretext for the clampdown of fandom culture is ‘irrational consumption’.