648661

research-article2016
CTP0010.1177/2057047316648661Communication and the PublicYang and Xu

Special Section
Communication and the Public
2016, Vol. 1(2) 251­–256
Danmei, Xianqing, and the © The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions:

making of a queer online sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/2057047316648661

public sphere in China

ctp.sagepub.com

Ling Yang
Xiamen University, China

Yanrui Xu
Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, China

Abstract
Danmei is the Chinese term for boys’ love, a genre of male–male romance created by and for women and sexual
minorities. This commentary focuses on Xianqing, a well-known danmei forum established under the aegis of a women-
oriented literature website in 2003. Although mainly dedicated to popular media consumption, Xianqing has over the
years become both a part of the larger online public sphere in China and a unique queer public sphere that defies any
simple classification, offering pleasures, meanings, and identities to numerous diehard danmei fans residing in and out
of China, despite recurrent technical problems, managerial failures, and increasing censorship. Through revealing some
of the paradoxes and ambiguities of this alternative public sphere, we seek to highlight the understudied gendered
dimension of the online public sphere in China and question the rigid distinction between politics and entertainment
in academic discourse.

Keywords
China, Danmei, gender, queer publics, sexuality, Xianqing

With the popularization of the Internet and social
media in China, the digital transformation of public
life and the potentials of online public spheres
have attracted increasing scholarly attention (e.g.,
Rauchfleisch & Schäfer, 2015; Tong, 2015; G. Yang,
2009). This commentary focuses on Xianqing (闲情,
“Leisurely Mood” in English), a renowned women-
oriented online discussion board, in an attempt to
highlight the understudied gendered dimension of
online public spheres in China. As one of the first
open-access danmei (耽美) forums in China, Xianqing
has catered to both fannish interests and broader
socio-political concerns, particularly on issues related
to gender and sexuality. We seek to reveal some of the
paradoxes and ambiguities of this alternative public
sphere: how it positions itself both in and out
of the mainstream ideology; how it negotiates with
Corresponding author:
Ling Yang, Department of Chinese, Xiamen University, Fujian,
361005, China.
Email: lyang7273@126.com
252
the contesting claims of dominant culture, women’s
culture, and queer culture; and how it transgresses the
boundary between the fantasy world and the real
world, weaving together a massive discursive web
that extends from the most intimate and personal to
the most public and political.
The workings of a fannish public
sphere
Danmei is the Chinese term for boys’ love, a genre of
male–male romance created by and for women and
sexual minorities. First emerged in Japanese girls’
comics in 1970s, the genre was introduced to China
in early 1990s via the influx of Japanese manga and
anime and has gradually developed into an
immensely popular Internet-based and fan-oriented
cultural form. Despite its boom on the Internet, how-
ever, Chinese danmei fandom is constantly at risk of
prosecution as the genre contains abundant graphic
depictions of homosexuality, which puts it squarely
at odds with the conservative sexual morales of the
party state (L. Yang & Xu, in press-b). Keenly aware
of the social prejudices against homosexuality and
women’s erotica, early danmei forums used to
strictly regulate the admittance of new members so
as to hide from the general public and state censors.
Yet Xianqing has functioned as a public sphere ever
since it was established in 2003 by Jinjiang Literature
City, “one of the earliest and most influential wom-
en’s literature websites” (Feng, 2009, p. 2) in China.
First, Xianqing does not require users to be regis-
tered or logged in to comment so that every Internet
user is allowed to join the discussion on Xianqing as
long as he or she can locate the forum. This rule of
anonymity not only guarantees user safety but also
effectively eliminates any regard for status. Second,
the forum has gradually broadened the range of its
concerns with the increase of traffic. Danmei fans
initially congregated at Xianqing to chat about char-
acter pairings in Japanese manga and anime, post
reviews of danmei works, and publish their own
danmei stories. Later on, after a separate danmei
archive and book review section were set up,
Xianqing became more like a coffee house for like-
minded fans to meet, socialize, and discuss their fan
objects and everyday topics like jobs, relationships,
Communication and the Public 1(2)
and current events. Due to the pro-homosexual
nature of danmei genre, there are also numerous dis-
cussions about domestic and foreign queer celebri-
ties, gay and lesbian circles, alternative sexualities,
and gay videos. Yet like all online forums in China,
Xianqing has closely monitored content posted on its
website in order to comply with government regula-
tions. It even changed its name from “Danmei
Xianqing” into “Xianqing” during the 2014 govern-
ment crackdown on Internet pornography to cover
up its association with the ill-reputed danmei genre
(L. Yang & Xu, in press-b).
Apart from fostering exchange and interaction
among danmei fans, Xianqing is the site where exten-
sive public debates about communal issues have been
carried out. Danmei writers used to write for free,
motivated only by the desire to share their love of the
genre and the encouragement of readers, who often
posted lengthy reviews and comments to reward their
beloved writers. Yet in 2008, following the footsteps
of other major literature websites, Jinjiang announced
a scheme of VIP readership, allowing writers to
charge readers viewing fees and gain a decent share of
the revenue. Many danmei writers were solicited to
sign a writing contract with Jinjiang. The imminent
commercialization of danmei immediately ignited a
public debate about the pros and cons of the VIP sys-
tem on Xianqing. Many opponents worried that the
lure of financial gains would lower the quality of
danmei writings, weaken the radical messages of the
genre, and drive away its core readers. Supporters,
however, argued that writers were entitled to eco-
nomic compensation for their labor and the new
source of income would help them devote more time
and energy to writing. The intense debate was force-
fully put to an end by the Jinjiang management who
was determined to implement the VIP system regard-
less of fan objection. Yet as a gesture of conciliation,
Jinjiang allowed the danmei archive affiliated with
Xianqing to continue its policy of sharing for free.
Although public discussions on Xianqing have
limited impact on the business decision of Jinjiang,
they are more effective in formulating and upholding
a communal code of ethics. Many fans have used
Xianqing as a public tribunal to publicize inappro-
priate behaviors, usually plagiarism and profiteering
from fanzines, or incorrect world views and values
Yang and Xu
presented in certain danmei works. Such kind of
posting, called “hanging on the wall” (gua qiangtou
挂墙头) in fan jargon, often receives a considerable
amount of attention among Xianqing users, who
would then use their collective reasoning to examine
the evidence, collect additional information, form a
majority opinion, and call for possible actions, such
as circulating the incident on social media, collective
boycotts, or reporting to the authorities. In some
cases, the overwhelming public opinion could even
give rise to a new standard of conduct for the whole
community.
For instance, in December 2011, a fan “hung” on
Xianqing a commercial danmei fiction that appeared
in the weekly editor’s recommendation list of
Jinjiang. The then still on-going novel narrates in an
admiring tone the love affair between two second-
generation rich kids. One of them runs down and
kills a passer-by in his sports car but gets away with
the murder because of his family wealth, while the
other rapes a 10-year-old girl and kills her afterwards
because he feels disgusted by women (Anonymous,
2011). The exposé immediately stirred up a great
deal of anger from Xianqing users as the novel
touched on two hot-button issues simultaneously.
The characterization of morally corrupted rich kids
triggered the prevailing resentment toward the pow-
erful and privileged on Chinese Internet (Tong,
2015), whereas the plot of child rape violated the
communal consensus against pedophilia fiction
(liantong wen 恋童文), a subgenre of danmei that
centers on sexual relationship between adults/ado-
lescents and children (L. Yang & Xu, in press-b). At
first, one fan tried to defend the author by resorting
to the right to freedom of expression, despite the fact
that the majority of fans were more interested in how
to remove the work from the Internet. But the lone
apologist soon fell into silence when several survi-
vors of childhood sexual abuse came out and testi-
fied to the tremendously harmful effects of such
abuse on young children. Due to fierce protests from
readers, the work was quickly “locked up” by
Jinjiang, that is, removed from public viewing, and
the 19-year-old author was also forced to give up her
writing career. Since 2013, major danmei literature
websites in China have all put a ban on depiction of
sexual contacts or acts with minors.
253
The queering of a women’s space
If Xianqing does not necessarily constitute a “coun-
terpublic” that is characterized by persistent “ten-
sion with a larger public” and conflicts with the
authority and social conventions (Warner, 2002,
p. 56), it does provide a platform for the public per-
formance of queer identities and open discussion of
non-normative sexualities for its predominantly
female users. Like slash fans studied by Western
scholars (Lothian, Busse, & Reid, 2007), Xianqing
fans are highly reflexive about their attachment to
danmei and its connection to sexual identity. As
early as 2004, there were some posts dealing with
the sexual orientation of danmei fans. While some
assumed that fan girls were all straight because they
were attracted to good-looking men and two men
were better than one, others explicitly identified
themselves as bisexual, lesbian, queer, questioning,
or asexual. As more posts revealed the sexual diver-
sity of Xianqing fandom, fans started to wonder
about the influence of danmei on one’s sexual orien-
tation and the possibility of “bending” (baiwan 掰
弯), that is, turning from straight into homosexual.
Threads devoted to the issue of bending used to bear
eye-catching titles like “I’ve finally become lesbian
after five years’ of reading danmei,” “My classmate
became gay after being introduced to danmei,”
“Does this count as bending a straight guy?” or “Is
it morally wrong to deliberately lure an adult into
homosexuality?” Apparently, bending is not only a
common plot device in Chinese danmei fiction that
often portrays the love affair between a self-con-
scious gay man and a straight man, but a dramatic
turning point in real life. Although most fans now
believe that danmei only serves as a catalyst in the
process of self-discovery, more than a few are anx-
ious that early exposure to the genre might cause
unnecessary confusion and agony over one’s poten-
tial homosexuality, especially in light of the fluidity
of young people’s sexual identity. Regardless of the
controversy, danmei has been generally recognized
as opening up a magical new world whereby one
can express and explore transgressive fantasies,
desires, and identities that are formerly unknown
and unspeakable. This exhilarating sense of free-
dom and empowerment are particularly valued by
254
young female fans, who imbued with evangelical
zeal, have played a crucial role in the grassroots dis-
semination of danmei.
For some Xianqing fans, however, their interests
in queer knowledge have resulted in more, rather
than less, negative attitudes toward the gay commu-
nity. While many fan girls are willing to befriend gay
men and support gay rights, some have adhered to
the motto “cherish danmei and stay away from
gays,” a parody of Chinese government’s anti-drug
slogan “cherish life and stay away from drugs.”
Those cynics like to emphasize the difference
between the idealized one-on-one relationship in
danmei and the promiscuous, HIV-risky gay lifestyle
in reality, as well as the ingrained sexism among
Chinese gay men, which has partly contributed to the
widespread phenomenon of gay wife (tongqi 同妻).
According to scholarly estimates, there are 16 mil-
lion gay men in China who will marry a woman
under social pressure to carry on the family name.
Most of the women enter into the gay–straight mar-
riage unknowingly and are likely to experience vari-
ous kinds of emotional and physical abuse (Huang,
2015). The plight of a gay wife has made many
Xianqing fan girls to realize that although gay men
are subject to social discriminations, as long as they
hide their sexual orientation, they could still enjoy
many more privileges than women. In the end, it is
always women who suffer most in the heterosexual
patriarchal society.
The high-profile breakup of a notable female
danmei writer and a veteran gay voice actor of dan-
mei audio drama in 2013 has further served as a cau-
tionary tale to homophilic fan girls. Fueled by the
common interest in danmei, the writer fell in love
with the actor who told her that he was bisexual.
Before they were about to get married, the girl found
out that her fiancé cheated on her with other men and
she was used by him to get back at his former lover.
The incident not only spread far and wide in danmei
fandom but even made it into the trending topic
charts on Sina Weibo, China’s leading social media
platform. After the whole brouhaha, both the writer
and the actor retired from fandom.
In recent years, Xianqing fans have strongly
opposed the behavior of deceiving women into
straight–gay marriage whether it happens in reality
Communication and the Public 1(2)
or in the fictional world. In 2014, when a well-known
fan artist released a danmei fanzine in which the
main character marries a woman to produce an heir
so that he can reunite with his true love, she was
immediately accused by Xianqing fans for advocat-
ing sham marriage. The post that publicized this
wrongdoing garnered over 2400 replies, mostly
indignant censure, within a few days. The surge of
feminist consciousness in the community has also
forced danmei writers to take greater care not to
debase any female characters in their works, although
women could only play a supporting role in danmei
narratives, which by definition foregrounds male–
male relationship.
Since Xianqing has been generally tolerant of
topics unrelated to danmei, from time to time, offi-
cial politics, especially political events or deci-
sions that directly affect fans’ personal lives, also
become hot topics. Given the fact that Xianqing
users are made up mostly by women, it is hence no
surprise that the Chinese government’s easing of
the one-child policy in October 2015 generated
heated discussions on Xianqing. Contrary to some
male-dominated online forums that joyfully wel-
comed the new regulation that allows each family
to have two children, the majority of Xianqing fan
girls were deeply concerned with its potential neg-
ative impacts on the social and economic well-
being of women. For a start, fans argued that
women of child-bearing age will become more dis-
advantaged in the sexist job market because they
have to spend more time and efforts rearing a sec-
ond child. Since the state has failed to provide
adequate social support to childcare, women have
to shoulder the burden of child rearing mostly by
themselves. Moreover, as many veteran danmei
fans were born in the 1980s and belong to the gen-
eration of only children, they have come to regard
the three-decade-old one-child policy as the single
most important, albeit totally unintended, official
boost to women’s rights in China since the reform
era. For despite the inherent violence against
women in its implementation (forced abortions are
performed only on women’s bodies, so are forced
sterilization in most cases), many women believe
that the policy nevertheless creates an entire gen-
eration of ambitious, assertive, and independent
Yang and Xu
urban female-only children who have enjoyed the full
support of their families. Once a family could have
two children, however, the son is likely to receive
more care and resources than the daughter due to the
traditional preference for male heirs in the Chinese
culture. If the first child happens to be a daughter, then
the family would make sure that the second child is a
son by aborting the female fetus, consequently lead-
ing to more gender imbalance, which has already
been a serious social problem in China.
While most Xianqing fans hold a progressive pro-
feminist position on women’s issues, their attitudes
toward other political issues are more varied. Despite
or precisely because of the transnational background
of danmei, especially its association with Japanese
popular culture, some Xianqing fans have demon-
strated a strong nationalistic and pro-government
stance in political discussions (L. Yang & Xu, in
press-a), as if to compensate for the sense of guilt of
consuming a culturally transgressive genre. Any
group or individual that challenges the legitimacy of
the one-party rule or threatens the stability of the
Chinese government has all been vehemently
denounced on Xianqing. At least two popular
Japanese manga and anime series have been banned
from discussion on Xianqing due to their alleged
whitewashing of Japanese aggression against China
or belittling of Chinese culture. Some domestically
produced danmei works have also been heavily criti-
cized for their unorthodox representations of history.
To prevent Xianqing from sliding dangerously into a
political forum, the management of Jinjiang tempo-
rarily suspended political discussions on Xianqing in
September 2010 until those politically committed
ultra-nationalists moved out of Xianqing and estab-
lished their own online forum.
Conclusion
Scholars have been divided on “the emergence and
chances of public spheres in China,” as most topics
discussed on the Internet are based on “apolitical”
entertainment due to tight government censorship
(Rauchfleisch & Schäfer, 2015, p. 142). The com-
plex intersections of transgressive entertainment,
queer identification, feminist consciousness, and
state politics in the day-to-day workings of Xianqing,
255
however, suggest that the rigid distinction between
politics and entertainment largely arises from “a bias
towards sweeping and dichotomous analytical cate-
gories” (G. Yang, 2014, p. 136) that could not fully
capture the mesh of complicity, resistance, conten-
tion, and ambivalence of the Chinese cyberspace.
Although mainly dedicated to popular media con-
sumption, Xianqing has over the years become both
a part of the larger online public sphere in China and
a unique queer public sphere that defies any simple
classification, offering pleasures, meanings, and
identities to numerous diehard danmei fans residing
in and out of China despite recurrent technical prob-
lems, managerial failures, and increasing censor-
ship. Further investigation of the history of Xianqing
and its interactions with other fannish, queer, and
mainstream virtual spaces will shed more light on
how online queer fandoms mediate between state
control, communal interests, and private desires and
contribute to changes in gender and sexual norms in
contemporary China.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Prof. Wanning Sun for
helpful suggestions on an earlier draft.
Funding
This research is supported by the Fundamental Research
Funds for the Central Universities (0640-ZK1079).
References
Anonymous. (2011, December 9). Judging from this
week’s editor’s recommendation list, Jinjiang now
is really shameless and only cares about money.
Retrieved from http://bbs.jjwxc.net/showmsg.php?
board=3&keyword=%D3%D0%C8%CB%D6%AA
%B5%C0&id=603971
Feng, J. (2009). “Addicted to beauty”: Consuming and
producing web-based Chinese Danmei fiction at
Jinjiang. Modern Chinese Literature and Culture,
21(2): 1–41.
Huang, Z. (2015, March 2). China’s “homowives” are
becoming unlikely champions for gay rights. Quartz.
Retrieved from http://qz.com/329575/chinas-homo-
wives-are-becoming-unlikely-champions-for-gay-
rights/
Lothian, A., Busse, K., & Reid, R. A. (2007). “Yearning
void and infinite potential”: Online slash fandom as
256
queer female space. English Language Notes, 45,
103–111.
Rauchfleisch, A., & Schäfer, M. S. (2015). Multiple public
spheres of Weibo: A typology of forms and poten-
tials of online public spheres in China. Information,
Communication & Society, 18, 139–155.
Tong, J. (2015). The formation of an agonistic public
sphere: Emotions, the Internet and news media in
China. China Information, 29, 333–351.
Warner, M. (2002). Publics and counterpublics. New
York, NY: Zone.
Yang, G. (2009). The power of the Internet in China:
Citizen activism online. New York, NY: Columbia
University Press.
Yang, G. (2014) Political contestation in Chinese digi-
tal spaces: Deepening the critical inquiry. China
Information, 28, 135–144.
Yang, L., & Xu, Y. (in press-a). Chinese danmei fandom
and cultural globalization from below. In M. Lavin,
L. Yang, & J. J. Zhao (Eds.), Queer fan cultures in
Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Hong Kong:
Hong Kong University Press.
Yang, L., & Xu, Y. (in press-b). “The love that dare not
speak its name”: The fate of Chinese danmei com-
munities in the 2014 anti-porn campaign. In M.
Communication and the Public 1(2)
McLelland (Ed.), The end of “cool Japan”? Ethical,
legal, and cultural challenges to Japanese popular
culture. New York, NY: Routledge.
Author biographies
Ling Yang is Assistant Professor of Chinese at Xiamen
University, P. R. China. She is the author of Entertaining
the Transitional Era: Super Girl Fandom and the
Consumption of Popular Culture (China Social Sciences
Press, 2012) and the co-editor of Fan Cultures: A Reader
(Peking University Press, 2009). She has published arti-
cles on fan culture, Internet culture, and youth fiction in
International Journal of Cultural Studies, Cultural
Studies, and a number of Chinese journals.
Yanrui Xu is Associate Professor of Communication at the
Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, P. R.
China. She is the author of Media and Gender: Femininity,
Masculinity and the Formulation of Gender in Media
(Zhejiang University Press, 2014) and Contemporary
Feminist Literary Criticism in China 1980s–2000s
(Guangxi Normal University Press, 2008). Xu is also a BL
novelist and her stories have appeared in Chinese BL mag-
azines and literature websites such as Jinjiang, Lucifer
Club, and My Fresh Net.