Xi called on women to develop a "culture of childhood" after his administration cracked down on the country's #MeToo movement and removed women from the Politburo in 2022.
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Published on February 9, 2024 • Read 4 min
Women share feminist songs that condemn gender inequality. Teenagers in bright dresses dance to songs celebrating LGBTQ freedoms. The number 1989, the most delicate year for modern Chinese politics, was displayed in large letters on the cinema screen.
It was the scene of the final screening of Taylor Swift's concert film Eras Tour in Beijing, as the American pop star fills cinemas across the Asian country with new audiences.
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The values espoused in the show contrast with President Xi Jinping's increasingly conservative approach to women, a rare outlet for young women who reject the Communist Party's tougher social controls and rigid expectations.
Faced with a shrinking population, China's most powerful leaders since Mao Zedong have encouraged women to develop a "culture" of children and to accept a role in the family. His administration suppressed the country's #MeToo movement and removed women from the Politburo in 2022 for the first time in decades.
Shuo Tao, 22, has seen the film twice. “It was amazing,” she said, kissing his bicep as Swift does when she introduces her song The Man, about society's double standards for men and women. “It gave me the courage and strength to say no to things that bother me,” Tao added.
Alice Evans, a senior lecturer at King's College London who studies gender equality, said Swift was "emotionally expressive", which resonated with a new, gender-conscious generation.
“China is traditionally a patriarchal society where women are expected to obey their fathers and husbands,” Evans said. Chinese women with higher education are increasingly critical of sexual harassment, male violence and discrimination in the job market, she added.
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Swift, a 30-year-old American billionaire, toured the world's second-largest economy to become the highest-grossing music tour ever, boosting the U.S. economy by $5.4 billion (all amounts in U.S. dollars). His absence comes as China recorded its deepest rate of deflation since the global financial crisis last month amid weak consumer confidence.
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Swiftie spends an average of $1,500 to see a live show, including tickets, hotel, flight and food. Hong Kong boss John Lee has vowed to "work hard" to attract superstars after US singers decided to move to Tokyo and Singapore instead of the financial hub. Instead, the tour opened on nearly 7,000 screens in China and grossed 95 million yuan ($13.2 million) at the box office, a boon for the industry despite failing to reach the top spots.
“Chinese men are under enormous pressure to fill theaters due to the overbuilding of the industry and the general economic slowdown,” Chris Fenton, a former director who wrote Feeding the Dragon, said of the Hollywood report with China.
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“Even though he's not very political, he has his opinion on important issues,” said Juzi, a 20-year-old woman who asked not to reveal her real name for fear of repercussions, explaining why the film was so popular. . . Swift has also expressed her public support for the LGBTQ community, another group that has faced pressure from the government in recent years.
The 2023 “Barbie” film was seen as a rare breakthrough for feminists in China, a country where the ruling party has increased censorship of concerts, films and broadcast content. The blockbuster received critical acclaim upon its release in China, as audiences flocked to see a film that highlighted gender inequality.
Although Swift is Beijing's biggest political rival and an icon of the American state often mocked in Chinese state media, she has been welcomed in China in the past. The Shanghai stop of his 2014 tour sold out in less than a minute, making it the fastest-selling ticket in Chinese history.
Swift followed this tour with her fifth studio album, 1989. Swift believed that the title, along with her initials, TS, might run afoul of censors who might interpret the album title as a reference to the Tiananmen Square hit. The democratic protests of 1989
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This discussion did not materialize and the American star continued to search for a new audience. Yangyang Zhu, 29, who attended Swift's Reputation Tour in the UK when she was a student, has seen the film three times. “It's that feeling that I deserve,” Zhu said of why he embraced the star's music.
With Eras extending its run through March 1, Swift fans across the country are preparing for performances during the Lunar New Year holiday that begins Saturday. State media weekly summed up why it was a surprising success last month.
"It talks about love, shows its fragility openly and courageously and then continues, continues to love", writes the author. “It makes me feel very strong.”
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