"Sisters who make waves", about gender stereotypes and female empowerment

"Sisters who make waves", one of China’s most discussed TV shows in 2020. While China (as the rest of the world) is wrapped up with TV singing or performing contests these years, it is usually about the trendy Gen Z (generation born after 1995).

Hunan-based Mango TV introduced last June ‘Sisters who make waves’, a singing contest for mid-career female celebrities who are all over the age of 30, with the eldest competitor being 52.

After debuting in June, the show immediately triggered a huge wave of discussion around gender stereotypes and female empowerment. A hashtag tied to the show’s Chinese name 乘风破浪的姐姐 attracted 7.63 billion views on Weibo (China’s twitter) and more than 370 million views of the show after the first episodes.

See the first episode here (with English subtitles) :

Even though not all women in the show were single, the show's discussion online raised about gender inequality, traditions and ‘leftover women’, a derogatory slang for females who are still single after age 27. The female contestants were confident, ambitious and telling passionately about their lives, triggering many different kinds of emotions online.

In recent years, the term “leftover women” has faced increasing backlash inside China challenging discriminatory attitudes regarding traditional gender expectations.

#china #chinesesociety #chineseculture

Sources : Radii, Sixthtone