China is cracking down on young women who write gay erotica
www.bbc.com
At least 30 writers have been arrested across the country since February, a lawyer tells the BBC.

“I’ve been warned not to talk about it,” the woman wrote, before revealing snippets of the day she says she was arrested for publishing gay erotica.

“I’ll never forget it - being escorted to the car in full view, enduring the humiliation of stripping naked for examination in front of strangers, putting on a vest for photos, sitting in the chair, shaking with fear, my heart pounding.”

The handle, Pingping Anan Yongfu, is among at least 8 in recent months which have shared accounts on Chinese social media platform Weibo of being arrested for publishing gay erotic fiction. As authors recounted their experiences, dozens of lawyers offered pro bono help.

At least 30 writers, nearly all of them women in their 20s, have been arrested across the country since February, a lawyer defending one told the BBC. Many are out on bail or awaiting trial, but some are still in custody. Another lawyer told the BBC that many more contributors were summoned for questioning.

    • PolydoreSmith@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      You don’t even have to be charged with anything before ICE grabs you off the street and throws you in a van in the US…

  • Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    As much as I like to stan China for how they treat their billionaires and corporations, this is wrong. Sex work, in all its forms, is a valid, lucrative, and old line of work across the world. China is one of the most developed nations on Earth. They should also be the most progressive when it comes to this. Smh

    • Corn@lemmy.mlEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      Weirdly they are more progressive when it comes to prostitution; prostitution isnt illegal, but soliciting it is.

        • Corn@lemmy.mlEnglish
          01·
          1 month ago

          Yes, the model common to the Nordic, Vietnam, Cuba, etc.

          Not criminalizing solicitation or brothels increases the number of prostitutes who end up working under coercive conditions.

  • Burnoutdv@feddit.orgEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    I know nothing about Chinese child care, but reading that the government wishes for more child rearing, might it be that there are other systemic problems like no access to child care facilities, a culture that doesn’t value women and people exhausted by long work days? I might have read that this is part of the root cause in korea. But sure, some gay novels might also be the reason for significant numbers. Overall the Chinese are somewhat known for pragmatic approaches, why chasing illusions in this case? The total number of readers and writers can’t be that huge can’t it?

      • Burnoutdv@feddit.orgEnglish
        0·
        1 month ago

        Crazy amount of side information you have there. The sterilisation part is wild, i had the impression that the one child policy was only very scarcely enforced anyway and people had less kids due economics

        Here in germoney there are church, state and private run kindergartens where you drop off your child 6 to 12 hours, they are not super easily available in big cities bit its a widely available system

        I mean whats the alternative? Everyone lives in some big city but grandparents usually remain in the old desolated villages. Confining women to a life as care taker for at least 6 years?