In the Blog
“The town where women are never wrong”
So in an effort to increase tourism to one of China’s less well-known districts, local officials have announced that in “two years, a ‘female-dominated town’ will be built up here to promote ‘feminine culture.’”
What sort of “feminine culture” will the town be promoting, you ask?
“Love whip” will be a feature of the scenic spot according to the program. In this area, a “Female Court” composed of “judges” and “captains” will be set up. Male tourists visiting here will be “whipped” by female tourists if, for example, they can’t remember their sweethearts’ eating habits quickly or the brand of her cosmetics. The “Female Court” will sentence the man to suffer from the “whip.” The female tourist will then discipline the man with a specially made long whip. The theory is that man can only feel soft power through this kind of tender punishment. According to the program, cautions like “Women are never wrong, men must not refuse women’s requests” will be clearly written on the door lintel of the “female-dominated town.” If male tourists break the rules, the “bailiff” will read them out loud and make them kneel on washing boards or wash dishes for the restaurants in the form of playing games. Tong Jiuying, Party branch secretary of Xinmin Village, is also the future bailiff. “We just want tourists to enjoy this ‘feminism game’ after visiting Dazu Rock Carvings which is on the world heritage list,” she said on April 3.
Being whipped for not remembering what kind of make-up your girlfriend wears, or being forced to wash dishes (how emasculating!), are “feminism games?” My word. I think, however, that the use of the word “feminism” in this case was just a matter of poor translation, because earlier in the press release you find this statement:
“The essence of the ‘female-dominated town’ is entertainment showing ‘feminine culture,’ and it has no relationship with the feminism in real life.”
No kidding, this has nothing to do with “feminism in real life.” Feminism is about one thing: equality. Let’s just hope naive tourists don’t walk away thinking otherwise - although, let’s face it: some will.
