China's first androgynous all-girl pop band challenges ideal of femininity

Record ID: 788237

  • Title: China's first androgynous all-girl pop band challenges ideal of femininity
  • Date: 3rd May 2017
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT FROM BEIJING, YU HAN, SAYING: "At the beginning it was definitely because of appearance, she is so handsome. And this is the first girl band of this kind in China." (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT FROM EASTERN SHANDONG PROVINCE FENG YAHUI, SAYING: "This is a handsome girl-band, very attractive."
  • Embargoed: 17th May 2017 07:48
  • Keywords: androgynous band music FFC-Acrush
  • Location: JINHUA, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, BEIJNG, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, CHINA
  • City: JINHUA, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, BEIJNG, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA00D6FAABT9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: VIDEO SHOWS: MEMBERS OF ACRUSH BAND REHEARSING, ACRUSH MUSIC VIDEO AND ACRUSH BAND MEMBERS PERFORMING AND SPEAKING ONSTAGE, ACRUSH FANS REACTING
    Sporting short bobs, loose T-shirts and barely-there makeup, Acrush's androgynous look is bucking centuries-old norms in a society where girls strive to look feminine and act demurely.
    China's all-girl "boy band", FFC-Acrush, had already attracted more than 749,000 followers on social networking site Weibo even before any of their music was released.
    During a rehearsal session for their next music video, band members said although they maintain the androgynous look as a requirement for the band, they have been sporting the style for a long time.
    Band leader Lu Keran, 21, from eastern China's Jiangsu province says she always feels comfortable wearing unisex clothes but still acts feminine sometimes.
    In a break during rehearsal, the band's manager Zhou Xiaobai explains that the letter 'A' in the band's name is a reference to the god Adonis - the archetype of youthful male beauty in Greek mythology, adding people should refer to the band members as "beautiful youth" rather than stamp a gender on them.
    Current girl bands in China are largely affected by Korean-style and Japanese-style pop music where girls are moulded to be sweet or sexy in accordance with male-perspective aesthetic.
    However, it's not the first time that Chinese music agents discover talents in gender-neutral acts.
    In 2005, a boyish-looking singer Li Yuchun briefly won fans in a nationwide talent show "Super Girl" with her style, triggering a debate on how women should dress in a conservative society.
    Sun Baihui, a 35-year-old assistant researcher in women's studies from the Communication University of China thinks that post 90s generation are more open and don't automatically follow China's traditional norm of appearance for male and female.
    Held back by worries about a social backlash, the music industry had stayed away from marketing "handsome girl" acts until 2016.
    Last year, Zhejiang Huati Culture Communication, an entertainment startup backed by Tencent Holdings, was looking to create a girl band when the idea of an androgynous act came about.
    Now marketed by sports brand Fantasy Football Confederation (FFC), the five women - aged 18 to 24 - held their debut public event in Beijing on April 28.
    Acrush is one of several bands under the FFC brand which aims to bring China an unprecedented concept of mixing soccer with music and dance.
    All FFC bands - including Acrush - must learn how to play soccer.
    Soccer is backed by President Xi Jinping, and the sport is expected to boom into a 5 trillion yuan ($725 billion) business by 2025.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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