Women arrested in China for writing erotic works of gay themes

Many are released on bail or waiting for trial, but some are still detained.

Another lawyer told the BBC that many other collaborators were summoned to testify.

They had published their work in Hait Danmeia genus of fiction that presents erotic and intimate relationships between men, in historical, fantastic or science fiction scenarios.

Over the years, he has cultivated a large number of faithful followers, especially among the young Chinese.

The authors are being accused of violating the Chinese law on pornography for “producing and distributing obscene material.” They could be imprisoned for more than 10 years.

The law focuses on “explicit descriptions of gay sex or other sexual perversions.”

Heterosexual representations often have a greater margin of maneuver: works by acclaimed Chinese authors, such as the Nobel Yan Prize, include explicit sexual scenes, but are widely available.

Although some heterosexual erotic fiction authors have been imprisoned in China, experts claim that the genre is subject to much less censorship.

Those who reported having been arrested refused to be interviewed for fear of reprisals.

The Northwest City of Lanzhou, accused of promoting this offensive, did not respond to the request for BBC comments.

The energetic measures of the authorities have unleashed a debate and a rare opposition to the law.

“Is sex really something to be ashamed?” Asked a Weibo user, arguing that Chinese laws against obscenity are outdated.

Another person wrote that women can never decide what is obscene because they do not control the narrative.

Even some jurists expressed concern that only 5,000 visualizations of anything considered “obscene” are considered criminal “distribution”, which increases the possibilities of arresting creators.

This bothered Beijing and online discussions have been disappearing: the tag #anters dehatizarrestras obtained more than 30 million views in Weibo before being censored.

The publications that offered legal advice vanished. Writers' accounts, and some of their profiles are also disappearing.

After Pingping Anan Yongfu publication went viral, erased it and wrote another, thanking those who supported her and admitting that her writing had violated the law. Then he erased his profile.

Before that last publication, he wrote: “I was always the good girl in the eyes of my parents. But that day, they only brought them ashamed. They will never keep their heads up.”

These women have worked for a long time in the shadow in China, where homosexuality and eroticism are stigmatized.

Now, discovered by police investigations, face social consequences as brutal as the legal ones.

“At that time, I just felt shame,” published a writer whose username in Weibo translates as “the world is a huge psychiatric hospital.”

He said the police took her out of class at the university and in front of her classmates led her to register her bedroom.

“Writing I earned my money for word. But when everything went to the devil, it was as if none of that imported. They treated me as if I had earned money without having worked.”

Another wrote that the police had been kind, advising him to speak with a lawyer and return his “illegal profits” to reduce his conviction. “I am only 20 years old. So young and I have already ruined my life.”

A third said: “I never imagined that the day would come when every word I wrote would turn against me.”

An author who has been writing novels Danmei for 20 years was not interrogated, but states that the repression will not stop it.

“This is how happiness encounter. And I can't give up the connections I have forged with the community.”

Danmei emerged as a subgenre on the Internet in the 1990s, inspired by the Japanese love manga between men. He reached a resounding success, with some novels appearing in the international lists of the best -selling books.

In 2021, 60 of them were adapted to cinema and television. The property of the most expensive work, as reported, was sold for 40 million yuan (US $ 5.6 million).

Some of the most important stars in China, such as Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, began their careers in streaming programs based on Danmei novels.

In summary, it is the rebel royalty of pop culture: too popular to ignore it, too controversial to honor it.

The Damei is an emblematic product of the Haitang platform, which in Mandarin translates as “a flower that blooms in all rose tones.”

Both Haitang and Danmei have flourished as exclusively feminine spaces, although its protagonists are men.

In a culture where female sexual desire is routinely controlled, the Danmei has become a creative and coded escape route: a space where women can write about female desire for other women.

That is precisely what makes Dammei so “subversive,” says Dr. Liang Ge, professor of digital sociology at the University College in London. It allows women to “disconnect from gender realities”, which are often associated with marriage and motherhood.

For example, in Damei's stories, men can get pregnant and feel comfortable with their vulnerability, a marked contrast to relationships, often unequal, that many Chinese women face in real life.

“The Danmei frees me from thinking about all these potential dangers in the relations of traditional heterosexual romance,” explains Li Shen, a writer who has been active in the world of Danmei.

Danmei novels are not exempt from criticism, since some contain extreme and violent scenes.

“As parents, how many of us can we accept that our children read novels like these, much less to write them?” Asked a Weibo user.

The age of the authors has also been a reason for concern: some interviewed by the BBC claimed to have begun to read and write Erotic gay fiction before the age of 18, some even at 11.

It is a problem that the community should recognize and address, said Ma, writer of Danmei who only shared her last name, and added that this is a challenge for all adult content, since China does not restrict the content by age.

But Danmei, in particular, has been subject to growing attacks in the last decade, since Beijing has launched a series of campaigns to “clean” the Internet.

In 2018, an author of Danmei was sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling 7,000 copies of his book “Occupy”.

As the marriage and birth rates collapse in China and President Xi Jinping promotes a national rejuvenation, the state scrutiny of Danmei has intensified, said Dr. GE.

“The Chinese government wants to promote traditional family values, and the taste for Danmei novels is considered a factor that reduces the disposition of women to have children,” he explained.

This is the second wave of mass arrests in less than 12 months; At the end of last year, 50 Haiter writers were prosecuted.

And a well -known author who won around 1.85 million yuan (US $ 255,000) was imprisoned for almost five years.

“But this time, not even those who have had little participation were saved,” said a lawyer.

“More than 150 people requested consultations in just two days,” said a lawyer who offered free advice. Many of those who contacted her had not yet been accused, although that possibility terrified them.

“This is the typical 'fishing in the high seas',” says a lawyer author of a “practical guide” to help Haitan writers.

The term refers to how the Local Police exceeds its limits: Lanzhou quoted writers in various places, possibly outside their jurisdiction.

Danmei's writers know that tolerance can be variable. That is why they avoid censorship with metaphors. “Prepare dinner” means sex; “Kitchen utensil” is a code to refer to male genitals.

But the severity of repression left them stunned. “A phone call shattered my dreams”: thus described a writer the police call.

They accused the police of registering their phones without a court order. They said that their crime was calculated by adding the online visits of each chapter, a method that, as they argued, was misleading, since it probably exaggerated the number of readers.

Another author of Danmei published: “I wrote in Haitang for years, with only a handful of readers. Then, those ignored stories accumulated more than 300,000 clicks, and the 4,000 yuan (about US $ 560) in royalties that I had in my account became evidence of my crime.”

It is difficult to know if this means the end of his career in Haitan.

“If I could go back, I would continue writing. And I will continue writing,” Sijin's Sijin user published.

“Right now, I just hope that the law will see beyond the written words and see the girl who stopped eating to save money, the girl who sold her hair to buy a pen, the girl who believed that her mind could forge a path through destiny. I hope you give us all a fair opportunity.”

Li Shen, Zhao Wu and Fang XIXI are pseudonyms. With additional information from Grace Tsoi.

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