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How Barbie is reigniting discussion in China about feminism and women’s rights
- Hollywood movie has become the unlikely heroine at a time when women in China are least represented in ruling elite
- Women say they have seen men leave the cinema during Chinese screenings of Barbie over the film’s dialogue criticising toxic masculinity
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Yuanyue Dangin Beijing
Hollywood’s latest comedy Barbie has stirred up a rare wave of discussion about women’s rights in China.
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Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the film tells the story of dolls Barbie and Ken as they leave Barbie Land and travel to the real world on a journey of self-discovery.
Among other things, the movie pokes fun at the huge gap between Barbie Land, where women fill all the positions of power ranging from president, supreme court judges and top writers, to the real world, where “man rules the world” – which character Ken says in one scene in disbelief.
Since hitting mainland cinemas on July 21, the film’s box office earnings, which stood at 140 million yuan (US$19.6 million) as of Friday, are relatively low in China’s movie-going market, which has boomed since the lifting of Covid-19 control measures in December.
But Barbie, which entered the Chinese market under a strict quota for foreign movies and movie censorship imposed by film regulators, has seen discussion around the film and its themes gain momentum. At the heart of that discussion is the film’s presentation of toxic masculinity and its support of feminism.
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It comes at a time when Chinese women are arguably least represented among the ruling elite. For the first time in decades, there are no women in the 24-member Politburo after the decision-making body was unveiled in October.
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