Jacky Jin, Visiting Scholar ‘07

The prevailing belief that males provide the backbone of society and the family in China has long caused suffering for both men and women. The patriarchal system weighs down on men, who feel obligated to assume much more responsibility than women, and places them in a difficult position that isolates them from the opposite sex.

Studies conducted by the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China over the past 20 years show that during the period of China’s economic transition men’s physical and psychological condition has seriously deteriorated. According to a survey made by the Chinese edition of Men’s Health, men in China today suffer from 160 types of illness compared to a smaller number for women, yet average 25% fewer visits to doctors’ offices. And an increasing number of men holding high social positions die of sudden heart attacks. A national survey conducted in 2005 by China’s Ministry of Health attributes the increasing incidence of heart disease to an unhealthy psychological state, primarily due to stressful work and family burdens.

[Photo: Images from the 2004 Men's Day celebration in Beijing.]

In 2003, in an effort to change the androcentrism lodged firmly in people’s minds, I formally proposed a special day for men throughout China. My mission was to create a space for deeply exploring alternative ideas about masculinity from those constructed by patriarchy. Hundreds of thousands of people supported my proposal, and fifty prominent companies including BMW, Motorola, and Volkswagen agreed to give their male employees a one-day leave to commemorate this national men’s day.

The proposal to initiate a Men’s Day captured the media’s attention. The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong published a special feature offering an overview of Chinese men’s psychology and physiology. It regarded my appeal as a groundbreaking attempt across this socialist country to allow men a clear self-consciousness and a new self-image. （“Men behaving boldly”, South China Morning Post, August 1, 2005).

Four days later, Xinhua News Agency issued an unprecedented formal news release on its national and international channel that stated: “If the proposal is approved by UNESCO, it will be the first international holiday sponsored by China” (Xinhua News Agency, “Chinese men want to have own holiday”, August 5, 2005).

The Chinese public is easily influenced by the mainstream media, which are required by the government to act as its “throat and tongue.” I took the risk of organizing 15 magazines in the Trends Group, and also cooperating with Sina.com, China’s leading online media company, to call for liberating men and rationalizing the relationship between men and women.

More than 60 prominent Chinese men–including Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu.com; Kong Xiangdong, internationally renowned musician; Pan Shiyi, CEO of SOHO Group; Wang Zhongjun, president of Huayi Brothers Group; and Li Xiaopeng, champion of the men’s parallel bars event at the World Cup competition in Germany–participated in support of my proposal.

A lively media debate over the proposed Men’s Day took place across the country. China Newsweek published a feature story (“Men’s revolution”, by Luo Xuehui, May 2, 2005) that dedicated 6 full pages to argue for men’s inherent power and social status and also to debate the motivation behind my appeal. The magazine, sponsored by the China News Agency and also known as “America’s Newsweek,” argued that Chinese men needed a special day to call for care from the society, emphasizing that the day is not only for men but also for women and for society’s harmony and development. CCTV, BTV, Travel TV and Shandong TV all organized random surveys among the public and Shangdong TV aired live debates.

In 2003, Men’s Day was publicly proclaimed, and up to now, four national celebrations have occurred. Tens of thousands of people participated in the events, including stars, film directors, artists, and ordinary people.

On November 28, 2003, more than 300 people, including Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu.com, pianist Kong Xiangdong, film director Sun Zhou, , and Pan Shiyi, CEO of SOHO Group, appeared at the televised ceremony and expressed their support for Men’ s Day. Li Xiaoshuang, the Olympic Game Gold Medalist, announced the appeal for setting up a special day for men at the event. Li was later elected as the spokesman for Men’s Day by the executive committee, which consists of media editors, critics and artists.

On August 3, 2006, the Men’s Day event took place in Shanghai. It’s the first time for the event’s stage to move outside Beijing. The theme of the 2006 Men’s Day, “who can be the icon for Chinese men’s new image? ” resulted in a series of debates in this international metropolis.

Each year when the date draws near, debates over Men’s Day show up in mainstream newspapers or on TV. In 2005, one researcher from the Beijing Folk-Custom Study Association opposed this day by arguing that a special day normally stems from local customs and history. Gu Jun, professor of Sociology at Shanghai University, even questioned the incentive for Men’s Day because “it has no reasons as sound as International Women’s Day.”

Three years later, so-called “metrosexual” males, those who have a strong aesthetic sense and spend a great amount of time and money on appearance and lifestyle, have sprung up in urban cities in China, backed by a plethora of glossy male fashion bibles such as Esquire, Men’s Health and FHM. Most of these magazines have been introduced from USA or the UK.

Some men in Beijing even called for doing something unusual for women—for their mothers or their female partners and counterparts. China Newsweek reported that ordinary women in increasing numbers now agree to hold a Men’s Day once a year, and some female celebrities , like famous film star Li Bingbing and pop singer Ai Jing, have expressed their full public support.

In 2007, to further promote this commemoration, the committee for Men’s Day plans to have a road show in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, vowing to promote this event on a new stage and win more support from the masses.

We cannot say for sure there is a clear sign of shifting attitudes toward patriarchy in China, but we do find an interesting development. When August 3 approaches each year, the mainstream media devote significant coverage to men’s concerns and the planned Men’s Day events. It is hoped that continual propagandizing of this day will, by degrees, help longstanding expectations about patriarchy and masculinity to disappear.