Straight man cancer

Straight man cancer (Chinese: 直男癌; pinyin: zhí nán ái)^[1] is a Chinese neologism to conclude a group of men who are stubbornly sexist.^[2] Coined by the users of Chinese social networks Douban and Weibo in mid-2014, it refers to a group that uses a variety of reasons and actions to belittle women's value, harm women's rights, and hinder the movement for gender equality. They are hostile to ethnic minorities, calling for the return of conservative values. In general, "straight male cancer" and "male chauvinism" in English are comparatively similar.^[3]

The term originated from mainland China^[4] and could be a result of China's self-sufficient economy and family tradition of preference for sons, as well as personal factors such as the men's own failures and their unawareness of women’s status.

This is a term describing men who the feminist perceives to be overly proud of what the feminist believes to be poor taste or live in the all-too-narrow confines of their own world. This kind of man holds moral values different to those of a feminist and stubbornly refuses to change his views in general, and calls the women back as “feminist cancer" who are trying to seek self-respect and equality.

It usually implies a state when man and woman cannot stand each other anymore and stop trying to change.

Causes

Historical self-sufficiency

The self-sufficient economy (also called small-scale peasant economy), a basic socio-economic formation in Chinese feudal society, has lasted for more than 2000 years in ancient China. It did not require any aid, support, or interaction, for survival; therefore it is a type of personal or collective autonomy, which contributes a lot to the formation of the idea of male supremacy.^[5]

Since men have advantages in physical strength, they occupy an increasingly important position in the main production sectors and women relegated to a secondary position in production. Thus, men became the backbone of the family, while women became their accessory.^[6] The Chinese society took a gradual transition to the patriarchal society.

Preference for sons

Numerous Chinese families which still have been influenced a lot by the patriarchal tradition, especially the rural families, tend to have a preference for boys rather than girls. They spoil the boys in their family which might affect their sons’ cognition of the social level of men and women. This makes men value themselves over women and causes male chauvinism.^[7][8]

With the maturity of economic development, social mobility is solely based on personal academic achievements. Parents under this competitive environment are pressured to cultivate children with great talents so they have a better chance of getting into a prestigious school and eventually take their place in the middle or upper class. This tension spreads through every detail of the children's lives, like complaining when teachers give the child a low grade, with the intention to raise their competitiveness. The children's development suffers because of their parents' over-protectiveness.

Low self-worth and lack of awareness of women's status

With the emergence of women succeeding in both academics and their careers, the role that women play in the society is increasingly important. However, some men remain oblivious to the change in women’s social statuses. According to the gender inequality index issued by the United Nations program development in 2013, China ranked 91 among 187 countries, the ranking is even lower than Iran and Ukraine.

Some men could not succeed in their careers were not able to fulfill their ambitions. They often choose to remove their attention and criticize women to fulfill their vanity and amuse themselves regardless of women’s success.

Examples

1. Lin Shaohua: He declared that men should avoid housework, as pots and pans are fatal to men. "They wear out a man’s thinking and spirit—that’s the reason why there are effeminate men," and thinks what he said was totally right.^[9]
2. Qi Yihu (齐一虎): women might consider working half time and taking care of the family half of the time. "That way you can take care of parents, husband and kids. This way, you don't completely separate the women from social contact, and at the same time you can take care of the family, you can call it killing two birds with one stone."^[9]
3. Han Han had gone on the record stating his girlfriend could not work outside the house. His form of "straight man cancer" was labelled "curable."^[10]
4. Celebrity English teacher Li Yang, who famously admitted beating his American wife, Kim Lee.^[11]

See also

• Patriarchy
• Male chauvinism
• Female chauvinism
• Feminism

References