A still from ‘Chinese Dating’ shows host Jin Xing (left) introducing a female guest. Credit: Chinese Dating's Weibo account
Jin Xing is the first transgender celebrity in China, and a progressive icon for many. She enjoys many titles: an accomplished dancer, founder of a modern dance company, a single mother of three adopted children, a talk show host, a business woman, and a wife of an interracial marriage. Now, she is once again under the spotlight for hosting a new dating show: one that features parents choosing potential daughters-in-law for their sons.
The first episode of Chinese Dating aired on Christmas Eve, and caused a storm of outrage on the internet that still continues. In the show, parents sit on chairs that move forward when they approve of one of the single girls on stage. Emphasis is put on youth (under 30), good looks, simple past relationships, a good career, a gentle attitude and family-centered values. And for men, wealth. When a girl with a doctorate degree stepped on the stage, the following caption appeared on screens: “but where’s the good looks that we agreed on?” The chauvinistic comments and the patriarchal, misogynistic standards led Quartz News to publish a video titled: “A new hit Chinese TV show proves sexist ideas still persist there.”
