Latest news with #eroticfiction
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
China arrests 30 female writers over gay erotic fiction
China has arrested at least 30 writers – almost all of whom are women in their 20s – since February, as it clamps down on the publication of gay erotic fiction. Under China's strict pornography laws, writers who are found guilty of 'producing and distributing obscene materials' and have earned money for their work, could face more than 10 years in prison. One of the women targeted, who goes by the name Pingping Anan Yongfu, recounted the experience of her arrest on social media, despite being ' warned not to talk about it '. 'I'll never forget it – being escorted to the car in full view, enduring the humiliation of stripping naked for examination in front of strangers, putting on a vest for photos, sitting in the chair, shaking with fear, my heart pounding,' she wrote online. After her post went viral, she deleted it and wrote another one acknowledging that she had broken the law before deleting her account entirely. She is part of a group of women known for writing 'danmei', a type of erotic fiction that emerged in the 1990s and often involves a BDSM relationship between two male characters. Inspired by Japanese boys' love for manga, and increasingly popular in China, the genre is normally hosted online and tends to be targeted at women. The stories are known to be subversive and go against what is often seen as normal or right. For example, in 'danmei' stories, male characters are often portrayed as vulnerable and are able to become pregnant. The genre has become increasingly popular over the years, with 60 'danmei' stories optioned for film and TV in 2021, with the most expensive sold for over £4 million. The female 'danmei' writers who have been arrested so far this year had published their work on Haitang Literature City, a website known for hosting the genre. Late last year, another 50 writers who had published their work on the site were also prosecuted. China's pornography law specifically prohibits 'explicit descriptions of gay sex or other sexual perversions ' and gay erotica writers tend to be targeted more than those who write heterosexual erotica. While homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997 and removed from a list of psychiatric disorders in 2001, gay marriage has yet to be legalised and same-sex couples cannot adopt children. The government has also previously cracked down on LGBT rights groups and there have been reports of young transgender people being sent to 're-education' camps, as the government pushes forward traditional family values. One 'danmei' writer who shared her experience on social media said that she was pulled out of her college class by police officers who then proceeded to search her dorm room. Another said: 'I'm only 20. So young, and I've already ruined my life so early.'
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Haitang: China is cracking down on young women who write gay erotica
"I've been warned not to talk about it," the woman wrote, before revealing snippets of the day she says she was arrested for publishing gay erotica."I'll never forget it - being escorted to the car in full view, enduring the humiliation of stripping naked for examination in front of strangers, putting on a vest for photos, sitting in the chair, shaking with fear, my heart pounding."The handle, Pingping Anan Yongfu, is among at least eight in recent months which have shared accounts on Chinese social media platform Weibo of being arrested for publishing gay erotic fiction. As authors recounted their experiences, dozens of lawyers offered pro bono least 30 writers, nearly all of them women in their 20s, have been arrested across the country since February, a lawyer defending one told the BBC. Many are out on bail or awaiting trial, but some are still in custody. Another lawyer told the BBC that many more contributors were summoned for had published their work on Haitang Literature City, a Taiwan-hosted platform known for its "danmei", the genre of so-called boys' love and erotic fiction. Think of it as a gay version of Fifty Shades of Grey: a BDSM relationship that leads to a happily-ever-after. That's a frequent trope, across historical, fantasy or sci-fi settings. Over the years it has cultivated a fiercely devoted following, especially among young Chinese authors are being accused of breaking China's pornography law for "producing and distributing obscene material". Writers who earn a profit could be jailed for more than 10 law targets "explicit descriptions of gay sex or other sexual perversions". Heterosexual depictions often have more leeway - works by acclaimed Chinese authors, including Nobel Laureate Mo Yan, have graphic sexual scenes, but are widely available. Although authors of heterosexual erotica have been jailed in China, observers say the genre is subjected to far less censorship. Gay erotica, which is more subversive, seems to bother authorities more. Volunteers in a support group for the Haitang writers told the BBC police even questioned some who reported being arrested declined to be interviewed, fearing repercussions. Police in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, who are accused of driving this crackdown, have not responded to the the crackdown has unleashed a debate - and a rarer pushback against the law."Is sex really something to be ashamed of?" a Weibo user asked, arguing that China's anti-obscenity laws are out of touch. Another wrote that women never get to decide what is obscene because they don't control the narrative. Even legal scholars have expressed concern that just 5,000 views for anything deemed "obscene" qualifies as criminal "distribution", lowering the bar to arrest made Beijing uneasy enough that discussions have been vanishing: #HaitangAuthorsArrested drew more than 30 million views on Weibo before it was censored. Posts offering legal advice are gone. A prominent Chinese news site's story has been taken down. Writers' accounts, and some of the handles, are also Pingping Anan Yongfu's post went viral, she deleted it and wrote another, thanking supporters and admitting her writing had violated the law. She then deleted her that last post, she had written: "I was always the good girl in my parents' eyes. But that day, I brought them nothing but shame. They'll never hold their heads up again." Danmei: The uncrowned royal of pop culture These women have long worked in the shadows in China, where homosexuality and eroticism are stigmatised. Now outed by police investigations, they face social consequences that are as brutal as the legal ones. "In that moment, all I felt was shame," posted a writer whose Weibo handle translates to "the world is a huge psychiatric hospital". She said the police pulled her out of class in college - and her classmates watched as they followed her to search her dorm."I earned my money word by word at a keyboard. But once it went south, it was as if none of that mattered. People treated me like I'd made money without ever working for it."Another wrote the police had been kind, advising her to speak to a lawyer and return her "illegal earnings" to reduce her sentence. "I'm only 20. So young, and I've already ruined my life so early."A third said: "I never imagined a day would come when every word I once wrote would come back to haunt me."One author who has been writing danmei novels for 20 years was not questioned but she says the crackdown won't stop her. "This is how I find happiness. And I can't let go of the connections I have made with the community."Inspired by Japanese boys' love manga, danmei emerged as a sub-genre online in the 1990s. It has become hugely successful, with some of the novels appearing on international bestseller lists. In 2021, 60 of them were optioned for film and TV adaptations. The most expensive IP reportedly sold for 40 million yuan ($5.6 million; £4.1 million). Some of China's biggest stars, such as Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, began their careers on streaming shows based on danmei novels. In short, it's the rebellious royal of pop culture - too popular to ignore, too controversial to it is a signature offering on Haitang, which, in Mandarin, is a flower that blooms in every shade of Haitang and danmei have flourished as uniquely female spaces, although they centre male protagonists. In a culture where female sexual desire is routinely policed, danmei beceme a coded, creative outlet - a space where women can write about female desire for other is exactly what makes danmei so "subversive", says Dr Liang Ge, who teaches digital sociology at University College London. It allows women to "detach from gendered realities", which they often associate with marriage and instance, in danmei stories, men can get pregnant and are at ease with being vulnerable – a stark contrast from the often unequal relationships many Chinese women struggle with in real life."Danmei frees me from thinking about all those potential dangers in relationships in traditional heterosexual romance," explains one writer who has been active in the danmei world for a novels are not without their critics, because some do contain extreme and violent scenes. "As a parent, how many of us can accept our children reading novels like this, let alone writing them?" asked one Weibo age of authors has also been a concern: a handful of those the BBC spoke to said they all started reading and writing gay erotica before they turned 18, some as young as 11. It's a problem the community should acknowledge and address, said Ma, a danmei writer who only shared her surname, adding that this is a problem for all adult content because China does not restrict content by danmei in particular has increasingly come under attack in the last decade as Beijing launched a series of campaigns to "clean up" the internet. In 2018 a danmei author was jailed for 10 years for selling 7,000 copies of her book titled Occupy. 'My earnings were evidence of my crime' As marriage and birth rates plummet, and China's leader Xi Jinping encourages a national rejuvenation, so state scrutiny of danmei has ratcheted up, Dr Ge says."The Chinese government wants to promote traditional family values and liking danmei novels is seen as a factor in making women less willing to have children," Dr Ge is the second wave of mass arrests in less than a year - late last year, some 50 Haitang writers were prosecuted. A famous author who earned about 1.85 million yuan was jailed for nearly five two crackdowns are similar, according to a lawyer who had represented some of the defendants last year, "but this time, even those with minor involvement weren't spared".A lawyer offering free legal advice said more than 150 people requested consultations in just two days. Many of those contacting her had not been charged yet - they were terrified about the possibility though."This is classic offshore fishing," says a lawyer who authored a "practical guide" to assist Haitang writers. The term refers to overreach by local police - those in Lanzhou summoned writers in various places, arguably beyond their reported paying out of pocket to fly to Lanzhou. One posted that the 2,000 yuan earned from two books on Haitang paid for the year too all the arrests were by police in Jixi County in eastern China. Indebted local governments have done this before to earn revenue through fines, sometimes forcing a warning from the central government. Cyber crimes are particularly prone to this "as long as they claim a local reader was corrupted", the lawyer says. Danmei writers know tolerance can be fickle. It's why they skirt censorship with metaphors. "Making dinner" means sex; "kitchen tool" is code for male the recent crackdown stunned them. "A phone call shattered my dreams," is how one writer described the call from accused police of searching their phone without a warrant. They said their crime was assessed by adding up the views for each chapter - a method they argued was misleading, as it likely exaggerated the danmei author posted: "I wrote on Haitang for years, with only a handful of readers. Then, those overlooked stories accumulated over 300,000 clicks, and the 4,000 yuan in royalties sitting in my account became evidence of my crime."It's hard to know if this spells the end of their careers on Haitang."If I could go back, I'd still choose to write. And I will keep writing," wrote the handle Sijin de Sijin."Right now, I can only hope the law will see beyond the words on the page - and see the girl who skipped meals to save money, the girl who sold her hair to buy a pen, the girl who believed her mind could carve a way through fate. I hope it gives all of us a fair chance."Additional reporting by Grace Tsoi in Hong Kong
New York Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Chinese Police Detain Dozens of Writers Over Gay Erotic Online Novels
The graduate student in southern China wrote the romance novel in her spare time, self-publishing it online. In 75 chapters, it followed two male protagonists through a love affair that included, at times, steamy sexual encounters. It earned her less than $400, from readers who paid to access it. Now, it could bring her a criminal conviction. Across China, the authorities have been interrogating dozens of writers — many of them young women — who published gay erotic novels online, in what appears to be the largest police roundup of its kind to date. At least 12 such authors were tried on obscenity charges in Anhui Province late last year, according to court records, and more investigations, including that of the student, were opened in Gansu Province this spring. Some of the writers have been fined heavily or sentenced to years in prison for producing and distributing obscene content. At the center of the crackdown is Boys' Love, a genre of romance between men that is mostly written and read online, and mostly by heterosexual women. Originally from Japan, it has developed a fervent niche following in China and other Asian countries since the 1990s, offering fans an alternative to the stereotypes of passive, obedient women and macho men in many mainstream love stories. At its peak in the 2010s, Boys' Love gave rise to some of China's most popular television and web dramas, and it launched the careers of some of the country's biggest male stars. But that has changed in recent years. As the genre grew more popular, state media began to denounce it as 'vulgar,' claiming that the gay story lines could distort young readers' sexual orientations. Shows were canceled, and television regulators banned Boys' Love adaptations and gay-themed content more broadly. In a 2018 case that angered many Chinese internet users, a popular author was sentenced to 10 years in prison on obscenity charges. RUSSIA MONGOLIA Gansu Beijing Lanzhou ANHUI East China Sea CHINA MYANMAR 500 MILES By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News.com.au
05-06-2025
- News.com.au
Police to examine erotic novel Daddy's Little Toy following child abuse material charges
A 10-page synopsis of erotic fictional novel Daddy's Little Toy is being examined by police after a Sydney author was charged with child abuse material offences following the book's publication. Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa, 33, who publishes under the pen name 'Tori Woods', was charged over the content in the novel that allegedly depicts a relationship between a man and his friend's 18-year-old daughter. The book allegedly makes references to a character fantasising about the woman since she was three years old. The Christian marketing executive has been charged with three offences – possess child abuse material, disseminate child abuse material and produce child abuse material. She has pleaded not guilty and was not required to appear in Blacktown Local Court on Thursday when her matter was briefly mentioned. The prosecution told magistrate Bree Chisholm that they required a six-week adjournment in order for police to examine a '10-page synopsis' of the book. 'It contains detailed descriptions of what was contained in the book,' the prosecution said. 'Further mention is required in order to consider the appropriateness of the matter including the charges. 'I can indicate the book will be required to be accessed in order for that to occur.' Meanwhile, the author's solicitor Mickaela Mate requested a bail variation for Ms Tesolin-Mastrosa to reduce her police reporting from one day a week to three given she has 'strong ties to the community'. Ms Chisholm replied that these were 'serious charges'; however, said she would grant the bail variation. When asked outside court how her client was doing, Ms Mate replied: 'She's great.' In April, the author lost a bid to suppress any publication of her name, book title and other details about the case. Ms Mate argued in court that threats had been made online against Ms Tesolin-Mastrosa and her family. The book created an online furore earlier in the year after excerpts of prerelease copies were published online. The author was formally charged in March, and police executed a search warrant at her western Sydney home. She continues to deny the allegations, earlier stating in a post to social media that the charges were a 'huge misunderstanding'. 'DLT is definitely not promoting or inciting anything ever to do with (child sexual abuse) or pedophilia,' she wrote. 'What is being said is grossly disturbing and breaks my heart as well as makes me sick.' She will next appear in court on July 17.
