China bans effeminate men on TV, discourages 'vulgar internet celebrities,' wants 'revolutionary culture' promoted

In the wake of forbidding children under the age of 18 to play video games for more than three hours a week, China's communist government has now banned effeminate men on television, discouraged "vulgar internet celebrities," and instead wants the country's "revolutionary culture" promoted, National Public Radio reported.

What are the details?

NPR said Chinese broadcasters were told to "resolutely put an end to sissy men" — an insulting slang term for effeminate men (niang pao, or literally, "girlie guns") — as well as "other abnormal esthetics."

There is concern that Chinese pop stars who are "influenced by the sleek, girlish look of some South Korean and Japanese singers and actors, are failing to encourage China's young men to be masculine enough," the outlet added.

It's all part of an eight-point plan introduced Thursday by China's National Radio and Television Administration that calls for "further regulation of arts and entertainment shows and related personnel," Variety reported.

More from the magazine:

Announcing the measures, the Communist Party of China's propaganda department accused some in the entertainment industry of bad influence on the young and of "severely polluting the social atmosphere."

One of the eight sections to one one "boycotting being overly entertaining" explained a need to put more emphasis on "traditional Chinese culture, revolution culture and socialist culture." It said that authorities will establish a "correct beauty standard," and boycott vulgar internet celebrities.

It also called for Chinese media to spread more positive values, and for trade associations in the television and internet entertainment sectors to provide more training and self-discipline.

NPR added that President Xi Jinping wants a "national rejuvenation" that includes tighter Communist Party control of business, education, culture, and religion.

What else is out?

The outlet noted that Chinese broadcasters have been instructed to avoid promoting "vulgar internet celebrities" as well as admiration of wealth and celebrity.

Performers who "violate public order" or have "lost morality" also are on the outs, as well as programs about the children of celebrities and "idol audition shows," Variety said.

More from the magazine:

China's LGBTQ community may also feel deeply uneasy. While homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness in China and was decriminalized in 1997, same sex relations remain mostly taboo.

Gay entertainment content has remained in a gray zone, and foreign films with gay themes such as "Call Me By Your Name," and "Bohemian Rhapsody" have been heavily censored or removed from screens.

Earlier this year the dominant messaging app Weixin/WeChat erased all past content of the accounts for the campus LGBTQ groups of China's top universities.