How transgender dancer Jin Xing conquered Chinese TV
She hosts country’s most-watched talk show and made a splash with controversial matchmaking show
Jin Xing, the first person in China to have her transgender identity recognised by the government, is a household name as a talk-show host. Her sharp-tongued, no-nonsense and down-to-earth style has helped her hit the jackpot with The Jin Xing Show becoming the country’s most-watched talk show. Jin’s recent Chinese Dating matchmaking programme, which featured parents sitting beside the stage as consultants for their children when choosing partners, created a lot of buzz and a great deal of controversy because of some parents’ male chauvinism and patriarchal comments. Jin deflected the criticism by saying the show served as a platform for presenting reality and for people to discuss and reflect on such issues.
Jin, 50, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1995 in Beijing, when already a renowned dancer. Despite her huge success as a television host, she says she would prefer dancing to hosting TV programmes if forced to choose just one job. She talks to Alice Yan.
Why did you do the Chinese Dating programme?
Years ago, a matchmaking programme If You Are The One was popular in China. Last year their production team approached me about potential cooperation on a new programme. I liked their idea of having parents help children select partners since it matches Chinese people’s concept of marriage as not only a deal between two people, but also a deal between two families. I thought the programme was also a good fit for me because I can communicate freely with both young and old people. So I was happy to do it. It was aired from the end of last year to February of this year and the viewer ratings were among the highest on the weekend.
What do you think of the controversy generated by the programme?
On the surface, my programme is about matchmaking; essentially it involves social issues including family education, social values, male chauvinism or feminism. Some of these issues are taboo on my talk show The Jin Xing Show due to the authorities’ restrictions, so it’s not bad to have another programme – Chinese Dating – to touch these topics. I can’t talk directly about these issues in the talk show, but it’s fine to present them on TV and let audiences make their own judgment. In Chinese Dating, we allow all kinds of comments and I won’t lash out at any one on the stage, even though I don’t agree with some people’s opinions in my heart. I hope my programme can spur the public to debate issues such as discrimination against single-parent families and misogynistic standards for choosing a girlfriend. People will reflect on whether they themselves adopt similar attitudes or what they should do when facing such a circumstance.