How female Chinese comedian Yang Li became public enemy number one for China’s army of online male misogynists and exposed the country’s women problem

Name: Norah Yang: introducing stand-up comedy to China
Uploaded: 2021-04-05T02:13:43.000Z
Duration: 3 min 10 s
Description: Norah Yang: introducing stand-up comedy to China

Yang has been called ‘offensive’, ‘too ugly to appear in public’, and has received a barrage of sexist harassment

Experts say traditional Chinese stereotypes mean women comedians are treated unfairly, as are women in China in general

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Experts say traditional Chinese stereotypes mean women comedians such as Yang Li are treated unfairly as are women in China in general. Photo: Handout

Alice Yan

Published: 10:13am, 5 Apr 2021Updated: 11:53am, 12 Apr 2021

The repeated boycotts by male internet users towards stand-up comedian Yang Li, famous for her biting jokes about men, shows female comedians in China are fighting an uphill battle against sexism.

Many men said they were offended by Yang’s barbs, such as “Why are men so mediocre but still so confident?” that she made at the Rock and Roast comedy show last year.

Yang has been constantly targeted by internet users, with some saying she is too ugly to perform in public and others calling her a “female hooligan”.

Last month, when US computer giant Intel promoted a laptop advertisement featuring Yang, the backlash from internet users, most of them male, led to the company pulling the ad after just two days.

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Norah Yang: introducing stand-up comedy to China

Yang was boycotted again during a live stream to sell a sanitary towel product on shopping platform JD.com on March 24. The negative commentary was so overwhelming that Yang had to suspend the stream for a brief period.

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