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Gender

Gender
The latest gender news and features, with a millennial focus, including gender identity, gender issues, discrimination, equality and inequality, and equal rights.
Ally Pankiw speaks at a Women in Film panel at Acura House of Energy, in Park City, Utah, in January 2024. The director, who got her break in the Netflix series “Feel Good”, is now paving the way for other women and non-binary filmmakers with her mentorship programme, Breadcrumbs. Photo: Getty Images for Acura
Hollywood

Director’s mentorship scheme breaks down barriers for women in Hollywood

Ally Pankiw set up Breadcrumbs, which gives up-and-coming women directors the on-set experience needed to break into a male-dominated field.

Indonesia

Groomed at 15: Indonesian actress lays bare her stolen youth in viral memoir

Japan

‘I was a victim’: survey reveals surge in men groped on Tokyo transit

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China society

Opinion | In China, the pressure on women to marry is deadly serious

Wedding-day death of Henan teacher highlights desperation of young women caught between modern hopes and traditional expectations.

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Some people in China are sharing AI-generated videos of middle-aged single women crying in hospitals, regretting their choice not to marry or have children. Photo: SCMP composite / Shutterstock / Douyin
Sexual harassment and assault

Hong Kong looks to reform sexual offence laws

Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong activist loses legal fight over prison shorts ban for female inmates

High Court judge Russell Coleman upholds prison rules, citing ‘little merit’ in Chow Hang‑tung’s equality challenge.

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Malaysia

‘We are not criminals’: Malaysian LGBTQ event faces conservative backlash

Police have launched an investigation into ‘Glamping With Pride’ after Islamic authorities raised an outcry.

A man holds a rainbow flag, commonly used to signal LGBT pride. Photo: Shutterstock
Crime

Online predator ‘White Tiger’ on trial in Germany over crimes against children

Shahriar J is accused of driving a trans teen in the US to suicide, and of encouraging kids to make porn that he then used to exploit them.

Science

Top biotech scientist Chen Xiaoyuan denies harassment claim, says he will appeal

Professor is the subject of social media claims and counterclaims after NUS alleged his behaviour was ‘unsolicited and unwanted’.

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Viral stories

Japan girl pop star comes out as transmasculine non-binary after breast removal

20-year-old rapper says being born, raised a woman caused her ‘deep discomfort’; hopes operation can ‘shine a light’, divides online opinion.

A member of the Xtraordinary Girls J-pop group has announced her identification as transmasculine non-binary after undergoing breast removal surgery, sparking a mixed online reaction. Photo: SCMP composite/X.com/IG@cocona_xg
Women and gender

Looking back on 2025

Looking back on 2025
Women and gender

How to succeed? Siobhan Haughey and other Hong Kong women trailblazers open up

Olympian Siobhan Haughey, businesswoman Joanna Hotung and education advocate Vivian Chung discuss female leadership and youth empowerment.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s ‘moral police’ slammed over dress code dispute

The skirt-wearing women were barred from entering a police station to report a car accident, which lawyers say is a ‘violation’ of constitutional rights.

Women and gender

Malaysian woman in skirt forced to buy trousers to enter police station

A minister has urged a review of guidelines on attire following the incident, saying ‘people don’t dress up in anticipation of crime’.

A Malaysian woman with a skirt that was above knee-length was not allowed to enter a police station in Melaka. She was forced to buy trousers at a nearby shop. Photo: The Star
Japan

Japan weighs plan to punish sex buyers, but will it be enough?

Experts warn the sex industry will find ways to circumvent new rules and the problem needs to be tackled from various angles simultaneously.

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People walk past an entrance gate of Kabukicho, Tokyo’s red-light district, in Shinjuku, Japan. Photo: EPA-EFE
Trending in China

China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover, parents after man’s death

Homosexuals posed as ‘father and son’ in public before older of the two was killed in road accident, sparking bitter legal dispute.

Japan

Pop-star princess: Japan’s Aiko turns 24 amid calls for her to become empress

The princess’ supporters want Japan to change its male-only succession law but an academic says that is unlikely in the conservative country.

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Women and gender

Hong Kong’s first home-grown female captain

Hong Kong’s first home-grown female captain
Diplomacy

Opinion | Why next year’s G20 could be make or break for global development

As the US prepares to chair the G20, it faces a strategic choice: engage or revert to a narrower agenda.

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European Union

EU’s top court rules same-sex marriages must be respected across bloc

The court ruled Poland’s refusal to recognise a German couple’s same-sex marriage violated EU law and their right to a ‘normal family life’.

Trending in China

China ‘best boyfriend’ crochets qipao for girlfriend, inspired by late mother

Muscular man combines cycling in gym with crocheting classic garment as surprise gift; rejects critics who deride his hobby as ‘women’s work’.

A Chinese radio disc jockey and award-winning bodybuilder has gone viral for crocheting a qipao for his girlfriend. Photo: Douyin
LGBTQ

Hong Kong pop-up Queer Room gives ‘alternative individuals’ a place to connect

Until December 14, the inclusive Sheung Wan space welcomes guests with LGBTQ literature and group talks. Here are some of its coming events.

(From left) Queer Room co-founders Lisa Lam, Li Mei-ting and Patricia Lam stand together at the Hong Kong pop-up in Sheung Wan that embraces the LGBTQ community and those living “lifestyles that differ from social norms”. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Women and gender

Opinion | Together, we can move closer to eliminating violence against women

No jurisdiction is spared from gender-based violence. Thus international cooperation is essential to build momentum and find solutions.

Jewellery

Why male celebrities love Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra jewellery

The collection has attracted stars like A$AP Rocky, Offset, LeBron James and Hong Kong Olympic champion fencer Cheung Ka-long – but why?

2025 National Games

Female athletes break records, drive success at China's National Games

Female athletes break records, drive success at China's National Games
Malaysia

Meet the Muslim trans woman whose 50-year-old secret reshapes Malaysian history

From being one of the first to undergo gender-affirming surgery to a kadi-blessed marriage, Sari Kartina’s life has been a journey of faith.

Sari Kartina Abdul Karim at her home in the Netherlands. Photo: Facebook/Sharina Abdul Karim
United States

US Supreme Court rejects appeal to overturn same-sex marriage ruling

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, denied Kim Davis’s appeal after she refused to issue marriage licences to a same-sex couple.

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Icons and Influencers

Meet French TikTok star Bách Buquen, who’s normalising make-up for men

Buquen may be only 19, but he’s already attending events with A-listers like Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, and going to Tod’s and Gucci shows.

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