In yet another brutal swipe at freedom of expression and the LGBTQ community, Chinese authorities have detained dozens of young women authors for writing gay erotica, a popular literary genre across Asia known as “boys’ love.” The move, part of a broader crackdown on online pornography, has sparked fierce backlash from legal experts, activists, and free speech advocates who say this is less about morality and more about control—and a big dose of sexism.
Most of the women arrested are in their 20s and 30s, struggling to make ends meet. Their crime? Publishing pay-to-read gay erotica on Haitang Literature City, a niche website banned in China and accessible only via VPN. The authors, many of whom earned just a few hundred dollars in royalties, are now being charged under a 2004 obscenity law that carries sentences of over a decade behind bars. Yes, you read that right—queer stories are being treated like a national threat.
“I just wanted to ease my family’s burden,” one woman wrote on Weibo before her post was scrubbed clean by censors. Her royalties? 4,000 yuan, or about $560. That tiny sum has now become “criminal evidence.” Another woman was hauled in by police in front of her university classmates. Others were grilled about their sex lives and sexual orientation. This isn’t just censorship—it’s state-sponsored humiliation.
Sexist, Queerphobic, and Proud of It?
This isn’t China’s first tantrum over LGBTQ+ expression. In 2021, authorities labeled boys’ love novels as “poison” that corrupts youth. And let’s not forget last year’s wave of arrests and fines for writers of gay erotica in Anhui province. But this time, the sentences seem even more disproportionate—and the hypocrisy is loud. As one viral meme on RedNote put it: “Men who write porn get Writers’ Association awards. Women get prison.”
Lanzhou police have yet to respond, but they don’t need to. Their message is clear: straight, male-driven porn is just fine; queer, woman-authored stories are a threat. Even judges reportedly called the stories “disgusting and perverted”—not because of explicit content, but because they center on male-male love, penned by women.
The fact that these stories are written primarily by and for women adds another layer to the injustice. It’s not just an attack on LGBTQ themes—it’s a slap in the face to female sexuality and creativity. While influencers flaunting wealth and “vulgar” content remain untouched, young women writing imaginative stories about love and desire are dragged into courtrooms.
LGBTQ Visibility Under Siege
Let’s be clear—this isn’t just a “pornography” issue. This is about who gets to be visible in public narratives. Queer people are already censored, silenced, and sidelined in China. This wave of arrests sends a chilling message: not only will your stories not be tolerated, but even daring to write them in private spaces could cost you your freedom.
The crackdown has mobilized over a dozen Chinese lawyers to offer pro bono defense, and feminist voices like Li Maizi are calling out the absurdity of jailing authors instead of creating a rating system. But in a climate where queerness is painted as deviance, it’s unclear how many more voices will be erased before change happens.
One thing is clear: when it comes to queer expression in China, the state isn’t just playing moral police. It’s playing judge, jury, and executioner—and queer women are bearing the brunt. For a government so obsessed with morality, it sure has a twisted way of showing it.