Wang Xiaohua

Wang Xiaohua

Professor of Literature, Shenzhen University

Wang Xiaohua is a literature professor at Shenzhen University. He specialises in literary theory and aesthetics, especially eco-criticism and soma-aesthetics. He is the author of ten books, including Depression and Expectation (1998), Philosophy of Individuality (2002), Eco-criticism (2008), The Body Image in the Western Aesthetics (2016), Soma- poetics (2019), and so on. He has been a visiting professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Claremont University, University of Central Lancashire, Dong-Eui University, University of Zurich and the University of Macau. He is also the vice-chairman of the Association of China Youth Eco-critics, as well as standing director of the China Association of Literature and Art Study.

People walk at a shopping mall complex in Beijing, China, on 16 April 2022. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Why swear words derogating women have proliferated on the Chinese internet

The use of “national swear” (国骂) in the Chinese language has been a topic of discussion for the past century, with its derogatory nature towards women long known. From seemingly harmless insults to women’s intelligence to malicious debasing of female ancestors, why is the use of such language still prevalent on the internet today?