In a society where cross dressing draws condemnation and violence, Chinese drag queens have found a safe niche play acting as traditional opera stars, The Economist reports.
'The first time Wang Zhi performed in drag, 17 years ago, it was in a seedy gay bar three hours’ drive from his university dorm. Today Mr Wang (pictured) says he can make a tidy 2m yuan ($290,000) a year from his cross-dressing routines. Remarkably, they have the Communist Party’s blessing. He regularly appears on nationally televised variety shows. Officials often invite him to entertain people in poor areas. In Xinjiang and Tibet, he boasts, he has enraptured his ethnic-minority audiences.
Mr Wang’s success may seem surprising. In recent years the party has been trying to sanitise or suppress any kind of culture that it does not regard as wholesome—including art that challenges conventional gender roles.' ... Keep reading on The Economist
'The first time Wang Zhi performed in drag, 17 years ago, it was in a seedy gay bar three hours’ drive from his university dorm. Today Mr Wang (pictured) says he can make a tidy 2m yuan ($290,000) a year from his cross-dressing routines. Remarkably, they have the Communist Party’s blessing. He regularly appears on nationally televised variety shows. Officials often invite him to entertain people in poor areas. In Xinjiang and Tibet, he boasts, he has enraptured his ethnic-minority audiences.
Mr Wang’s success may seem surprising. In recent years the party has been trying to sanitise or suppress any kind of culture that it does not regard as wholesome—including art that challenges conventional gender roles.' ... Keep reading on The Economist