Women Deserve Respect On and Offline

The lewd, loud behavior and unprepossessing looks of Xiao Yueyue, anti-heroine of netizen Rongrong's post on tianya.cn, have made her something of an icon. Men treat her as a defenseless target for scathing criticism, and women as an empowering point of comparison.
Rongrong describes Xiao Yueyue as short and overweight with a fashion preference for 15-centimeter stiletto heels, mini-skirts and lurid turtlenecks. She tells of Xiao Yueyue's drunken striptease performance in their hotel room in an attempt to seduce a young man which culminates in throwing up her lunch. Netizens are repelled but at the same time enthralled by Xiao Yueyue's repulsive behavior.
Rongrong's article, posted on October 5, scored 46 million hits and drew 105,000 comments within 15 days. It, or rather Xiao Yueyue, inspired discussion groups, a fan base, comic strips -- even products. She also featured prominently in printed media.
The fame, or notoriety, of this 150 cm tall, 80 kg personification of bad dress sense is indisputable proof of the Internet's power to create instant celebrity. Xiao Yueyue outstrips previous online sensations Sister Lotus and Sister Phoenix in presenting the ultimate example of what not to be.
There are skeptics who doubt the credibility of Rongrong's article. Many netizens regard Xiao Yueyue as nothing more than skillfully choreographed hype, in the same vein as the post Jia Junpeng, Your Mother Called You to Go Home for Dinner. The latter was the creation of the public relations company hired by a community website to maintain netizen attention, and earned the company tens of thousands in profits.
Rongrong insisted in an online interview that her article is a true account, although she did later admit to embroidering it a little.
Online celebrity-maker insiders take the skeptic line that Xiao Yueyue is a made-up character calculated to polarize netizen attention. "Real or not, Xiao Yueyue is a celebrity. Bad news has wings," says Beijing-based online star promoter Li Shuang, adding, "Unattractive, badly behaved individuals are far more likely find fame on the Internet than nice guys."
Gao Yingjun, chief entertainments editor of Tianya.cn agrees. "It's Xiao Yueyue's poor dress sense and unladylike behavior that have made her a cyber sensation."
Xiao Yueyue has entertained millions of netizens, but through the morbid fascination, rather than healthy belly laughs, she evokes.
Compulsive Condescension
Lv Pin, gender studies scholar in charge of the Capital Women Journalists Association women's daily media monitoring network, says of the Xiao Yueyue phenomenon: "The massive netizen response to the repellent character Rongrong portrays suggests compulsive condescension, triggered by feelings of unassailable personal superiority in comparison to this unattractive, socially inept young woman."
One netizen attributes Xiao Yueyue's cyber-stardom to the scandalous topic of conversation she provides within an otherwise drab existence. "People with no interests or personal pursuits home in on characters like Xiao Yueyue because she gives them something to talk about amid an otherwise mundane existence." In Lv's eyes, Xiao Yueyue is, "A carnival offering which, free from the constraints of interpersonal morality, invites unbridled condemnation."
Men Prefer Babes
Lv sees in the furore Xiao Yueyue has created strong elements of misogyny -- the aversion to women originating in man's fear and jealousy of their procreative power. It often takes the form of slanderous attacks on women who do not conform to or obey traditional gender norms. "Xiao Yueyue incites misogyny through her failure to measure up to the received standard among men of a sexually desirable woman. The disgust she evokes is rooted in allegiance to the patriarchal order," Lv said.
Misogyny has limited scope of expression through traditional media but knows no bounds on the web. The many men-only online forums attract hits through off-color articles and degrading images of women. Lv is of the opinion, "Officials should promote boycotts of those websites and build a systemic Internet order."
Caricature women buffoons that come and go on the Internet are a magnet for insults and demeaning images of women. Xiao Yueyue offers the channel certain men crave to express their contempt for women, through such comments as "Fat, ugly women should lie down and die."
 "We call for legislation restricting the radar of human-flesh search engines and banning offensive language," Lv said, "We also call on all citizens to show due respect for women, and all people. Everyone has a right to fair comment, but it should stop there rather than snowball into a victimizing hate campaign. True freedom does not impinge on the freedom of others to be and live as they choose."