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China Detains Dozens of Danmei Writers Under Strict Obscenity Laws
- Since February 2025, Chinese authorities have detained at least 30 danmei authors—predominantly young women—to crack down on the online publication of gay erotica on platforms such as Haitang Literature.
- Authorities accuse these writers of violating China's 1997 pornography law by producing and distributing obscene materials, with some claims suggesting police seek revenue amid China's recent economic downturn.
- Many arrested authors faced heavy fines, suspended sentences, or prison terms ranging from one to several years, while the crackdown has increased policing since 2021 and especially escalated since last June.
- In March 2025, Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledged to take firm action against illegal and profit-motivated law enforcement activities that extend beyond local jurisdictions, while a lawyer described the arrests as a typical example of ‘offshore fishing’ tactics.
- The arrests have unsettled the danmei community and sparked online debate, but some writers say they will continue despite the crackdown, hoping for fair treatment beyond the content of their works.
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Profit-Seeking Police Crack Down on “Danmei” Erotic Fiction Writers
Chinese authorities have arrested dozens of writers of Boys’ Love (BL), or danmei, a genre of online homoerotic fiction featuring male protagonists, and typically created by and for women. This latest crackdown appears driven by a variety of factors, such as the patriarchal government’s efforts to control women and censor content that it considers sexually “deviant”; outdated and overly restrictive legal definitions of obscenity; and cash-strapp…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left5Leaning Right4Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Left
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Left
45% Left
L 45%
C 18%
R 36%
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