“Soft” Male Images in China’s Spring Festival Gala, 1983–2025

The Spring Festival Gala is China’s most important annual television show. Produced and broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV), it provides a lens through which to analyze the evolution of masculine ideals sanctioned by the party-state. The Gala’s comedic skits present various male images for analysis. The changing presentation of “soft” or less masculine male characters in Gala skits—from such roles being mocked in the 1980s to becoming positively coded protagonists in the 2010s—mirrors the changing concepts of Chinese masculinities against the background of economic growth, consumer society, and women’s rising social status. Considering the recurrent criticism of “feminine” young men and the moral panic over a “masculinity crisis” in China that has emerged since the 1980s, this article examines the subtle interdependency between the official masculinity discourse and the rising popularity of “soft masculinity.”