An actress who shared pictures of her character’s outfits to promote a new TV show has received criticism from feminists on Weibo.
On March 1, the actress Song Yi posted on Weibo to promote the new TV series she features in, The Ideal Life of Love. She shared a short post and set of pictures showing her wearing outfits from the show, clothes which are known in China as having an ‘easily married style’ 好嫁风. Similar in style to preppy clothing, it describes a trend in which females wear items that are thought to be attractive to men so that they have a higher chance to find a boyfriend or husband.
However, her outfit choice caused controversy as some netizens accused Song of playing into societal expectations. They commented that the ‘easily married style’ highlights the misconception that the purpose of dressing is to please others and that her post suggested that getting married is the only option for women.
Song Yi posted an apology on Weibo on March 2, saying:
“I’m sorry that the Weibo posted yesterday was not thoughtful. The original intention was to cooperate with the publicity around the character itself about the “madness” of marriage. In the TV series, Dai Xixi, Song Yi’s character name, is a person who is passionate and fantasising about marriage, but this does not mean that her life is to please others.”
Meanwhile, some netizens commented that Song shouldn’t have apologised as the fashion style represented her character, not herself. Others also supported her stating that a desire to get married is normal and should not be criticised.
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