China May Ban Clothes That Hurt Country's 'Feelings'

Wearing the wrong thing could land you in jail, according to a newly proposed law in China. The draft of this new law says that certain speech, clothing, or acts that "undermine the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation" will incur harsh penalties, the BBC reports. Those consequences include up to 15 days of jailtime and fines of up to $680. The vague nature of the law's wording has many concerned that it's too open to interpretation, and people are calling on lawmakers clarify its language. "What if the law enforcer, usually a police officer, has a personal interpretation of the hurt and initiates moral judgment of others beyond the scope of law," says law professor Zhao Hong, per the BBC.

Explaining which types of clothing are banned for is a top concern of people reacting online. "Will wearing a suit and tie count?" asked a social media user. "Marxism originated in the West. Would its presence in China also count as hurting national feelings." The particular issue of clothing bans came up last year, when a woman cos-playing a character from a manga series said she was detained by police for five hours (per the Guardian). A video taken of the woman interacting with the officers while wearing a kimono and wig went viral, with many commenters online questioning the measures the police took against someone who didn't break a law. "I really feel that the social atmosphere has made people speechless to the point where I don't want to say anything," read one.

According to Semafor, days before the draft proposal, a viral Chinese social media trend that promoted an "easy-to-get married" style of dressing was popping up online. The messaging aimed to enhance women's marriage prospects by dressing in a manner that promoted "conservatism" and "purity," but faced backlash for conforming to male aesthetics, leading to a "difficult-to-get-married" counter-trend. And while these types of clothing bans are often interpreted from religious doctrine in other countries, Semafor notes that Chinese "morality laws" first introduced in 2019 are based on what President Xi Jinping defines as a model citizen. (In France, new bans on religious garb are coming under fire.)