China cracks down on stories about men in love, female fans mourn idealised romances

By Daily Excelsior – BEIJING, Nov 13 : For Cindy Zhong, like many young Chinese women, a relaxing night used to mean curling up with a steamy story about two men in love. Then her favourite authors, and their tales, started disappearing. Fans of the popular Danmei same-sex romance genre, written and read mainly by straight women, say the Chinese government is carrying out the largest crackdown yet on it, effectively neutering the enjoyment. In the vast world of fantasy, Danmei is relatively straightforward: Two men stand in for idealised relationships, from chaste to erotic. Some scholars believe the stories…