For some women in China, “Barbie” is more than just a movie — it’s also a litmus test for their partner’s views on feminism and patriarchy.
The movie has prompted intense social media discussion online, media outlets Sixth Tone and the China Project reported this week, prompting women to discuss their own dating experiences.
One user on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu — a photo-sharing site similar to Instagram that’s mostly used by Gen Z women — even shared a guide on Monday for how women can test their boyfriends based on their reaction to the film.
According to the guide, if a man shows hatred for “Barbie” and slams female directors after they leave the theatre, then this man is “stingy” and a “toxic chauvinist,” according to Insider’s translation of the post. Conversely, if a man understands even half of the movie’s themes, “then he is likely a normal guy with normal values and stable emotions,” the user wrote.
this is a man, hands down. i’d put my life on it.
i think you’re viewing “tests” in this context to be mean deceptive. there’s no amount of trickery here, it’s literally just observing someone’s reaction to stimuli.
Do you realize that some men don’t think that women should have opinions about things like movies and how others think, right? Or, even worse, is that they aren’t even aware that women might have opinions about things like this.