When a nation’s favoured celebrities comprise young men made to look like girls, it is no wonder that many have come to view such “Fresh Meat” (小鲜肉), referring to those young male idols with heavy make up and Korean hair styles, as not an appreciation of beauty, but a threat to the DNA of China’s character.
当一个国家最喜欢的名人由看起来像女孩的年轻人组成时，难怪许多人将这种“鲜肉”（小鲜肉）视为那些浓妆和韩国发型的年轻男性偶像，这不是对美的欣赏，而是对中国性格DNA的威胁。
If wondering over today’s most popular superstars, one will frequently hear the names Chris Wu and Lu Han, who both represent that which has become today’s common standard for male celebrities in China, namely to be feminine and good-looking.
如果对当今最受欢迎的超级明星感到困惑，人们会经常听到Chris Wu和Lu Han这两个名字，他们都代表了当今中国男性名人的共同标准，即女性化和英俊。
In an era very much focused on appearance, the raison d’etre of this Fresh Meat is of course something that girls have been used to for many a long time, the pressure to be pretty on the outside. Now so it is for the boys. Led by the fragmenting of information online, many now blindly swipe for anything good-looking, male or female, for they have not the time for deeper thoughts.
在一個非常注重外表的時代，這種新鮮肉的存在理由當然是女孩們長期以來一直習慣的東西，外表是漂亮的壓力。 现在对男孩来说也是如此。 在网络信息碎片化的引领下，许多人现在盲目地刷任何好看的东西，不管是男性还是女性，因为他们没有时间进行更深入的思考。
With their long black eyeliner, pale skin and skinny figures, the Fresh Meat has learned how to appeal to its audience by winking and flattery, instead of perhaps actual skill.
凭借他们长长的黑色眼线、苍白的皮肤和瘦弱的身材，Fresh Meat学会了如何通过眨眼和奉承来吸引观众，而不是实际技能。
Such a convergence in the appreciation of beauty is now considered a societal problem. Wang Hailin, one of the most famous screenwriters in China, commented, “In aesthetics, I think advanced countries, especially European countries and the United States, they must have a strong sense of masculinity. Their actors are very important, even embody their national will. If our country’s main actors are too feminine, it will pose a threat to our country’s aesthetic security”. He also stressed his view that, in this pluralistic society, such kinds of Fresh Meat can exist, but should not be awarded.
这种欣赏美的趋同现在被认为是一个社会问题。 中国最著名的编剧之一王海琳评论道：“在美学方面，我认为发达国家，特别是欧洲国家和美国，一定有很强的男子气概。 他们的演员非常重要，甚至体现了他们的民族意志。 如果我国的主要演员过于女性化，这将对我国的审美安全构成威胁。” 他还强调了他的观点，即在这个多元化的社会中，这种新鲜肉可以存在，但不应该被授予。
However, Li Yinhe, China’s first female research sociologist, made profound remarks on gender stereotype, from theory to practice, in Tencent’s “Star Speech”, arguing that we are stuck by the stereotype of gender. In today’s modern society, the social and economic structure that supports traditional gender division has changed, but the stereotype of social consciousness has not. She cities our concerns over losing masculinity as “neutralisation anxiety”, saying that in this developed era, people with different personality characteristics should be permitted to exist; neutral, masculine or feminine.
然而，中国第一位女性研究社会学家李银和在腾讯的《明星演讲》中对从理论到实践的性别刻板印象发表了深刻的评论，认为我们被性别刻板印象所困。 在当今的现代社会，支持传统性别划分的社会和经济结构已经改变，但社会意识的刻板印象并没有改变。 她将我们对失去阳刚之气的担忧称为“中和焦虑”，她说，在这个发达的时代，应该允许具有不同个性特征的人存在；中立、阳刚之气或女性。
Li also stressed, “The problem of Fresh Meat is a manifestation of social progress and the necessity of social diversification. In a free and tolerant society, different people should be allowed to live out their own attributes, rather than changing themselves for the sake of catering to others”.
李还强调，“鲜肉问题是社会进步和社会多样化的必要性的体现。 在一个自由和宽容的社会里，应该允许不同的人活出自己的属性，而不是为了迎合他人而改变自己。”
Aesthetic pluralism is the embodiment of social progress. Fresh Meat may well be the need of the market, but an embracing of people’s different identities and characteristics is the diversification that many in society may do well to learn.
美学多元化是社会进步的体现。 新鲜肉很可能是市场的需求，但拥抱人们的不同身份和特征是社会上许多人可能值得学习的多样化。
