Unpacking ‘baby man’ in Chinese social media: a feminist critical discourse analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Double irony of ‘baby man’.

Posts	Translations
1.她喝的只是假的催情药，男宝丢的可是真学位啊！	What she drank was just a fake aphrodisiac. However, what the baby man lost was an actual academic degree!
2.男宝这么稀少他们当然要报团保护供起来啦！	Baby men are so rare that there should be a specific group to protect them!
3.男宝们有什么错。我们只是想杀个人而已，你们女人就是矫情，乖乖让我们杀了不就得了。	What is wrong with baby men? We just want to kill someone! You women are so pretentious, just be good girls and let us do it.
4.这又是谁的儿子，谁的丈夫，谁家的金贵男宝？	Whose son is this, whose husband is this, whose precious baby man is this?
5.某些男人为什么要帮他们说话呢？因为男宝们要为自己留退路呢！‘今日我若不为他脱罪，他日自己化身禽兽，则无人为我摇旗呐喊’。	Why should certain men speak up for them? Because baby men have to save themselves a way out! ‘If I do not exonerate him today, there will be no one to exonerate me one day when I myself become a beast’.

Table 2. Examples of shifting power through ‘baby man’.

Posts	Translations
6.@共青团中央 团团来看看你的男宝。	@CCLY Tuantuan come and see your baby men!
7.@共青团中央 团团你怎么不说话啊？阳不阳刚，极端不极端？看看你亲爱的男宝吧。	@CCLY Tuantuan, why don’t you say something? Are they masculine or not, extreme or not to you? Have a look at your dear baby men!
8.@共青团中央 来看看你亲爱的男宝，这盛世的确如你所愿了呢!	@CCLY Come and see your dear baby men. This prosperous country is indeed as you wish it to be!
9.造成现在这个局面你@共青团中央的不作为要负首要责任。既然敢说极端女权就别说完之后当缩头乌龟,只会开精选评论的你真的很狼狈。要不然就和你所谓的‘极端女权’讨论讨论,别老让男宝为你冲锋陷阵。	@CCLY Your inaction is primarily responsible for this situation. If you dare to talk about extreme feminism, do not be a coward after saying it. You are an absolute mess; only open selected comments. Do not let baby men fight for you while you hide behind them.
10.@共青团中央 @人民日报 这就是你们支持的男宝的阳刚之吗，好了不起哦。	@CCYL @People’s Daily This is the masculinity of the baby man you support. So remarkable!
11.这就是@上海外国语大学分男女不同分数线录取的宝贝男性呢，这就是你降分录取要的男性人才，为你校再一次提高了‘知名度’。	@ Shanghai Foreign Studies University This is the baby man admitted to Shanghai Foreign Studies University with different score lines for male and female. He is the kind of male talent you want to admit at a reduced rate, and he has once again raised the ‘profile’ for your university.

Table 3. Examples of fertility policy criticism.

Posts	Translations
12.真好真好，烧烤摊打人的男宝都是共和国的皇位继承人。	It is so excellent. It is so great. Baby men who hit women at the Grill restaurant are the heirs to the Republican throne.
13.团宝(不报道男宝)就只报道极端女权呗! 极端女权！你们只能在家生孩子！	CCYL will just report on extreme feminism (not baby men)! Extreme feminism! You can only stay at home and have babies!
14.觉得世界只属于男宝吗？可惜女性不是少数派，是二分之一，是人类的一半。不过现在不是了，这是多年来的堕女胎的福报！	Do you think the world belongs only to baby men? Unfortunately, women are not a minority, and they are one-half of the human race. However, they are not anymore. It is the blessing of years of female foeticide!