By Tom McGregor, CCTV.com commentator and editor
Have young Chinese men (aged 18-34 years old) lost their masculinity? According to a number of single women who have spoken to me about their search for a good man to fall in love with, the answer is “yes.”
Here are some common complaints: “Chinese men are too afraid to ask a woman for a date.” “They love their mommies more than wanting a girlfriend.” “They appreciate facial creams more than women.” “Chinese men have gotten more effeminate than women.”
The failure of young Chinese men to restore their manhood is not unusual in today’s snowflake world. I witnessed similar patterns of behavior in young South Korean men when I lived there.
We Americans haven’t escaped either. Some young men might wail and weep when you ask them what they think about United States President Donald Trump’s latest Twitter tirades.
Stay away from cosmetics
All men should perform proper hygiene. We have an obligation to shower at least once daily and brush our teeth twice or more a day.
But if you are a man and find yourself visiting cosmetics shops to purchase facial wrinkle creams, skin whiteners and skin softening creams then please stop carrying your man card, because it has already expired.
It’s easy to spot a country that has lost its masculinity. Go to a mall or mega department store and look at cosmetics shops. If you see more men than women there, then all hope is lost.
Once, I wanted to buy perfume for my wife in Hong Kong. I randomly selected a shop to inquire about scents, there were only male employees, who were all experts on make-up and perfumes. It appears to me that Hong Kong is the Snowflake Central for Asia-Pacific region.
Raising boys into men
Parents have a responsibility to raise their children to become productive members of society. Yet, some parents have gotten way too over-protective. They force their children to study too much and only let them play if it’s safe.
Smothering parents can cause more harm than good, especially for young boys. Boys have to learn from experience. Sometimes they get hurt, such as when learning the hard way that rolling down a steep hill is not as fun as it looks.
After a 2-week tour of China’s rural West, I discovered that snowflake boys do not exist in the region. That’s a good thing and demonstrates that there’s still hope some Chinese men have not forgotten that toughness takes precedence over skin whiteners.
Additionally, with scrapes and bruises come not only enlightenment, but a higher pain tolerance. In Texas there’s a saying, “You can’t call yourself a man if you don’t have any scars to show for it.”
Meanwhile, China’s economy will no longer sustain its glory days of double-digit annual GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates.
Many Chinese parents dream about their children working in office jobs, but as fewer white collar employment will be available later on, some Chinese must get vocational training to find jobs where they are required to work with their hands.
Love sports, not dramas
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed concerns that Chinese boys have become soft. He’s called for elementary schools to encourage boys to show more fortitude, strength and courage.
A good method would be to boost sports nationwide. Team sports is best. When playing team sports, such as soccer, basketball and baseball, players must work together or they will lose.
Many young Chinese boys are single children, so they lack siblings to teach them how to share and support each other.
Instead of blaming the child, send him to a sports program where a tough coach can instill in him discipline, teamwork and self-confidence.
Some wonder what has transformed the USA into a powerhouse nation. Well, our sports programs have inspired Americans to strive for and to achieve greatness.
Going for gold
China is running out of time to save its boys from a lifetime of succumbing to insufferable snowflake character traits. Once people get soft, it’s more challenging to encourage them to accept sacrifice for the greater good.
The Chinese man is no longer a Kung Fu fighting machine and that’s alright, because I’m Texan and not a cowboy.
But my Chinese wife and I are raising a young son together and I would like for him to grow up in China not as a snowflake, but as a real man who can be recognized as reliable and strong.
A snowflake melts when the heat is on, but a rock endures forever.
(The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com)
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