When sections of a teaching module from Xinyang Second Senior High School in Henan, central China, surfaced on Weibo, the popular mainland social media platform, it sparked immediate and intense scrutiny from netizens. The content, which seemingly drew from unverified rumours and showed traces of gender discrimination, generated a substantial backlash.
One particular theme around which the content was based was the “Xian concert incident”. The material claimed that due to scalping, concert ticket prices skyrocketed to astronomical amounts, pushing many young girls to take “naked loans” or resort to prostitution in order to attend these high-priced concerts. Furthermore, it alleged that some even redirected funds meant for crucial events like medical treatments or weddings to purchase these tickets.
A more disturbing aspect of the content was its attempt to correlate the drop in China’s birth rates to contemporary women’s behaviour. According to the text, modern women often sideline their personal situations and pursue pleasure. It criticized them for having high expectations in marriage, such as expecting potential partners to own a car and a house, while they might earn modest salaries themselves.
Delving deeper into criticism, the content stated that today’s women are misguided, influenced by Western culture, and have abandoned China’s rich 5,000-year-old traditions. Instead, they were portrayed as being ensnared in the trappings of Western consumerism.
However, it wasn’t long before discerning netizens highlighted that many claims made in the module were based on false reports. For instance, the rumour that Xian concert tickets were being sold for as much as two million yuan due to scalping was debunked by China’s Cybersecurity Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security. Additionally, the notion that young female fans were trading their virginity for concert tickets was refuted by the police in Shaanxi.
When questioned by media outlets, the school’s staff claimed to be unaware of the controversial material being shared online. The education bureau responsible for overseeing such content promptly announced that they had taken note of the issue and would channel it through the appropriate authorities for rectification.
A statement from the head of the Xinyang Education Bureau assured the public, “This situation has been taken under advisement. The matter has been communicated to our city’s Cyberspace Administration, which will be publishing an official response soon.”
The revelation of the material has stirred up a hornet’s nest on social media platforms, particularly Weibo, with a slew of comments from users decrying its misogyny and reliance on rumours.
A user posed pressing questions, inquiring, “Who will bear the responsibility for such content? What motivates someone to incorporate unchecked rumours into school materials? How will the school rectify this? Should the educator involved be reprimanded for perpetuating such myths?”
An insightful observation by another user shed light on the larger societal issue, noting, “By selecting topics that are blatantly anti-women and weaving them into the curriculum, the school is imparting gender biases to impressionable students who are still shaping their worldviews.”
The incident stands as a poignant reminder of the need for meticulously vetting educational content, especially in an age where misinformation can be seamlessly woven into facts, with profound societal implications.
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