追随“姐姐”去“乘风破浪”

菲比·张

Zhang Xiqing is an outlier2 in Chinese society.

At 33， the designer based in the southern city of Shenzhen is happily unmarried， has no plans to have children with her boyfriend， and left her job at tech titan Tencent for a start-up because she wanted to “try something new”.

“I wanted to live just for myself， and just for us，” she said.

But Zhang faces immense pressure from her family， who insist that she is “getting old” that a woman “of her age” should be married with children.

She does her best to deal with the pressure to conform to convention but it can be a lonely path to follow.

Now， however， she is drawing inspiration from a reality show that has become a hit on Chinese television.

Instead of giving young ingenues a shot at fame， Sisters Who Make Waves， produced by Hunan Television， has invited established actresses and performers over 30， and some in their 50s， to compete for a spot in a five-member band.

The show has been a hit， especially among women， since it started airing in June. The first episode was played more than 300 million times on Mango TV， the channels official cellphone app.

For women like Zhang， the shows attraction is the way it portrays more experienced women using their confidence and expertise3—rather than youth—to get what they need.

In other performance-based reality shows， it is common for contestants to break down and cry under the pressure-cooker atmosphere but in the Hunan TV programme， the women exude4 confidence on stage and in discussions with production staff.

“Seeing you on stage， I am no longer anxious about my age，” one viewer commented on Weibo， Chinas Twitter-like microblogging service.

Hangzhou resident Hu Jing is obsessed with the show.

Hu was in business for about 10 years and worked for non-profit groups in her spare time， helping disabled women， LGBTQ5 groups and people with rare diseases.

Three years ago， she decided to devote herself full-time to her charity work， becoming the executive director of the Huatian Social Services Centre in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Despite her contributions to the community， Hu said she constantly battled societal pressure that “a woman should not stay single”.

“Raising a child takes at least one-third of a womans money， time and energy. If I instead spend all that on charity， my life is more meaningful，” she said.

She found parallels between herself and celebrities on the show. Regina Wan， her favourite contestant， started out as a singer but turned to acting when her albums failed to sell.

Wan had treated every role seriously， Hu said， and tried her best. She even lived with the cast on set when she was five months pregnant.

“Her persistence， patience， and hard work had inspired me. I thought about myself doing social work. I also have to persevere and try， even if nobody notices me，” she said. “I hope to learn to be patient like her， and hope the rest will fall in place6.”

Other viewers resonated with the setbacks of some of the stars， who battled personal and professional difficulties. Many of the women in the show spoke of being offered fewer roles， especially compared with men in their age.

“The [women stars] present a real， comfortable image on screen， but there must be unimaginable pain behind that. Even if they cry on the show， they are only showing the tip of an iceberg，” said Marilyn Zhang， a civil servant who lives in western China.

“I think at this age， in this phase in life， its laudable that they can still choose their own paths and go out of their comfort zones.”

Marilyn Zhang said she could relate in some ways to7 the struggle of the women， having become depressed in the past few years due to her mothers death and the societal pressure she experienced because she was not married.

A feminist blogger who goes by the pen name Shaoxi said the overwhelming popularity of the show reflected the desperate need for women in China to see themselves portrayed in a different light.

“Women need to see themselves presented other than as a fair-skinned ‘beautiful younger sister figure， or an ageing wife or mother，” she said.

On TV， women are often portrayed in romantic dramas in cute， dependent， sentimental roles， or as a mother-in-law who picks fights and is consumed with domestic work.

“These ‘sisters on the idol show presented the public with a different possibility，” Shaoxi said. “They are no longer young， some have families， most dont. But their images arent vague， arent those of a wife or a mother， but sparkling versions of themselves.

“Age has not put them in an awkward spot， instead， it has made them more confident， more in control of their lives.”

But some critics say the show falls short of8 its ideals.

Wu Changchang， an associate professor of journalism at East China Normal University， wrote on Shanghai-based news portal Sixth Tone that the show was “hollow feminism”.

Wu argued at its core the programme was a reality show， “a competition between those who have something to lose and those who dont”， grounded in resources and connections. Furthermore， the show still emphasised “attractive appearances， svelte9 figures， dewy skin， unrealistic pep10， and extreme self-discipline”.

But Shaoxi said judging an entertainment show on “what degree of feminism” it contained was missing the point11. While the producers were in pursuit of profit， the programmes popularity said something about the female audience.

“It means that compared with the past， more are favouring strong， independent women，” she said. “You see a ‘sister in her 50s being herself， living her life， and being divorced and with children and she is fine. Thats a powerful role model.”

And its one that Zhang Xiqing， the designer， could use， with few women in senior management positions at her company.

When she sees the show， she is drawn to the personalities who have suffered setbacks in their career， yet are ambitious， hard-working and patient.

“I hope I can be more like them，” she said.

张西晴（音译）在中国社会不同于常人。

这位33岁的设计师住在南方城市深圳，未婚，没有与男友生儿育女的打算，生活幸福。她从科技巨头腾讯离职后，去了一家初创企业，因为想“尝试新事物”。

她说：“我只想为自己、为我俩而活。”

但她面临来自家庭的巨大压力。家人老是念叨，说她“年纪越来越大”，“她这个年纪”的女人应该结婚生子了。

她竭力抗压，不从流俗，但走的可能是一条孤独之路。

不过，现在一档在中国热播的真人秀电视节目让她深受激励。

湖南卫视制作的《乘风破浪的姐姐》没有给青春新秀一举成名的机会，而是邀约一群已过而立之年、有的已年过半百的成名女演员和女艺人来竞逐五人团出道位。

该节目自6月份开播以来，一直深受观众特别是女性观众的欢迎。第一期节目在湖南卫视官方手机应用芒果TV上的播放量超过3亿次。

对于像张西晴这样的女性来说，这档节目的吸引力在于展现一群有阅历的女性凭着自信和才艺——而不是依仗青春年少——来实现追求。

在别的才艺表演类真人秀中，选手在高压氛围下情绪崩溃、失声哭泣是司空见惯的事，但在湖南卫视的这档节目中，女选手们在舞台竞演和与节目制作组人员磋商时都尽显自信。

一位观眾在微博（中国类似推特的平台）上评论道：“目睹你们在舞台上的风采，我不再为自己的年龄而焦虑。”

杭州居民胡静（音译）对这档节目非常着迷。

胡静曾经商约10年，业余时间为非营利性组织工作，向残疾妇女、性少数群体和罕见疾病患者提供帮助。……