China's Online 'Manosphere' Grows as Beijing Targets Feminism in Battle Over Marriage and Babies

China's gender conflict has moved well beyond dinner-table arguments. Male content creators who openly criticise feminist ideas have built audiences on major Chinese platforms, while researchers say misogynistic online communities have continued to find space despite periods of censorship.

A CNA Insight documentary, published on 17 September 2026, put a face to the trend through David Wang, a content creator who has built a following by targeting what he calls 'extreme feminism'.

One broadcast summed up his position: 'Only unattractive women support extreme feminism.' Wang is part of China's growing 'manosphere', where male grievances and hostility towards women find an audience on platforms including Bilibili, Zhihu and Hupu.

A Complicated State Response

The tension in Beijing's approach has not gone unnoticed.

In February 2026, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a month-long 'Qinglang' campaign targeting content that promoted anti-marriage or anti-childbearing attitudes, provoked conflict between men and women, or spread what authorities described as 'marriage fear' and 'fertility anxiety'.

The campaign also showed that authorities were targeting some forms of gender antagonism, adding complexity to assessments of how anti-feminist content is treated online.

At the same time, academic research published in Feminist Studies in 2025 found that 'misogyny in China has grown increasingly radicalised' but is 'rarely curtailed by state censorship and is often amplified by platform algorithms'.

The study examined misogynistic communities across Chinese digital platforms and argued that such misogyny can channel rising class discontent into hostility towards women.

The Communist Youth League of China set an earlier tone when its official Weibo account described 'extreme feminism' as a 'malignant tumour on the internet' in April 2022. The post triggered a wider online debate over feminism and gender conflict.

Feminist accounts and groups have also faced restrictions. Douban, for example, closed more than a dozen feminist groups, while feminist accounts on Weibo have been banned or suspended at various points.

Births and Marriages in Decline

The demographic figures highlighting the pressures facing Beijing are stark. China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that births fell to 7.92 million in 2025, down from 9.54 million in 2024. The country's population contracted for a fourth consecutive year, shrinking by 3.39 million to 1.40489 billion.

Marriage figures show a similar decline. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs recorded 6.106 million marriage registrations in 2024, down from 13.47 million in 2013, less than half the number recorded 11 years earlier.

The 2024 total was down 20.5 per cent from the previous year, according to official data. Demographer Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has warned of the implications of China's demographic decline for the country's future.

The Debate Over Censorship

Researchers and commentators have argued that restrictions on feminist discussions do not address the economic and social pressures behind China's demographic problems. A South China Morning Post commentary, for example, argued that censoring feminist discussions would not resolve the country's population crisis.

Radio Free Asia has similarly reported arguments that addressing gender discrimination and rebuilding public trust would be necessary to change the situation.

Researchers at the Australian National University have linked the growth of China's digital manosphere to wider social conditions, including economic pressures and unemployment among young, educated men.

Their research describes a process in which 'class antagonism' has been channelled into 'gender antagonism', giving broader frustrations a gendered outlet.

China's fertility rate is also among the world's lowest.

The United Nations Population Division estimates that China's total fertility rate is below 1.0 births per woman, compared with the roughly 2.1 children per woman generally associated with long-term population replacement in the absence of migration.

Beijing's efforts to regulate online gender discourse therefore sit alongside a much broader demographic challenge involving marriage, fertility, economic conditions and changing attitudes towards family life.

Against the backdrop of a widening gender divide and low marriage rates, the demographic shift could have consequences beyond China's borders.

A contracting and ageing population in the world's second-largest economy could affect labour supply, domestic demand and the country's economic outlook, with potential implications for businesses and economies that depend heavily on China.