Chinese Boot Camp Turns Boys into “Alpha Males” to Fight Rise of K-Pop Culture That Made Them ‘Effeminate’

The Chinese training camp teaches boys how to be "alpha males" in order to fight against K-Pop's "feminized" influence on them.Tang Haiyan, a former teacher, founded a real-life training club in response to a notable "crisis of masculinity". He and others who support his point of view consider that delicate attractive male idols who wear makeup, earrings, hair color and "female" fashion, promote a "feminized" way of life that damages Chinese men and the country. The Chinese state media call these idols a depreciatory names such as "sissy pants" and "fresh young meat".

The former teacher supports the idea of ​​dividing the world into traditional gender roles that expect boys to be strong and boisterous, and girls to be calm, nurtured and studious. He believes that unsuccessful Chinese boys suffered in the hands of an educational system that rewards the "good" behavior of a girl and punishes "bad" male behavior.

In 2012 Tang Haiyan founded the Real Man Training Club, six years after his visit to California in 2006. During the visit, he saw that American football teams were trained and inspired by him. Football training helped establish a club.

The Real Man Training Club currently offers weekly activities, including American football, wrestling and boxing, and an annual treks through the desert and mountains. As they go into the runs, the guys carry slogans with words about them, such as "Real Man", "Power Leader" and "Anything is Possible."

The club, trains between 2,000 and 3,000 members, aims to strengthen the physical activities of the boys in order to teach them how to be brave, responsible, dedicated and "manly". Some parents who sign their boys to the club do so in the hope of helping their sons gain confidence. 

“I think it’s a good opportunity for him to gradually cultivate a macho character,” said one mother, who gave her surname, Chen. She believes her shy, introverted son will benefit from outdoor camps such as Real Man Training Club. “I don’t think the entertainment industry has shown good role models for the society because the celebrities they put on the big screen exhibit a more feminine side of men. That’s the problem.”