China’s authoritarian government on Wednesday banned men it considers effeminate from appearing on state television as its grip on the nation’s culture tightens. The edict is part of President Xi Jinping’s “national rejuvenation,” which demands businesses, schools, culture and religion adhere to the Communist Party’s vision for a more powerful China. Under the guidelines, broadcasters must “resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics,” authorities said, using an offensive slang term literally meaning “girlie guns.”

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