If you’ve ever seen a “men’s magazine” like FHM or Maxim, you know that one of the main staples is “interviews” with buxom young females. In these multi-page features photographs figure prominently, words are squeezed in at the sides, and key quotations are carefully selected and displayed in big type next to the photographs. These quotations are usually sex-related, designed to get the reader’s pulse racing. (If you really need examples of this, you might try taking a look at …
22
Oct
2006
2006
Metrosexual: 9 Chinese Translations
When I mentioned a presentation on homosexuals in the West for my critical discourse analysis class, I gave the Chinese translation of “metrosexual” as 都市玉男. That’s not the only translation, though. In his research, Pepe turned up quite a few other translations currently in use online. Here are the ones Pepe collected, along with their literal meanings:
“Metrosexual”
- 都市玉男 city jade man
- 都市美型男 city beauty type man
- 都市中性美男 city neuter beauty man
- 都会美直男 city beauty straight man
- 都市生活自恋者 city life …
09
Oct
2006
2006
Homosexual Discourse for China
My critical discourse analysis class is getting interesting. The professor has assigned small group presentation topics. All five topics are related to homosexuality. Pepe and I have “homosexuality in the West.” Yeah, pretty huge topic. Other topics are pretty narrow, such as “lesbians in China.”
Just as a reminder about what we’re going to be analyzing:
Discourse analysis challenges us to move from seeing language as abstract to seeing our words as having meaning in a particular historical, social, and
…
29
Sep
2006
2006
Hoes Before Bros (in Chinese)
Recently on ChinesePod we were developing a lesson that uses the expression 重色轻友. Literally it means something like “heavy sex light friendship.” The idea here is valuing one’s love interests over one’s friends. In translating this phrase, the immediate English translation that sprang to my mind was “hoes before bros,” a phrase I first heard a few years ago from Wilson (in an intellectual discussion on intersexual nomenclature, of course).
Obviously “hoes before bros” isn’t quite appropriate for our …
29
Aug
2006
2006
The Hunt for Chinabounder
A while back I mentioned a blog called Sex in Shanghai in which a Western guy tells about all his exploits with Chinese women here in Shanghai. (That blog is still #1 on the “hottest blogs” list on the CBL, but it now seems to be inaccessible.) Since then, the Chinese have found out about the blog, and they are (understandably) pissed.
From time to time, Chinabounder uses his own experiences as a springboard
…
25
May
2006
2006
Earning Love
“How do you say 赚钱 in English?”
“‘Earn money.’ You could also say ‘make money.’”
“‘Earn money’ is the same as ‘make money?’”
“That’s right.”
She thought about it for a second, and then: “so then can you also say ‘earn love?’”
Simple logic, when applied to language, can lead to very frightening conclusions.…
19
Jan
2006
2006
In China, Babies Sell DVDs
A scene I imagined, based on real events:
The middle-aged woman knocked on the dingy office door. “Shei ah?” an impatient man’s voice cried from within. “What do you want?”
“I was hoping I could get a job,” the woman replied. “I have experience selling on the streets, and my friend Xiao Li told me you need DVD vendors.”
The door opened and the woman was admitted. “Yeah, we do. Not just any DVDs, though. These are adult
…
11
Oct
2005
2005
Dubbing transsexuals
Danwei.org did a post on the “transsexual blogfest” almost two years ago. Why, then, does it still feel like transsexuals are all the rage here in China?
Last week I caught Korean transsexual superstar Harisu in China on TV doing some kind of Chinese gameshow. They just kept showering her with comments the whole time, going on and on about how pretty, sexy, and feminine she is. I wanted to hear her voice. I was curious what it …
09
Jun
2003
2003
Hotel Zhoushan Dong Lu
The main road that runs by Zhejiang University City College is East Zhoushan Road, or “Zhoushan Dong Lu,” as the natives call it. Along this road are quite a few colleges in a comparatively small space. There’s also Shuren University, and the Broadcast/Journalism School (I really don’t know what the English name is — I usually refer to it as the “fine girl school”), and some others. The road is packed with small restaurants, (legit) barber shops*, convenience stores, and …
16
Jan
2003
2003
Sex in the Classroom
The class I teach here in China is Spoken English. I am here this term to improve the spoken English of close to 300 Chinese college students. How does one accomplish that? Well, by making them talk (harder than you think). There are many ways to do this, of course, but at least something done in class has to result in grades given out, which can be very limiting. My semester plan centers around discussions. I won’t bore …
All Posts