China's Got Talent! Unless you're a 'disgusting fake lady'
China's Got Talent director Jin Lei says cross-dressers can forget about representing China
by Chris Anderson
17 May, 2010
http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/none/chinas-got-talent-wants-talent-well-not-if-youre-fake-lady-518295 Don't expect any 'fake ladies' on China's Got Talent.
The Shanghaiist posted an article from the Shanghai Morning Post that, according to the Shanghaiist's translation, quoted China's Got Talent's director Jin Lei as saying:
"Every year, we see new phenomena emerging in talent shows, but these can't be said to be the mainstream. It's no surprise to see men putting on make-up or cross-dressing for a certain performance, but for people to start appearing in another gender altogether, this I don't agree with, and you can even say I'm disgusted with it. The one standard at Britain's Got Talent is this -- you have talent, yes, but are you good enough to perform in front of the Queen? It's that sort of standard we're talking about. We don't want any people who are insincere, or people who come up with a certain behavior just to attract eyeballs and attention. Can you imagine a flamboyant guy who transforms himself into a 'fake lady', then perform in front of the audiences on Shanghai's biggest platform, and then go on to become a talent representing China?"
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China's Got Talent, but transgender (and overweight) talent's not welcome
http://shanghaiist.com/2010/05/17/chinas_got_talent_transgender.phpAs mentioned earlier, China's Got Talent has been launched and auditions are going to be hosted soon -- but don't bother signing up if you're not going to fit into the rigid gender "boxes" as defined by the show's very narrow-minded producers and judges. More specifically, if you're a male-to-female transgender, or a "fake lady", as show director Jin Lei (金磊) puts it, you are especially not welcome because he finds you "disgusting" and just out to attract attention. And, oh, if you happen to be overweight, forget about joining the contest too because Jolin Tsai, celebrity ambassador of the show, says she doesn't like to see overweight people dancing (sorry to Taiwan's Little Fatty).
