Little fresh meat

Little fresh meat (Chinese: 小鲜肉; pinyin: xiǎo xiān ròu) is an internet buzz word in China used to describe handsome young males. It is most commonly used for celebrities, particularly a rising star.^[1][2]

Positive impact[]

Luhan, lead actor of Fighter of the Destiny

Star power and commercial value[]

This reductive and demeaning term has been widely used as a selling point by Chinese entertainment agencies in defining a star,^[3] and helped the star in gaining more fans.^[4]

Box office[]

Films featuring "little fresh meat" have done well at the box office, in return for some of these films' low production cost. This is due to the devout fanbase of the stars.^[5] In particular, the media coined Lu Han's massive influence among his followers as the Lu Han effect, which helped achieve high ratings for the television drama Fighter of the Destiny in spite of poor reviews from critics.^[6]

Diversification of label[]

The popularity of "little fresh meat" have allowed the media to create new representations of male beauty on screen, thus diversifying the type of characters portrayed by actors in television and films. Males who possess delicate and feminine features are no longer met with contempt or ridicule.^[7]

Negative criticism[]

Astronomical high salary[]

William Chan, one of China's most popular young stars

It has been reported that high salaries demanded by some "little fresh meats" has caused a detrimental impact on film profits.^[8]

• Two movies, Somewhere Only We Know (2015) and Sweet Sixteen (2016), are highly dependent on leading actor Kris Wu's idol appeal. Yet while the first film grossed 286 million yuan, the latter dropped to 149 million.^[8]
• L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties, which amassed some of the biggest names like Kris Wu, TFBoys and William Chan, grossed only 382 million out of the forecasted 2 billion.^[8]

Unprofessional attitude[]

Some of the "Little fresh meats" have often been criticized for their lack of acting skills, causing their films to receive negative reviews and online backlash.^[8] Li Yifeng was panned for not mastering the Beijing dialect for his role in Mr.Six, and received criticism for winning the Best Supporting Actor award at the Hundred Flowers Awards, which sparked a "Popularity vs Talent" controversy.^{[citation needed]}

Other common unprofessional behaviour exhibited by "little fresh meats" include getting stand-ins to replace them in certain shots. Due to their popularity, they also tend to juggle multiple projects and don't give adequate time for each role, instead hiring stand-in look-alikes to replace them in shots that do not require close ups.^[8]

Quality[]

• Mr Six received critical acclaim and won the Best Actor award for leading man Feng Xiaogang but received criticism for Li Yifeng and Kris Wu's acting.^{[citation needed]}
• Time Raiders, based on the popular novel Daomu Biji and featuring Chinese heartthrobs Jing Boran and Lu Han, earned 1 billion yuan at the box office but received overwhelming negative reviews from critics in China.^[9]
• The People's Liberation Army Daily criticized the unrealistic portrayals by some of these young actors in military-themed films.^[4]

In the media[]

Empowerment on women[]

The phenomenon has contributed to the rise of girl power. Women have always been used as an object of appreciation, but now men are also receiving the same treatment. Feminist Lü Pin said: "I think the phrase is a symbol for the possibility of diversification. In the past the mainstream was old men [dating] young women, but now matches of people of different ages are being accepted."^{[citation needed]}

As the term "little fresh meat" has been used by women to express their desire/hunger for young, good-looking men, a psychologist stated that it is a progress for women to recognize their sexual needs and self-gratification in the otherwise restrained society in China.^[3]

Comments by entertainers[]

Chinese Swimmer Ning Zetao said that he wouldn't want to be called a piece of little fresh meat. "I don't like this nametag," he said.^{[citation needed]}

Commercial trends[]

The popularity of the "little fresh meat" have also saw a change in tide, where beauty and cosmetic companies in China are starting to ask young male celebrities to endorse their products instead of female celebrities.^[10]

People associated with the title[]

Yang Yang, lead actor of popular series Love O2O

• William Chan (born 1985), singer and actor^[1]
• Li Yifeng (born 1987), singer and actor^[11]
• Jing Boran (born 1989), singer and actor
• Lu Han (born 1990), singer and actor^[12]
• Chen Xuedong (born 1990), singer and actor
• Kris Wu (born 1990), singer and actor^{[citation needed]}
• Yang Yang (born 1991), singer and actor^[13]
• Zhang Yixing (born 1991), singer and actor
• Oho Ou (born 1992), Actor^[14]
• Huang Zitao (born 1993), singer and actor
• Ning Zetao (born 1993), athlete^[15]
• Cai Xukun (born 1998), singer
• Liu Haoran (born 1997), actor^[14]
• Leo Wu (born 1999), actor
• TFBoys, boy band^{[citation needed]}
• Xiao Zhan (born 1991), actor, singer
• Wang Yibo (born 1997), actor, singer, dancer, motorcycle rider
• Li Zhenning (born 1995), actor, singer^[16]

References[]