Xiao Meili
来自China Digital Space
Xiāo Měilì | 肖美丽
Xiao Meili (simplified Chinese: 肖美丽; traditional Chinese: 肖美麗; pinyin: Xiào Měilì; born 1989) is a central Chinese women's rights activist and feminist since the 2010s. She was born in Sichuan, China, but most of her activities take place in Guangzhou, China and in Beijing, China, where she lived in 2015. She is mainly known for her campaigns that raise awareness about gender inequality in China and often utilize dramatic means to draw attention. Notable campaigns include the Bald Sisters, Beautiful Feminist Walk, and Armpit Hair Contest. (Wikipedia)
Xiao Meili’s real name is Xiao Yue. She has played a major role in China’s #MeToo movement, both as an activist and a spokesperson for sexual assault survivors.
Speaking at the Herstory conference in 2021 as part of Chengdu’s Women’s Month, Xiao Meili shared the story of her 2,000km protest walk from Beijing to Guangzhou to raise awareness about sexual assault in 2013. Her speech, eloquent and humorous in equal parts, has been translated by CDT nearly in full.
In April 2021, Xiao Meili became a target of cyberbullying on Chinese social media. The incident first started when she tried to dissuade several male patrons from smoking in a restaurant. The altercation escalated when one of the men splashed Xiao and her friend with some liquid. She later went to the police and uploaded the video of the altercation on Weibo, where it quickly became a trending topic. Xiao and several other feminist activists were subsequently doxxed. @子午侠士, a prominent Weibo user with more than 700,000 followers known for his nationalist stance, accused Xiao Meili of supporting Hong Kong independence because of a photo she posted several years ago. Xiao and other feminist activists were bullied on the internet, resulting in several of their social media accounts being shut down.
