Yep, in China, strippers at funerals are a thing. But the Chinese government has recently launched a crackdown on this kind of entertainment to entertain mourners.
The Ministry of Culture says it is targeting ‘‘striptease’’ and other ‘‘obscene, pornographic, and vulgar performances’’ at funerals, weddings and traditional Chinese New Year public gatherings. The campaign is an effort to reinforce better morale among the people and will target 19 cities across four provinces – Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hebei
A hotline has also been set up as part of the campaign, urging the public to report any performances in rural or suburban areas to the authorities and offering informants a reward. But it’s not the first time Chinese officials have taken steps to shut down this cultural practice…
In 2006 authorities first began closing down on ‘‘obscene’’ performances. Five people in Jiangsu were arrested for “obscene performances” following striptease acts at a farmer’s funeral, where 200 people were said to have attended.
The second campaign launched in 2015, when the Ministry of Culture announced their plan to eliminate such “bizarre and increasingly popular” performances for “corrupting the social atmosphere”, the Global Times reported. That same year authorities arrested six exotic dancers at the funeral of an elderly resident in Handan and fined the troupe’s leader.
Two villages in the provinces of Hebei and Jiangs made headlines on Chinese social media with viral photos showing strippers at funerals inviting “grieving” men to come on stage and undress them. Seniors and children are seen standing nearby watching.
The Ministry of Culture also released a similar statement to this report in 2015 describing the hiring of strippers at funerals as “uncivilised”, Xinhua news agency reported at the time.
The purpose of the strippers is to increase numbers, as a higher turnout at funerals is seen as a sign of honouring the dead. The unique entertainment dates back to the 1960s but gained attention in the 1980’s.
According to the Global Times, experts attribute the stripper performances as a way to worship fertility. “In some local cultures, dancing with erotic elements can be used to convey the deceased’s wishes of being blessed with many children,” Huang Jianxing, professor of Fujian Normal University Sociology and History Department, told the Chinese paper.
In 2015 the ministry said it would tighten control over rural culture, where the strip shows have been thriving because of a general lack of other cultural events.