China’s latest boyband have all the usual trappings: five attractive singers, upbeat music and a loyal fanbase of young women. But in one crucial detail they are different. This boyband is made up entirely of girls.



Acrush have yet to release their first single, but their fan page has already attracted more than 750,000 followers after a series of live performances. Their admirers already call the women “husbands”, a term usually used by female Chinese fans to refer to male pop stars.

The A in the band’s name refers to Adonis, a figure in ancient Greek mythology whose name has become synonymous with male beauty. Acrush released their first music video on Friday.

China remains a conservative country in terms of gender roles, with company and the government leadership heavily male-dominated and sexist attitudes prevalent. Job advertisements frequently specify a desired gender, and five feminist activists were detained in 2015 for planning events to raise awareness of sexual harassment to mark International Women’s Day.

But Wang Tianhai, the Simon Cowell-esque figure behind the scenes whose company formed the band, says he has no intention of pushing a political message.

“They just enjoy the male appearance, the carefree style and want to sing like men,” Wang said. “They want to express a positive and sunny image, to show that girls can be a boyband too.”

Wang said he originally intended to push a “cutesy” girl group. But Acrush has since become the company’s star act after a smattering of concerts led to overwhelmingly positive response, including a flood of love letters from female fans.

Not everyone has accepted their style. “Some people don’t understand and don’t accept our androgynous style, but we’ve received a lot of support from our fans,” said Lu Keran, the band’s 21-year-old leader. Lu has worn short hair since she was a child, and said she was sometimes chased out of women’s bathrooms for looking like a “little boy”.

Wang said: “There’s prejudice, and some people think because of their style then they are homosexual, and use that to criticise the band.”

The manager has prohibited members of Acrush from discussing their sexual orientation, and he said there was a sizeable contingent of “anti-fans” who trolled the band over their looks.

But the quintet have precedents, both in Chinese culture and in pop forerunners who adopted similar styles over a decade ago.

“There’s a long history of cross-gender performance in China, male playing female roles and vice-versa, in traditional Chinese theatre,” said Lucetta Kam, a professor of gender studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. “Feminist issues are getting more and more politically sensitive under the current political regime, but as long as they don’t mention any gender issues and remain entertainment-oriented, it’s all OK.”

Li Yuchun won Super Girl, a female-only version of Pop Idol, in 2005 with boyish looks. Li, who also uses the English name Chris, has maintained her androgynous look and has become one of the biggest stars in China, signing deals with Coca-Cola and L’Oréal.

Despite Li’s stardom, some members of Acrush said they had felt alone before the band formed.

“I feel very lucky to have met a group of like-minded people,” Lu said. “An important message we want to convey to our fans is that it’s important to be true to who you are.”

With additional reporting by Wang Zhen