China's first androgynous all-girl pop band challenges ideal of femininity

[rpannier]

China's all-girl "boy band", FFC-Acrush, had more than 749,000 followers on social networking site Weibo even before any of their music was released.

Sporting short bobs, loose T-shirts and barely there makeup, Acrush's androgynous look is bucking centuries-old norms in a society where girls strive to look feminine and act demurely.

Marketed by sports brand Fantasy Football Confederation (FFC), the five women - aged 18 to 24 - held their first news conference in Beijing on Friday as their first single "Action" was released.

"We want the girls to break the mould," the band's agent, Zhou Xiaobai, told Reuters.

The letter 'A' in the band's name is a reference to the god Adonis - the archetype of youthful male beauty in Greek mythology.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-band-idUSKBN17U1LM

[lunasun]

1. Here is a short clip of Action