We do not need more people. Capitalism needs more people. We don’t.
Weird issue to pin on capitalism. From Bars, Pride and dating apps: How China is closing down its LGBT+ spaces
At the same time, China’s population growth and economy are slowing. “The current population growth couldn’t support economic growth,” explains Hongwei, meaning there has been a push to encourage heterosexual couples to have larger families to ensure an abundant future workforce.
Hence, the Chinese crackdown on LGBT+.
> The ban on Grindr could be put down to China’s wider dislike of Western apps, which are often accused of being vehicles for foreign influence. But removing Blued and Finka, which were both developed in China, represents a “seismic change in government attitudes towards homegrown LGBT apps”, says Hongwei. > Before targeting Blued and Finka, the Chinese authorities led a campaign against authors of the “Boy’s Love”, or Danmei, same-sex romance stories, some of which feature explicit love scenes between men. > > Several Danmei writers, most of whom are female, have reported being arrested and questioned by the authorities, and in recent months two major Danmei sites have either shut down, or drastically reduced and toned down their content. > Today, “officially, those Three No’s are still in place, but we are seeing evidence that the space for LGBT+ communities is starting to shrink”, says Marc Lanteigne, associate professor of political science at the Arctic University of Norway. > > Shanghai Pride shut down in 2020, and one year later the government shut down student LGBT+ accounts for “violating internet regulations”. Grindr disappeared in 2022, and in 2023 the Beijing LGBT Centre closed its doors after 15 years. > > In June 2024, the Roxie, Shanghai’s last officially lesbian bar, was forced to close “under pressure from the authorities". > > “The authorities have been slowly chipping away at those spaces that were open previously,” says Hildebrandt. > > With the closure of so many physical spaces, online networks had become “really the only places in which many members of the LGBT+ community could express their sexuality openly” he adds. > But in contemporary Chinese politics, “the Maoist principles about equality have more to do with uniformity,” says Hildebrandt. “You gain equality by being more like everybody else. You don’t gain equality by being diverse.” > > In a bid to create greater conformity within the population, “there has been a push in China to reinforce traditional family values and, in some cases, traditional masculine values,” adds Lanteigne. > Since the Covid pandemic, “the Chinese government has endorsed nationalist discourse and LGBT culture is seen as very politicised siding with Western ideologies”, says Hongwei. > > “There’s the impression that LGBTQ communities are by default connected to the West and could be seen as destabilising forces,” adds Lanteigne. > > Broader political and social forces may be at work, but the result is a real loss of liberty for gay and queer people in China. Hildebrandt says: “There is a real sense that it’s become a more difficult environment to be openly gay."
StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
I mean, it absolutely can become a problem if an entire population turns elderly and Theres no young people to take over businesses, care for the elderly, maintain critical infrastructure.
Say what you want about the capitalist ideals that hold this time important,if the birthrate hit 0% we would be facing societal collapse
skisnow@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
Bit strawmanny that. Nobody considers 0% a reasonable target.
StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Just an extreme example, but there are actual statistics out there I cant remember where a bunch of people much smarter than me figured out the “this is an emergency” percentage,
saimen@feddit.org 1 month ago
(in our current socioeconomic system)
tomiant@piefed.social 1 month ago
I mean… That societal collapse may be necessary at some point sooner rather than later- we need to downsize, we can chose to do it on our own terms or just run out the clock and smash into a brick wall. Maybe it’s not a bad thing.
I’m semi serious. This isn’t working out. I don’t think so, and many with me don’t think so. We can’t keep doing things just because the system demands it, we should be doing what we decide is good and necessary first and then work towards those goals, instead of just doing more of everything and hope that it will magically turn out for the best.
I am aware of the problem space here and the high cost and risk of dramatically changing course and our way of governing societies, but if we don’t, those problems will not be solved or diminish and we’ll have to deal with it anyway. Capitalism will not save us.
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 1 month ago
So what? If people decide we don’t need any more people then we surely don’t need society.
I just hope we remember to shut the lights off when we leave.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
That is why we need automation.
Just not the infinite growing one from capitalism
baines@piefed.social 1 month ago
immegration