Sisters Who Make Waves 2 is Another Feeble Attempt at Feminism

Last summer’s reality contest Sisters Who Make Waves became a breakout idol show hit in China. It generated a lot of buzz primarily due to the age of its contestants. With the youngest starting at 30, and 52-year-old singer Yi Nengjing as the oldest, the novelty of portraying solely women above 30 made the show an outlier.

However, the second season launched in January of this year with much less fanfare. Even though it includes famous names like actress Cecilia Cheung, and singers Na Ying and Rainie Yang, ratings have been much lower and comments more negative.

On average, the first season of Sisters Who Make Waves gets rated a 7/10 on Douban. The second season on the other hand hovers around 5.3/10. Some of the comments viewers point out are more practical issues. For example the long watch time of the episodes which is between 2-4 hours. But many mention something else as well. Like that the first season’s contestants were better. Or that it seems now contestants are only on the show to try to become popular again.

Sisters Who Makes Waves offers a certain kind of feminism

That the first season of Sisters Who Makes Waves was such a novelty says a lot about the entertainment world . It was the first time that a reality show in China focused exclusively on older female contestants so it’s no wonder this show also rode a certain feminist wave. By presenting itself as providing a platform to older women, viewers felt that it sent the message that your career can last beyond a certain age or after you’ve started a family.

But of course, while this may have been the producer’s intent, the idol show format cannot easily convey this message. Quite quickly, viewers started criticizing the show. People began questioning if it really promoted feminism or if it was actually still quite sexist.

For example, commentator Bai Yu mentions, “Although many of the sisters are amazing and talented, they are being held to such a conservative standard. And [the show] just provides the traditional sympathetic and caring image of mature women, while at the same time preferring to promote contestants crushing each other like they are participating in some kind of palace in-fighting. Is that really what everyone wants to see?”

Another point of criticism was the fact that all the contestants still adhere to traditional beauty standards with light skin, thin bodies and no wrinkles. Bai writes that the show sets the same standard for older women as for young women. She argues this is not reinventing a standard at all, but making older women try to be like young women again.

These are all valid criticisms. Even more so because the first season’s final group already disbanded in January, because one of the women who’s approaching 50 said she couldn’t keep up anymore.

Providing any platform is better than none

The second season does make some changes based on these criticisms. It has less forced rivalry by changing the show’s competition element. Instead of every contestant performing individually, the format is now team-based. This means there are more opportunities for the contestants to rely on each other and create stronger connections and friendships.

At the same time, there’s still plenty of room for rivalries and drama between contestants. Although these issues are resolved and don’t have very big repercussions, it’s still something that easily finds its way to the media. For example the ‘conflict’ between 2 big names singer Na Ying and actress Cecilia Cheung.

Apparently, Cheung wanted to be on Na Ying’s team but Na Ying rejected her. Cheung’s ex-husband is dating Na Ying’s good friend Faye Wong. This made Na Ying reluctant to team up with Cheung. However, they resolve the issue in a later episode. Afterwards there’s even a moment where Na Ying comforts Cheung by saying she’s focusing so much on taking care of her children that she can’t concentrate on the show.

Unfortunately this season doesn’t provide any overtly direct rebuttals of the female image. But at the least it gives older women a platform. Contestant Hu Jing worded this perfectly when asked about her motivation to participate. “Many people just define it like this. Once women reach a certain age and want to go out to work again, people surmise that you’re surely unhappy about something in your life, have some emotional issues, or maybe you need money. Why is that? I just can’t understand why everyone wants to label women like this. Because I just like my work too much, that’s why I want to do it.”

These moments are the reason to watch Sisters Who Make Waves 2. Maybe if it had included even more moments like these, the show’s ratings could have been better, because female viewers would have found it more relatable and inspiring.