'Rotten women' expression of desire

The BBC drama Sherlock has proved so popular in China that when the first episode of the third series was launched on a Chinese video-hosting website just two hours after it was broadcast in Britain, it received almost 3 million hits overnight.

Much of the appeal of the show lies in the interplay between the sharp-witted and acerbic Sherlock Holmes and his loyal and awestruck sidekick John Watson. And since the first season of the drama, numerous Chinese websites have appeared hosting stories about the two characters written by fans.

Many of these stories depict the characters as gay, and it is this suggested sub-text to the characters relationship that has attracted some of the show's most ardent fans the so-called rotten women, or funu. Rotten being a self-mocking reference to these women's "rotten" taste.

The term originated in Japan, where fujoshi refers women who are interested in gay love in films, TV dramas or books. The character "fu" means "fermented or rotten".

Funu emerged in China in the 1990s, but in those days it only referred to a few girls who were interested in the "boy love" genre of Japanese manga and comic books. But funu have increased in number over the years and they are now able to influence pop culture.

However, to many, what is acceptable is only their aesthetic appreciation of male beauty, the funu obsession with gay sex is less acceptable. However, regarding the funu phenomenon as a dirty hobby is an attitude that needs to be discarded.

In fact, it is a misconception that funu are fixated on sex between males. There is a big difference between the boy love depicted in the eponymous genre and gay relationships in reality. What funu are keen on are images of good-looking male lovers that they can fantasize about. Besides beautiful men, the fictitious gay relationships also need to be romantic.