Comedy is giving women a voice in China. But is it okay for men to listen to jokes?

The list of topics that Chinese comedians should most avoid includes some obvious ones. Politics. It’s the Chinese army.

Now add the fragile ego of men.

At least, that was the message sent this month when a major e-commerce platform abruptly ended its partnership with China’s most prominent female stand-up comic. The company had bowed to pressure from men who described comedian Yang Li as a misanthropic witch on social media.

Advocating for women’s rights is becoming increasingly sensitive in China, with stand-up stages becoming the latest battleground. More and more women like Yang are speaking out and laughing about the injustices they face. This fall, two wildly popular stand-up shows launched women into the ranks of breakout stars thanks to punchlines about the difficulty of finding a good partner or the fear of men talking about menstruation.

But there has also been a backlash as men are reluctant to be the butt of jokes. They attacked the manga on social media. Yang said she received threats of violence. Women’s new visibility can also be easily erased. E-commerce company JD.com removed posts on its official social media account featuring two other female comedians shortly after Yang was removed.

The fight over women’s jokes reflects broader contradictions in feminism in China. Meanwhile, feminist rhetoric has become more widespread than ever, and once niche debates about gender inequality are now openly aired. But there are also growing forces trying to suppress that rhetoric, backed by governments that have led their own campaigns against feminist activism and forced women into traditional roles.

“The fewer divisive symbols like Yang Li, the better,” said an editorial on the nationalist commentary site guancha.cn.