1. Introduction
[1.1] Originating from Anglophone fandom, the "Alpha Beta Omega Dynamics" (alternatively referred to as A/B/O or Omegaverse) is a kink trope that enables unconventional sexual orientation and behavior. It introduces a fictional sexuality and gender system that coexists with the widespread conventional binary representations of male and female (and less conventional nonbinary) genders. It is believed that the Omegaverse was first brought into Chinese fandom by Chinese fans of the BBC TV drama Sherlock in 2011 and soon went viral on the internet (Zheng 2019). Now there is not only A/B/O fan fiction but also original A/B/O fiction on Chinese online literature platforms. In this article, I use "Omegaverse" to refer to the trope and fictions in the Anglophone context and "A/B/O" in the Chinese context.
[1.2] The Omegaverse is one of those Anglophone elements that particularly needs to be acclimatized to the Chinese context. China is a highly censored society where the trope, with explicit erotic content and male homosexuality being two prominent features, would presumably encounter obstacles. In general, homosexuality and erotic content, explicit or implicit, are both censored in mainland China, although to varying levels and across different media. Thus, censorship in China creates tension between the Omegaverse and the intolerant Chinese environment.
[1.3] What I ask, then, is what becomes of the Omegaverse under censorship in China. Are male homosexuality and explicit erotic content eliminated in Chinese A/B/O fiction, or do they survive but in different forms? More importantly, the Omegaverse has long been a trope for gender discussion (Arnaiz 2018; Ge 2021; Weisser 2019; Zheng 2015). How does A/B/O fiction engage in gender discussions in the Chinese context?
[1.4] I use the term "gender" to underline the socially constructed aspects related to being women and men, and "sex" the biological and physiological characteristics. I follow gender theory, especially that of Judith Butler (1999), which proposes an influential antiessentialist perception of gender. Borrowing John Austin's idea of "linguistic declarations that perform actions," Butler suggests that gender categories such as men/women are performative (quoted in Brickell 2005, 26); gender is not predetermined by biological or physiological characteristics (sex) and does not preexist its performance either but is manufactured in a way "in which the anticipation of a gendered essence produces that which it posits as outside itself" (Butler 1999, xiv–xv). Gender (and connected to it, sexualities like homosexuality and heterosexuality), therefore, is discursively and socially constructed. On the other hand, I also align with Ying-Chao Kao's study of queer theory's glocalization in Taiwan (2021). Kao calls for caution on the discrepancies between theories, regularly US-based, and conditions and practice in the local environment (e.g., an essentialist rather than antiessentialist identity may be in need of queer activism in practice). I hence pay close attention to the Chinese sociocultural context when applying gender theory to the interpretation of Chinese A/B/O fiction.
[1.5] I close read selected Chinese A/B/O fiction, and I also examine readers' comments when their reception of texts in analysis contributes to the discussion. Before textual analysis, I map censorship in China imposed not only on homosexuality and explicit erotic content but even on gender topics and feminism. I rely on my immersive participant observation of Chinese A/B/O culture to select primary source materials, with a combined consideration of saliency and popularity. I adopt close reading to reveal the transgressive potential in Chinese A/B/O fiction, emphasizing how works of fiction challenge the sociocultural discourses in China. To underline the Chinese context does not make Chinese A/B/O culture a special case in contrast to the Anglophone Omegaverse. Instead, by offering a distinctive environment, I strive to enrich the Omegaverse by demonstrating its transgressive potential in an unfavorable context, incorporating Chinese A/B/O culture rather than separating it from the global Omegaverse culture.
2. Understanding the Omegaverse: Key definitions and features
[2.1] The Omegaverse is an open-ended product of collective intelligence, and authors are free to make their own choices of how to represent this fictional system. However, there are two foundational settings that most Omegaverse fictions incorporate. One is the sexuality demarcation that divides human beings into sexually dominant alphas, neutral betas, and submissive omegas (https://fanlore.org/wiki/Alpha/Beta/Omega). The Alpha/Beta/Omega system coexists with and overrides the male/female system. While characters in Omegaverse fictions may be male, female, or much less frequently nonbinary, their sexual characteristics are defined by the Alpha/Beta/Omega system (Weisser 2019). For example, in much Omegaverse fiction, all omegas, male or female, have uteruses or uterus-like organs, and all alphas have a penis. An alpha female thus can impregnate an omega male, with alphas and omegas portrayed as more fertile than betas.
[2.2] Another important feature is that human beings in the Omegaverse also have animalistic (canid) characteristics, especially since alphas and omegas are endowed with animal-like sensitivity to pheromones, a chemical secreted by an animal (including humans) that affects potential mating partners (Busse 2013; Entrikin 2023). Alphas experience a rut, and omegas undergo a heat during which they exude a higher volume of pheromones and get induced into usually uncontrollable sexual desire (Entrikin 2023; Popova 2021). While exactly how rut differs from heat varies from story to story, generally alphas feel the need to dominate in rut, and omegas feel the need to submit in heat (Arnaiz 2018).
[2.3] Many stories depict an Omegaverse world in which the biological and physiological characteristics (based on their Alpha/Beta/Omega sex) are closely related to gender characteristics, and the Alpha/Beta/Omega system is not just about sex but also about gender (Busse 2013; Entrikin 2023). Omegaverse society is often depicted as one in which the discourse of biological determinism prevails; biological characteristics largely determine personal qualities, gender expressions, and social and intimate power relations, resulting in stereotypical and normative gender roles. Alphas hence are usually muscular and assertive, playing the leading roles in society and in intimate relationships; omegas are gentle and sensitive, more suitable for supporting roles; and betas occupy a "normal" middle ground between the two. In one of the most kudos-ed Chinese-language A/B/O stories on Archive of Our Own (AO3), The True Mate (Zuijia qihe, published on AO3 in 2019; note 1), the alpha protagonist is a powerful, arrogant man with both money and power, while the omega protagonist, who is thin and "born fragile" (tiansheng cuiruo) as is every other omega, is tested (by some technology in the A/B/O world) most suitable for "appeasement and devotion" (anfu fengxian). The protagonists' personalities and social status are tightly connected to their being alpha/omega.
[2.4] As a fictional setting, the Omegaverse provides a fertile ground for gender discussions by opening space to reflect on gender challenges and experiment with alternative ways. An Omegaverse world references stereotypical gender roles and gender inequality in the real world, whereas Omegaverse stories often portray how characters, especially disadvantaged ones like omegas, navigate the Omegaverse society. Scholars then interpret Omegaverse stories as explorations of gender dynamics and challenges. For example, seeing omegas "undoubtedly stand for females," Arnaiz argues that Omegaverse fictions enable women to engage with "darker" sexual fantasies to gain mastery over "negative representations of the self" (2018, 123, 125). Further emphasizing the potential of omegas, J. T. Weisser argues that pregnant male omegas, being both male and pregnant, offer reflections and discussions on the challenges that queer and transgender individuals face, instead of those faced by cisgender women (2019). The fictional setting of Omegaverse thus enables explorations of gender issues that resonate with real-life experience.
[2.5] It is noteworthy that the Omegaverse is not essentially progressive or regressive. Rather, the settings of Omegaverse provide progressive and transgressive potentials, which Omegaverse stories may realize or neglect, or do so in between (Popova 2021; Zheng 2015). For instance, it is not uncommon for Omegaverse stories to replicate male/female gender inequality. In male/male slash fiction (featuring romantic and/or erotic relationships between same-sex characters), female characters, including female alphas, are either underrepresented or portrayed as less competent than male alphas (for example, the abovementioned The True Mate). Such denial of women characters echoes the "internalised misogyny" observed by Liang Ge in Chinese fans of The Untamed, an iconic TV drama adapted from a danmei fiction (a genre in China similar to male/male slash; 2022, 1030). That said, women are not always less glorious than men in A/B/O fiction, especially recently. The subgenre of "female alpha and male omega," discussed in section 5, features a powerful female alpha who is the central and frequently the most powerful character in the story. Those examples hence underline the diversity in Omegaverse fiction and make it necessary to scrutinize specific Omegaverse stories.
[2.6] Omegaverse stories often present two features, male homosexuality and explicit erotic content (particularly explicit sex scenes). From the very beginning, male homosexuality and explicit erotic content have been part of the Omegaverse's design and have greatly contributed to its popularity (Busse 2013). It is thus not surprising to find that Omegaverse stories incorporate those two elements. As of February 2025, among the 231,567 works with the tag of "Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics," there are more than 192,000 pieces of work depicting male-male relationships and more than 165,000 works rated as "mature" or "explicit" (note 2). Male/male slash fiction attracts most scholarly attention. From the examples above, Popova reads Supernatural male/male slash while Arnaiz and Weisser choose those based on Hannibal. In the meantime, male omegas are usually chosen as key factors for revealing the transgressive potential of Omegaverse.
[2.7] However, I shift the focus to Chinese A/B/O fiction that contains less or even no male homosexuality and/or explicit erotic content. While I still analyze danmei A/B/O fiction, I emphasize what the text may display when no explicit sexual description is allowed. I also scrutinize the new trend of "female alpha and male omega," in which neither male homosexuality nor explicit erotic content exists. Instead of merely a gap-seeking effort, I consider this a contextualized reading of the Omegaverse when the trope is transported to an unfavorable context. Chinese society is characterized by censorship of popular culture products, which requires the Omegaverse to localize accordingly. I start with reflection on censorship in China.
3. The censored Chinese context and self-censorship on Jinjiang
[3.1] The A/B/O trope went viral in Chinese fandom. Then it extended into original Chinese-language literature and became a real hit in Chinese online literature overall from 2014 (Liu 2019). This popular trope, however, faces a mainland Chinese society where censorship is imposed on a wide range of topics in popular culture, including homosexuality and both explicit and implicit erotic content. A typical target is danmei, a genre that portrays male-male romantic and/or erotic relationships. Ling Yang and Yanrui Xu (2017) state that danmei is "a vulnerable target of state censorship…because of its dual association with homosexuality and pornography" (4). If any changes have occurred in recent years, censorship of danmei products has been tightened rather than lifted since the early 2020s (Hu et al. 2024). One of the most notorious examples is the multiple cases of danmei authors sentenced to jail, including Gouwazi Tianyi in 2018 and Shenhai Xiansheng in 2019 (Bai 2022), and more recently in 2024, a group of authors from Haitang Literature City, a Taiwan-based website known for danmei novels featuring highly erotic descriptions.
[3.2] Censorship in China under which the Omegaverse survives is an intricate system involving various agents and hence varied types of censorship. The state/government is the key and most powerful agent, carrying out official censorship to regulate information online. Other agents like social media platforms and users then conduct self-censorship, employing strategies like keyword blocking on platforms and reporting on users' peers (Hu et al. 2024). However, it is important to note that platforms and users have their own incentives, which often go against instead of following those of the official. Social media platforms and media producers, driven by profit motives, may simultaneously implement self-censorship while keeping it porous, to extract money from highly profitable products like danmei culture (Zheng 2024). Whereas some users might report "inappropriate" content, many users try to produce and consume censored information through creative tactics, including sharing cloud links for explicit sex scenes that are strictly forbidden on major online literature platforms (Roberts 2018, 2020; Tian 2020). Censorship is thus a system involving various agents who act in accordance with their own interests, and platforms and users play with different policies of self-censorship within the limits set by the official.
[3.3] I focus on self-censorship implemented by platforms, the most visible part of censorship affecting A/B/O fiction. I particularly address Jinjiang Literature City (hereafter Jinjiang) and examine how the Omegaverse adapts to its current policies (note 3). As the largest female-oriented online literature platform based in mainland China, Jinjiang serves as an ideal case study among platforms that host A/B/O fiction. In contrast to Suiyuanju and AO3, which are based in the United States and hence exempt from self-censorship, Jinjiang implements self-censorship that is typical in the Chinese context. Lofter and Changpei Literature City are also well-known platforms based in China. However, Lofter has undergone a severe clean-up campaign and, as of this writing, shows no result when searching for "ABO" (how A/B/O is phrased on Chinese platforms), restricting access to, and discouraging production of, A/B/O works. Changpei still enables ABO searches. Yet it mainly focuses on danmei works, whereas Jinjiang is much more diversified in terms of sexualities in A/B/O fiction. Jinjiang thus provides insights such as the rise in A/B/O stories featuring heterosexuality, which cannot be seen on Changpei. In this way, Jinjiang simultaneously engages in self-censorship and enjoys diversity and popularity, making it a representative platform for examining the mechanisms of self-censorship.
[3.4] Zooming in on Jinjiang's self-censorship, it becomes clear that homosexuality and explicit erotic content are censored differently: Any explicit erotic content, such as explicit sex scenes, is absolutely forbidden, whereas male homosexuality is preserved, albeit in the euphemism of chun'ai instead of danmei (note 4). The differed censorship is also reflected in the charges against the above-mentioned jailed danmei authors, who were prosecuted for disseminating pornographic products rather than those featuring homosexuality. Therefore, while explicit erotic content leads to the eradication of stories and punishment of authors, male homosexuality is euphemized and survives as far as the term danmei is avoided.
[3.5] Theoretically, Jinjiang's self-censorship targets all types of erotic content, explicit or implicit. Jinjiang adopts an at least double-layered policy for handling both: First, an automatic word filter blocks sensitive words, like those describing sexual organs or sexual activity, and then a manual review by readers aims to remove creative circumventions, including metaphorical or implicit hints of sex scenes. This system, however, is porous, as reader reviewers may choose not to identify implicit sexual descriptions. Evidence of this is that we still encounter implicit sexual descriptions (often hints of what has happened rather than a metaphorical description) on Jinjiang. Yet self-censorship also remains threatening, as there is always the potential of being detected or reported and then required to modify. Consequently, A/B/O fiction currently available on Jinjiang excludes explicit erotic content and, if lucky, retains implicit sexual descriptions (note 5).
[3.6] My selection of texts is primarily based on my long-term participant observation. The experience as an active reader of online fiction has provided a good sense of A/B/O fiction on Jinjiang and has cultivated my ability to utilize and interpret the platform's system. I further use keyword searches (e.g., ABO), tag searches (e.g., sexualities), and the platform's ranking system (e.g., the number of followers, the date of publication), which allows me to gather data beyond personal experience. In a combined consideration of saliency and popularity, I then select texts that are widely read and that also offer rich insights into the gender-related potential of the A/B/O trope in China. I thus identify two popular types of A/B/O fiction for discussion, neither of which contains explicit erotic content. More specifically, I close read A/B/O stories featuring male homosexuality that consciously address gender issues and those featuring heterosexuality with a female alpha and a male omega (nü a nan o; I thus follow the order of female/male and alpha/omega in Chinese and refer to it as fa/mo hereafter). The texts discussed in this article are all original A/B/O stories.
[3.7] Before moving to discussions of the texts, I would like to further contextualize A/B/O fiction in China. Previous scholarship has elaborated on how danmei culture struggles under the censorship of male homosexuality and erotic content (Ge 2021; Yang and Xu 2017; Zheng 2019), and I consider it also important to discuss the censorship of feminism. Just like danmei products, Chinese A/B/O fiction is a subculture whose participants are mostly women (Ge 2021; I hereafter refer to authors and readers as "she/her"). However, both are produced and consumed in an environment where feminist activism is in precarity. Antifeminism and cyber misogyny have run rampant on the internet in recent years (Huang 2022; Liao 2023), and state censorship continues to censor and prohibit danmei culture because the hypermasculine state views it as a challenge to hegemonic masculinity (Hu et al. 2023). Chinese women hence face strong and direct patriarchal confinements that limit women's gender expression and liberation but promote normative masculinity and femininity. Under the current circumstances, I consider it pertinent to uncover Chinese A/B/O's significance for women's life experiences and gender exploration, although this does not negate its significance for other gender identities.
4. Depicting heat without explicit sex scenes
[4.1] "Heat" or "heat cycle" is a key design of the Omegaverse that is frequently encountered in texts and probably most closely related to explicit erotic content. It denotes a reproductive period when omegas are at the peak of both reproductivity and sexual desire (Entrikin 2023; Popova 2021). They exude pheromones that are especially alluring to alphas who, just like omegas, are given animal-like sensitivity to pheromones (not betas, though) and will be triggered into fervent sexual desire as well. In Anglophone fandom, omegas experience heat while alphas undergo a rut. In Chinese fandom, the heat and rut sometimes are lumped together as faqing qi or qingre qi (heat period), and I use the word "heat" to mean both unless a distinction is needed.
[4.2] As a plot device, the heat fulfills sexual activity and explicit sexual descriptions in stories. The heat is usually described as a biologically determined, irresistible urge, and in Omegaverse fiction, an uncontrollable heat often suggests explicit sex scenes and descriptions. For example, in The True Mate, almost all explicit sexual descriptions appear when the two protagonists (an omega and an alpha) are in heat.
[4.3] However, on Jinjiang, the heat cycle does not necessarily flag the imminence of explicit sexual description. Given the strict self-censorship, any explicit erotic content will lead to the chapters (or even the whole work) being locked by the platform or removed by the author. But without explicit sexual description, what will be left of the heat in Chinese A/B/O texts?
[4.4] I take Reverse, an A/B/O story featuring male homosexuality, as the primary source material to answer this question. The main body of Reverse was published on Jinjiang in 2019 as a free-to-read work; in contrast, many popular stories on Jinjiang are pay-to-read, which means readers are offered to read the first twenty or so chapters for free but must pay to read the rest. The author then published a fanwai (extra chapter) on AO3 in 2019, which explicitly describes the sex between two protagonists.
[4.5] Reverse, with more than 114,000 followers, is a widely read work. Crucially, the story stands out because, while most A/B/O texts on Jinjiang hint at the heat in one way or another, Reverse makes it the central plot driver, offering abundant representations and implications of this specific feature. As the title indicates, Reverse describes a biological evolution that has the heat cycle passed on from omegas to alphas. The author at first paints a typical Omegaverse world in which omegas are considered unsuitable for high social positions and destined to live under the protection of alphas because they suffer from the heat every month when they become physically and mentally powerless and unstable. Alphas, without the heat or rut cycle, treat omegas instrumentally as subservient sex partners and reproductive machines. However, a rapid evolutionary quirk suddenly turns the world upside down: Alphas are now forced to undergo the heat cycles while omegas are exempted, and in this way, the world is reversed. Reverse then tells a story about how alphas experience the heat and start to understand what omegas have suffered in the past. Consequently, society begins to change under the leadership of the alpha protagonist who, ironically, does remain its leader.
[4.6] The author consciously experiments with the Omegaverse trope in the writing. The title of Reverse itself suggests a revolt, and the author states on the homepage of the fiction that this text includes a "non-conventional ABO [sic] worldview" (2019). In the story, neither the omega protagonist (male) nor the alpha protagonist (male) is given personal names; they are straightforwardly named "Omega" and "Alpha." Other characters are named in accordance with their relationship to Omega and Alpha, like "cousin" and "friend," or their jobs, such as "expert" and "staff."
[4.7] Without giving specific names, the author does not reflect upon two individuals but emphatically discusses and experiments with two genders—two genders that give referentiality to the male and female genders in the real world. The gender hierarchy between alpha and omega in the world of Reverse mirrors in an amplified way the gender imbalance in real life, and Omega in Reverse faces a gender inequality (and indeed slavery) that is an exaggeration of women's real-life experience. For instance, Omega is restricted to domestic and reproductive tasks; he holds neither power nor agency, not even dignity, in the face of Alpha. Therefore, Reverse might better be read as an allegory that points to the gender issues hidden behind it, and the heat occupies a central position in it.
[4.8] Even though the heat as an important theme in Reverse does not lead to any explicit sex scenes on Jinjiang, the story does not downplay the heat but foregrounds other content described in it—in Reverse, this means an exhibition of Alpha's vulnerability and humiliation. A major part of the narration about the heat displays how Alpha becomes extremely fragile, feels highly insecure, and begs endlessly for Omega's love and companionship. He is frequently "full of tears," "wailing sadly," "with red nose and eyes, trembling lips, and choked sobs," and always asking for Omega's hug and kiss. This clingy and needy behavior is uncontrollable, forming a sharp contrast to Alpha's normal status as an assertive, aggressive, and derisive senior official, and it is not surprising that he feels humiliated and gets infuriated after the heat. Returning to normal status, Alpha regards his craving for Omega during heat cycles as "disgraceful," which causes hatred and fury toward Omega that covers his own fear. Yet even if Alpha tries to make a plan to control himself during the heat cycles, his biological urge is insurmountable.
[4.9] The heat in Reverse thus showcases how Alpha "suffers" and keeps sex out of the picture. Erotic descriptions of male-male sex have long been interpreted as sexual fantasies of women by which they fulfill the female gaze and construct their agencies (Russ [1985] 2014; Arnaiz 2018). In a similar vein, the sufferings of Alpha can be interpreted as an emotional and moral fantasy. It is an emotional fantasy because Alpha repays his domination over Omega under normal circumstances by acting submissively in front of Omega during heat cycles, such as kneeling and complying with Omega's order. Alpha's vulnerability and insecurity thus compensate for what Omega has suffered, offering readers a catharsis. It is also a moral fantasy because Omega is proven to be morally superior to Alpha by how he treats Alpha in heat. Instead of avenging by giving the cold shoulder to Alpha, Omega gently helps and cares for Alpha, trying his best to relieve Alpha's pain. This repaying evil with kindness is not solely an outcome of Omega's love for Alpha, but also a demonstration of empathy, which Alpha lacks, shown in Omega's words, "I cannot do what you have done exactly because I know how it feels."
[4.10] The emotional and moral fantasy inverts the alpha/omega and male/female hierarchies in private and humane aspects. In an intimate relationship (during the heat), Omega, for the first time, occupies a dominant position when Alpha is on his knees. Similarly, even though Omega holds a lower social position than Alpha, he is morally superior as a better human being for which Alpha's sufferings provide an opportunity to testify. Concerning the male/female gaze, Kristina Busse points out that "simply inverting the gaze may keep subject/object relations unquestioned" (2009, 106). It should be admitted that this dynamic also underscores Omega's emotional and moral superiority. Omega's superiority does not indicate equality but still reinforces a hierarchy, with Alpha now occupying a lower position. However, instead of dismissing such hierarchy as conservative, in a Chinese context where antifeminism is rising, this emotional and moral fantasy can be interpreted as women's progressive awareness of and dissatisfaction with unequal gender status, albeit in a raw yet unequivocal manner.
[4.11] This emotional and moral fantasy is inadvertently shaped by the exclusion of explicit erotic content. In the story, even though Alpha suffers from heat, Omega always fulfills his sexual desire. For instance, it suggests that Omega has had (rather violent) sex when the author describes that he staggers and has marks all over his skin, even though no explicit sexual description is available. Sex thus exists in the story but not (explicitly) in the narrative due to the platform's regulation, an omission which foregrounds and maintains the purity of Alpha's suffering. By "purity," I underline that the depiction of Alpha's suffering is not diluted by alternative depictions that might appear with explicit erotic content. For instance, there might be depictions of Omega being penetrated by and submitting to Alpha, or Omega might show signs of enjoyment in the sex (willingly or not). Such depictions could potentially diminish the narrative focus on Alpha's sufferings and divert readers' attention. Their absence, therefore, ensures that the narrative centers solely on Alpha's sufferings and hence underpins the emotional and moral fantasy, which is an outcome of heat without explicit sexual descriptions.
5. The disputable hybrid-sex characters in "female alpha and male omega" fiction
[5.1] While male homosexuality is allowed on Jinjiang, it is by no means a part of every A/B/O fiction on this platform—another popular theme of A/B/O on Jinjiang is heterosexual romance, which has seen a growth in recent years. Most A/B/O fiction that features heterosexuality is published in the 2020s; among the fifty most-followed texts, there are only five that are published before 2019. An especially interesting heterosexual theme is "female alpha and male omega," fa/mo. It depicts the romantic relationship between a powerful female alpha and a delicate male omega. The search result for "fa/mo" on Jinjiang is 932 (including those that only published a trailer, indicating that the author plans to write this fiction). Fa/mo is also up-to-date, as only eight pieces out of 932 were published before 2019; the majority of fa/mo was published in and after 2020. This new trend is favorably accepted. For example, The Delicate and Soft Male Omega (Shenjiao tiruan nan Omega, published on Jinjiang in 2021, referred to as Delicate MO below) is followed by more than 181,000 readers. It has also been published as a printed book and sold on major e-commerce platforms.
[5.2] A female alpha in an A/B/O world seems to relate to women in the real world by falling into the same categorization in the male/female gender demarcation, but this connection is complex. In an A/B/O world, the A/B/O gender system has priority over the male/female demarcation. A female alpha thus is defined not by the characteristics conventionally attributed to women but by those of alpha, which, as Reverse shows, are traditionally prone to relate to men in the real world. Conversely, a male omega is defined by features of omega that are closer to those of women. From this perspective, neither female alphas nor male omegas perfectly represent women—at the same time, neither is utterly disconnected from women.
[5.3] Female alphas thus display an intriguing convergence of gender features just like male omegas. While female alphas theoretically exist in every Omegaverse or A/B/O world, it is the subgenre of fa/mo that brings them to the forefront. Previous scholarship has discussed how a male omega may serve as a fictional avatar for not only women but also for transgender and intersex people, although the male omega is not identical to any of these groups. In practice, slash fiction provides male characters with merged masculine and feminine characteristics in the hope of equal relationships (Popova 2018, 179). A pregnant omega can also shed light on the experience of a transmasculine individual and "question misogynistic and cisheteronormative discourses of reproduction" (Weisser 2019). Ostensibly standing in the same position as male omegas, female alphas should also contain the power to question the received gender expressions as male omegas do. I thus elaborate on how such power is executed in fa/mo.
[5.4] First, a female alpha in fa/mo is destined to be what can be termed as "hybrid sex." Here "hybrid sex" refers to the fictional state of possessing both traditional male and female sex organs, such as a penis and a vagina. This term is coined to distinguish fictional status from real-life intersex identities. The bodily experience of hybrid-sex protagonists represented in fa/mo fiction challenges the binary male/female genders that fail to incorporate nonbinary ones. Furthermore, following Judith Butler, hybrid-sex female alphas in fa/mo fiction can be viewed as textual performances of a gender identity that subverts the normative and patriarchal gender system, offering an alternative way to experiment with being a woman. The fact that women and men are not purely distinguishable from their nature indicates that their gender expressions should not be "pure" and normative either. By portraying female alphas, fa/mo fiction then explores how an alternative gender role may be imagined and potentially interpellated. Female alphas perform an alternative gender as women, and such textual performance is repeated every time a reader reads, comments on, and circulates the fiction.
[5.5] An examination of how specific fa/mo stories represent hybrid-sex experiences can further deepen this idea. The primary materials analyzed here are the two most followed fa/mo stories on Jinjiang, Delicate MO and The Delicate Female Alpha and the Domineering CEO Male Omega (Jiaoruan nü A, bazong nan O, published on Jinjiang in 2020, referred to as Delicate FA and Domineering MO below). Under Jinjiang's self-censorship, the physiological structure of a hybrid-sex character is largely concealed because explicit descriptions of sex organs are prohibited. In this manner, authors choose to foreground psychological or social features to showcase the protagonists' hybrid-sex characteristics. In Delicate MO, the female alpha (Zuo Luohuan) is distinctively aggressive, arrogant, frequently impatient, and even autocratic. She buckles the seatbelt for the male omega (Ji Yuezhi) and holds him in a protective way. The male omega Ji, in contrast, acts cute to seduce Zuo, nestles in Zuo's embrace, and is emotionally needy. Similarly, in Delicate FA and Domineering MO, the female alpha (Ruan Ruan) is usually gentle but can also be forceful. She takes care of the male omega and flirts with him in a tone that would be related to the attacking side in the intimate relationship (e.g., "Sweetheart, you look so appetizing"). The male omega (Jiang Yanzhan), accordingly, flirts in an inviting way (sajiao) and asks for Ruan Ruan's attention and protection. Such shift from the physiological to the psychological and the social thus changes female alphas' bodily hybrid-sex characteristics to female masculinity, which are more visible in our society than physiological hybrid-sex characteristics and make the performance more relatable to readers.
[5.6] Another factor that enhances relatability is that, in addition to hybrid-sex men, and instead of hybrid-sex lesbian women, fa/mo presents women protagonists who are both hybrid-sex and heterosexual. As the majority of the Jinjiang users are young women, often heterosexual, a hybrid-sex heterosexual woman protagonist is more relatable than a hybrid-sex man for readers on the one hand and, on the other hand, creates tension between the female alpha characters in the texts and readers themselves in real life. It is now women, instead of men in slash fiction, who stand at the center of the alternative gender performance. This combination of relatability and subtle mismatch makes readers' reception rather insightful, for which an analysis of readers' comments is required. I thus specifically browse the comments of chapters that contain prominent descriptions of hybrid-sex characters. This provides a general impression of how readers react to these characters. Furthermore, my observation benefits from Jinjiang's system, which automatically puts comments that have received more than (including) ten replies in a section called "topics related to this fiction" on the homepage. This section is thus an ideal place to find comments that provoke the most readers' reflection. Combining the two approaches, I have selected the cited comments in the following as representative examples.
[5.7] Indeed, the portrait of a female alpha in fa/mo mentioned above leads to readers' reflection and even doubts about women's gender expressions and gender roles. In Delicate MO, from the beginning, readers question whether the female alpha protagonist (Zuo Luohuan) might better be viewed as a male, for her image is distant from women based on their life experience and it makes more sense to say that Zuo acts as the male rather than the female protagonist in the story. A comment asks, "Can't we just have normal men and women in a GB [Girl and Boy, emphasizing that the girl plays the dominant role in intimate and/or sexual relationships] fiction?" In a similar vein, another comment laments that a woman can never play the dominant role in an intimate relationship unless she is "man-ified" or masculinized (nanxing hua).
[5.8] The disputable hybrid-sex protagonist thus triggers further discussions rather than unilateral claims on women's gender expressions when comments' complaints are replied to by other comments. On Jinjiang, a reader is not only able to leave their comments under each chapter but is also allowed to recomment on, reply to, or like every comment (including others' and their own). Thanks to this forum-like design, conversations among readers are enabled and recorded. For example, under the comment asking for "normal men and women," there are readers who disagree, pointing out the gender stereotypes behind this request. There are also readers who do agree, criticizing that the female alpha in effect suggests that a woman can only be considered excellent when she is like a man. More readers express their opinions by liking the comments they support. Replies under the comment on masculinization are varied as well. Some agree and state that even though a woman can have characteristics that are conventionally regarded as masculine, the bottom line for being a woman is that she does not have male sex organs. But others disagree and claim that they fall into the trap of stereotypes by suggesting that one who has a male sex organ always dominates (questioned by the commenter later), advise the commenter to accept the peculiarity of an A/B/O world, or recommend other works that they think might be acceptable to the commenter.
[5.9] It is difficult to extract an agreed opinion on what makes a woman or a universal view on gender. Weisser has specifically pointed out that it is not impossible for a cisgender woman to identify with transgender or intersex characters in fictions (2019), and an analysis of fa/mo readers' reception shows that identification is also accompanied by controversies. Readers show normative ideas about gender characteristics ("normal men and women") on the one hand, alert for such normative ideas and a desire to be free from them on the other. No agreement or answer about how one should achieve such freedom or gender equality ensues from the discussions. It should also be admitted that while such discussions on gender are by no means scarce, they do not occupy a major part of the more than 49,000 comments. Nevertheless, gender is still the issue that is most likely to attract replies and sometimes not-so-friendly discussions: The two examples above attracted fourteen and sixteen replies respectively, which should be considered high numbers as we often encounter comments standing on their own.
[5.10] Such unresolved debates are another aspect of the transgressive potential of fa/mo fiction in that it turns out to be an arena for the exchange of thoughts and reflections on gender (particularly women's) status. Ling Yang and Yanrui Xu have argued that Xianqing, a forum affiliated with Jinjiang, works as a public sphere for Chinese people to discuss varied social issues and reach community consent through deliberation (2016). Fa/mo fiction, in this manner, is a limited public sphere to debate and demonstrate their visions of gender, supported by the platform affordances, especially the comment section that enables readers to recommend and like. It is limited because there are thresholds for and limitations on participating in the discussion. For instance, readers must pay to comment on pay-to-read chapters or reply to comments in them. Still, this public sphere is significant because it not only sparks interaction among women readers on women's gender status but also works as a barometer of Chinese women's consciousness, which has been on the rise in recent years, to which a disputable, hybrid-sex woman character in fa/mo fiction contributes as a catalyst.
6. Conclusion
[6.1] The gender issue is especially pertinent in today's China, where gender conflicts and misogyny have rapidly intensified (Liao 2023; Huang 2022; Yin 2022). I analyze how the Omegaverse, a trope originating from Anglophone fandom, has localized in China and whether it retains its transgressive potential in gender issues. The Chinese context is characterized by a complex system of censorship. An examination of self-censorship on Jinjiang reveals that explicit erotic content is strictly forbidden, while male homosexuality is allowed. In this environment, Chinese A/B/O fiction exhibits traits distinct from Omegaverse fiction in the Anglophone world. While Omegaverse fiction takes both explicit erotic content and male homosexuality as two prominent features, Chinese A/B/O fiction published on mainland Chinese platforms only portrays male homosexuality but excludes explicit erotic content. Chinese A/B/O fiction, therefore, is semisanitized.
[6.2] It is by no means censorship alone that shapes Chinese A/B/O fiction as we read it today. For instance, the rise of fa/mo can be linked to movements like MeToo and the growing influence of feminism in recent years. Thus, influenced by diversified factors including censorship, A/B/O fiction continues to provide space for gender discussions. When explicit erotic content is forbidden, what used to be a pretext for explicit sex scenes (the heat cycle) is turned from sexual fantasy to the emotional and moral fantasy of women, articulating their dissatisfaction with the unequal gender status. Meanwhile, Jinjiang has seen a recent increase in "female alpha and male omega" fiction. The portrait of a hybrid-sex heterosexual female alpha not only enables a textual gender performance that explores alternative gender expression but also triggers readers' discussions on being women. Chinese A/B/O fiction, under censorship in China, does not hinder but just leads to the articulation of visions of gender.
[6.3] I focus on two examples, among many, that demonstrate how the Omegaverse retains its critical and transgressive potential in the Chinese context. I do not include another trendy subgenre, femslash, or baihe in Chinese, which focuses on romantic and/or erotic relationships between women. It is left to future research, considering the limited scope of this article and the belief that the selected two case studies provide adequate support for my argument. The localization of Omegaverse in specific cultures remains a topic with significant potential for further exploration, which could enrich our understanding of the global landscape of popular culture.
7. Acknowledgment
[7.1] I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers and editors for their insightful comments and suggestions. I also appreciate my supervisors, Prof. dr. Maghiel van Crevel and Prof. dr. Ivo Smits from Leiden University, for their invaluable feedback and guidance.