Peppa Pig banned from China's video streaming platform Douyin

Illustration: Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig, a popular British cartoon series for pre-school aged children, has been blocked by video sharing platform Douyin due to beliefs its characters are being used subversively. No, really. The pig cartoon for kids. The one that sounds like a bad translation of a Chinese pork dish. Yeah, that one.

According to BBC, state media have become increasingly uncomfortable about the growing influence of the cartoon of late. Despite the show being aimed at children, Peppa Pig has become phenomenally popular with adults across China, with Peppa and friends becoming commonly featured figures in counter-culture, particularly the shehuiren subculture ('society people') which is associated with being sort of punk and anti-establishment.

Peppa's image has become increasingly popular in memes, some sexually suggestive and, as reported by Sixth Tone last week, was even used by the NewCapCity brand on a line of t-shirts depicting the pigs as gangstas, including slogans like 'No Money No Talk' and images of them wearing those 'thug life' shades that you've seen on videos on Facebook and Vine etc.

Image: Scratch

All video clips featuring Peppa Pig have been removed from the Douyin site and any related searches return no results. According to Global Times, Douyin's list of banned content includes nudity, cross-dressing, firearms, cult preachings and now Peppa Pig, obviously.

We're unsure if this is the start of a wider Peppa Pig embargo, a pork chop if you will, or what it means for Shanghai's incoming Peppa Pig World. And spare a thought for the person who spent 10,000RMB on a Peppa Pig back tattoo...

Photograph: via Weibo

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