Another glimpse of hell - mean (and some not-so-mean) nicknames on the Chinese gymternet TAKE 2.

DISCLAIMER:

1. Do not read this if you are easily offended by mean names, satirical jokes or dark humour.

2. The Chinese gymternet culture, and its internet culture as a whole, is very different from the ones on tumblr. Partly due to its insularity, certain terms used in the Chinese gymternet could come across to you as too rude or brass or unacceptable. However, please also take into account the difference in the cultural aspect as well. As a common dweller in the Chinese gymternet community, I can promise that 95% of the satirical teasings or mean names created by the Chinese has no derogatory intention. The truly degrading, racist or sexist nicknames have also been filtered out by me, so rest assured.

So now, if you are ready, please read on:

——————————————–The line to hell——————————————-

A. Foundation Course Chapter 2

1. 美x~; Pretty x~; adj. 

Right. So you call someone a pretty something. But it also could mean “pretty” aka fugly something. No one knows if you are genuine about it, and so after awhile the expression took on a warped connotation. Both fans and haters use it. Decipher its true meaning before replying anyone on the forum!

E.g. Pretty ___ fell two times on beam today, made my day!

2. 水x~；Watery x~; adj. 

In Chinese terms, if you “inject water” into something, you will make it less substantial, less genuine, less real and less deserving. So if someone are “watery”, people are inferring that she or he is overscored and undeserving of his credentials. Some fans nonetheless use it on their beloved ones as friendly teasing or a show of humility. 

3. xoP - noun. 

So the official rules of artistic gymnastics are written in the Code of Point (CoP). Some fans, however, like to invent their own rules (or twisting the meaning of existing rules) on judging a routine. As such, people would say that so-and-so have invented their own xOP to judge routines. One particular notorious member in the Chinese gymternet community has the ID lldtt06, and hence whatever he says, people will reply:

“Oh wow Mdm6 is judging routines based on his 6oP again!”. 

(some famous rules of 6oP include - there should be deduction whenever one does shap to pak because its so “trite”, and many others lmao)

4. 烟花 - fireworks - noun.

Used to describe gymnasts who just can’t finish a routine without falling. The Chinese gymternet sometimes use the term “explode” to describe routines with falls (e.g. Seda’s beam exploded again!). So for those who routinely fall in their routine, they are called fireworks. Also used to describe routines that fail spectacularly. 

e.g. “The beam routines of Seda are one hell of a firework performance, simply stellar - I’m in awe!”

———————————————————————————————————–

B. Country related mean terms: (used only to describe radical fans)

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL TEAM AMERICA?

池塘 - pond - noun.

Many think that certain American gymnasts are overscored. A pond has lots of water. Now look at the second bullet point in the foundation chapter - Do you get it now?

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM AMERICA?

蝌蚪 - tadpole - noun.

Originally used to mock Liukin’s fans because Liukin’s nickname is froggy (if you remember from my last post!), the term has been expanded to embody all die-hard/radical American fans.

莲子 - lotus seed - noun.

You know, lotus grows from pond and produces lotus seed. Yep.

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM RUSSIA?

鹅粪 - Goose poo - noun.

A pun of 俄粉, or Rus Fans. This term though has been picked up by Russian fans themselves as self-teasing, so its no longer a mean nickname…kind of.

Ruslut - noun.

Only the meanest Russian haters use this. Most people who use this are radical American fans so Russian fans often retaliate by calling them Uslut back.

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM RUSSIA?

火葬粉/火苗 - Cremnator/Little flames (Though I think kindling is a better translation, meaning wise)

So in my last episode I talked about this Bulimar set a cremation spell on Team Romania thing, so I guess it isn’t surprising that its die-hard fans are being called “flames/kindlings”?

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM CHINA?

好粉丝/宙国粉 - “Great” fans, Fans of team universe

I’ve talked about this last time so just revision here lol.

———————————————————————————————————–

C. Gymnasts related nicknames (some are not mean at all because I run out of mean nicknames lmao)

1. Daria Spiridonova - 累女士 - Mdm Tiresome

Back in 2014 when Spi first proved her worth Chinese fans had been calling her “the new love”, which is a proof of her popularity back then. Then in 2016 the sentiment took a turn for the worse as people realized that while she can only do bars (and that her bars isn’t even the best in the team), she kept getting selected over others (like Kapitonova and Skrypnik, at least in 2016) even in team competitions. So people started saying things like “Isn’t that super tiring for her teammate coz she can only do one event and will explode on all others”. Eventually people started to call her Mdm Tiresome - someone who drains the shit out of her teammate. 

2. Brenna Dowell - 嘟嘟鸡 - Dodo Chicken

Dowell’s nickname is just realllllllly unfortunate lol, because its not her fault at all. So basically a forum member named lldt06 (inventor of 6oP, remember?) is a superrrrrrr radical fan of hers and kept saying things like “she deserve a WC bars gold”, “BEST bar composition in the worlddddddd”, “excellent AAer”, which have some truth in them but are still boosty nonetheless and didn’t sit well with many. So in 2015 when Dowell did badly for bars in Worlds many people were like “WHERES THE WORLD CHAMPION? I ONLY SEE A DODO CHICKEN.” and bamm the nickname stayed. Tbh the term dodo chicken doesn’t mean anything in Chinese. I think its the combination between the first syllable of her last name and Wild Chicken, the term for newbies/noobs as explained in my last post. 

3. Lin Li - 慌姐 - Sister Panic

So Lin Li is a member of China’s National Team in the 2004 squad. She is actually amazing on bars but just doesn’t have the mental tenacity to do well in major competition. She always seems to be rushing through her routines which lead to mistakes after mistakes, so after a while ppl just called Sister Panic for short. 

4. The pines of 4 season 春松，夏松，秋松，冬松

So like Chunsong’s literal translation is Spring Pine, and so 3 other gymnasts were bestowed the nickname of Summer Pine, Autumn Pine and Winter Pine respectively lmao. These are NOT mean nicknames.

So Autumn Pine was first to be invented and she is Flavia Saraiva. People started to call her Autumn Pine ever since 2014′s YOG because of how tiny she was - just like Chunsong. They are also great on beam as well and competed in the same beam finals before. At the same time though she is also different from Chunsong in many way so people called her Autumn Pine to highlight the similarity and contrast. 

Then not long after that people discovered Morgan Hurd and they were like “oh my! isn’t she like a clone of Chunsong?”, so people started to call her Xiasong, or Summer Pine. 

Lastly is the winter pine. People actually couldn’t find a good fit for it for a long time but they also felt it’s incomplete without a winter pine. Then one day someone posted this photo of a young Melnikova (the same photo as below) and people were like “WINTER PINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FAIR AND LIGHT COZ ITS WINTER, SHE LOOKS ABITTTT LIKE CHUNSONG, MELNIKOVA WILL BE WINTER PINE”. And that’s it LMAO. Personally I don’t find Melnikova to resemble Chunsong, but whatever lol everything is cool as long as we have the four pines. 

5. The Zoo (Russia’s WC team 2010) (Not mean)

Most members of Russia’s 2010 WAG team at the Worlds have animal related nicknames. The nicknames started off as mean nicknames as they are donned by Russian haters that “Russian team is like a zoo”, but eventually even the fans themselves began calling the team #TeamZoo, so they are no longer mean anymore. 

Mustafina - 母狮 - lioness - Phonic translation

Dementyeva - 德猴 - Monkey - Because she’s kinda goofy like a monkey lol

Nabieva - 河马 - Hippo - Because she must have an animal related nickname as Mus has one and people found her to resemble a hippo somehow lmao

Afanasyeva - 鳄鱼 - Crocodile - She was fierce as a crocodile on floor and I think some of her facial features (being fierce and glaring and all) reminds some like a crocodile. 

BUT HERE IS THE MEAN BUT ALSO NOT SO MEAN PART

Semenyeva is STRIPPED of a animal related nickname because Russian haters didn’t hate her enough to don her a nickname LMAO.  She was listed as a RESERVE FOR NICKNAME. Until now she doesn’t have an animal related nickname and its so fortunate and sad at the same time. 

Now I hope that you have enjoyed reading this second episode lmao, I think I’m really running out of nicknames so there shouldn’t be an 3rd episode sadly…. Still, hope it has made you laugh!

I should use sister panic for myself

I don’t think it’s outright racist nor compares at all to the things Carlotta said, but it’s kind of gross?

Okay, imagine a high school scenario where you are friends with this rich outgoing girl who is, by all accounts, really nice. One day, there’s this transfer student who is skinny and tiny, and, by all accounts, look like she’s a middle-school student instead. However, you knew her personally and knew that she’s from this super super poor family up in the mountains and they didn’t even have electricity and roads, could barely feed themselves. This girl was hardworking enough that she got a scholarship to enter your high school. 

So everyone is making fun of this one kid behind her back, and your friend joins in and comments on her weight/looks. You are just like, whoa dude, don’t you think as a rich girl who’s never not had food for a day your life, to say that about a poor person is like totally not cool?

Maybe she doesn’t know at the time, but the transfer student’s background is not some big secret, and most kids knew by the end of the school year. Your friend knows it was uncool for her to be joining in back then and making that comment, but she figures she wasn’t the only one who made the comment anyways and it’s no big deal, so she never apologized and never thought it was a big deal. 

You think its gross, but it’s not like it makes her an all around horrible person. it’s just you know she did this one gross thing that makes you uncomfortable. It would sit better with you if she apologized, but it was just brushed off. You are not going to dwell on it, but it does affect how you see her and you just can’t really be as close to her as some other friends. 

That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole situation. 

Except in the Aly/Songsong case, there is actually a reason for people to suspect that maybe some of the Chinese gymnasts could possibly be underage BECAUSE THEY HAVE LIED ABOUT IT BEFORE. The Chinese have been caught lying about their ages and have had medals taken away because of it. Being doubtful about their ages is not racism, it’s called not trusting a team who has cheated in the not so distant past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_requirements_in_gymnastics#Age_falsification

Romania has cheated more times than China and North Korea combined, but has anyone questioned Silvia Zarzu and Laura Jurca’s age? They both look pretty young compared to the Americans at 16 (ie Mckayla, Nastia, etc)

The Soviet Union cheated twice as much as China but has anyone questioned Vika or Anna Rodionova or Angelina Melnikova’s actual age?

common argument one: “but we’ve seen /insert gymnast here/ compete since she’s a baby”

Well Songsong also has photos and videos of her competing dating back since 2008/9. Just because you are lazy and ignorant doesn’t mean other people hasn’t watched Songsong compete since she’s a baby. 

common argument two: “but China getting caught was recent! Their government is shady!”

You know which other country involved in age falsification also has a shady government, said government was directly implicated in a massive cheating scandal and almost got banned entirely from the most recent Olympics, but nobody ever questions the age of their gymnasts? :”) 

But no it’s not prejudiced or anything :) :) :)

Look I’m not saying other countries haven’t lied about the ages of their gymnasts, and I’m not saying that people haven’t wondered about the actual ages of other gymnasts, or that no one has the right to be suspicious about these athletes from Romania or Russia. But this was not like an actual investigation, no one was formally accused of cheating, it was a comment made privately by a 19 year old gymnast to a friend, not expecting it to be made public, from a country who lost out on a medal because China lied about the age of its gymnasts. Would it be racist if a track athlete wondered if their Russian rival was doping? No, they would be totally justified in wondering. I’m not going to vilify a girl who was nineteen years old for wondering if her rival from China was old enough to compete, because they have a history of cheating. IT IS NOT RACISM. Yeah, Songsong had a hard childhood and she suffered for it and maybe Aly’s comment was thoughtless (though again, it was said in private and not to Songsongs face), but it was not racist.

I like how you brought up doping. 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/14/sports/olympics-medal-doping.html?_r=0

How much of a shitstorm do you think would result if some Chinese athletes got together on social media and commented about how their American rivals must be doping?

And the comments were not mere wondering. They were outright condemning.

Zhu Ting, the MVP of the Chinese women’s volleyball team is only 21 years old. When she’s 14, her dad didn’t want her to continue high school because her family wasn’t well-off and he wanted her to go work instead. A local sports academy–part of the evil Chinese centralized sport program that according to western media tortures children and subject them to slavery–noticed her talent and got her to stay in school. Here she is today.

They will talk nice again as soon as they need to borrow another trillion $$$

In response to the mention of ticket prices, not sure if anyone was aware, but a finals package for the artistic gymnastics was $4500 USD (about $7000 AUD) which in my opinion is RIDICULOUSLY overpriced, I mean, I know it’s the Olympic Games but you’re honestly charging more for event tickets than most people would pay in airfares, even if they booked late flights close to the ceremonies. I remember looking at Glasgow ticket prices for Worlds and it was like $30 a session or a couple hundred for a full package.

Get your shit together Rio.

Okay wow, not even I would pay that much!

Wow holy shit

Whaaaat the fuck?! Guess I’m never going to another Olympics. Yikes!

This is the wonderful age we live in. Don't mind the stinch.

(x)

Look I love Dipa and I hope gymnastics grows in India but if Nellie thinks Indian gymnastics will be at the Chinese level in TEN YEARS, then she’s on crack tbh

(via doubledoubling)

my theory is that she’s going after team china (that’s why she said them and not russia/romania/japan). we have to protect them from Nellie. @16-233

(via mohinimeansillusion)

So is this becoming a trend? I mean Grandi also made that shit comments about team china (he was talking about MAG, but still)

If you don't know the person, and they don't know you, it is no one's business their personal lives. Don't invade people's privacy. It's a no brainer.

Pretty much this 🙄

Rio was a kick in the face.

A short wechat interview with Mao and Wang

Who is your favourite gymnast?

Mao: Aliya

Wang Yan: Larisa

What is your favourite snack?

Mao: I have a lot - ice cream, noodles and any dessert that is not too sweet

Wang: Ice-cream

Are you still going to continue  to do AA?

Mao: Yes

Wang: Yea

What did you think of your Olympic experience?

Wang:  It has been great and I am very satisfied.  😎

What has been the highlight of your Olympics?

Wang: Actually, the whole experience  😎 😎 😎

Are you going to upgrade any skills next year?

Mao: I will definitely want to up my difficulty. But even the best laid plans cannot anticipate change. I will focus on vault and bars.

Wang: For now, no

What skills would you love to have?

Wang: Silivas (but she already do!)

What is the scariest skill you tried?

Wang: Layout full on beam

Oksana Chusovitina (x)