Gender bias fury as film shows esports excelling male maturing into a programmer while woman star becomes a mother
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAlice Yanin ShanghaiPublished: 6:00pm, 6 Apr 2026One of China’s most prestigious universities has apologised and withdrawn a mini-film made to celebrate its 130th anniversary amid accusations of gender bias.
On March 31, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) released the film to mark its coming birthday.
The institution was founded on April 6, 1896, by Sheng Xuanhuai, an important minister and an entrepreneur in the late Qing dynasty (1636–1912).
The video, No 800 of Dongchuan Road, was named after the address of the vast Minhang campus of the SJTU.
Most of the university’s students study and live on this campus.
But this film soon caused controversy because it shows a male student playing e-games in his dormitory and a female student playing a lead role in a dancing troupe.
