There were problems, but more on that, later.For these women, the microphone, the stage and a foreign language have become a form of liberation.Wong once told the audience during a Beijing comedy show in 2025 that performing in English made her feel freer to express herself.English liberates comedians like Wong and Shi from the cultural judgement they fear in Chinese Yang herself amassed more than 2 million followers on the platform.Alex Shi believes comedy has become another way women are reshaping public conversations, alongside women rejecting the male gaze in cinema, challenging misogynistic double standards in news coverage and campaigning to break menstrual taboos, Growing visibility of women in comedy reflects broader social change and a much broader cultural shift, she believes.Maizi Li agrees: "When women take the stage," she says, "they take ownership of the microphone."Comedy star Jiaoying Summers, who moved to the US at 18, performs primarily in English and is the first Chinese comedian to headline New York's Apollo Theater, says stand-up has given Chinese women more opportunities for their voices to be heard."I think women's points of view have historically been overlooked, dismissed, or even ridiculed in many parts of society," Summers told me