Female obsession with male idols dates back at least to Rudolf Valentino (1895-1926), but still there are new psychosocial undercurrents to the prevailing craze in China over the crop of South Korean actors amorously staring from their streamed soap operas.

To put it simply, it is the flipside of male sexual fantasy and a natural byproduct of growing feminism in Asia, or in China in particular.

Traditionally, young women served as the sex object in entertainment. They were portrayed as docile and considerate, always ready to submit to the whims of the master, who in Confucian concept is either the father or the husband, or any surrogate for the father figure.

Young men in these runaway hits embody all the "virtues" erstwhile associated with Asian women. They are always immaculately dressed, even off-screen, and attentive to the women around them. Their masculinity has been gradually chipped away - to the point they have reached the perfect middle between male and female, in both facade and disposition.

These Korean heartthrobs may possess the boyish looks of Justin Bieber but without the Canadian star's rebellious streak. They may purchase more cosmetics than the typical metrosexual man in the West but present a feminine side that goes much deeper than the skin.

They tend to act as the dandies in distress, waiting for Miss Right to rescue them. This is in spite of the fact they are invariably rich - not just middle-class rich but Bill Gates rich.

They don't sleep around as some good-looking young men do, but remain intensely loyal to one woman, sometimes for 400 years as shown in My Love From the Star, the latest hit drama with a supernatural bent. Supernatural, um. There's a hint.

And of course, they are never gay, as happens so often in US or British series, which would have injected too many platonic elements into the relationship.

You might counter: "Romantic comedies tend to feature good-looking guys. It's fantasy for both sexes."

That's true, but women in these shows are more in the camp of plain Jane than the Disney princess.

It is designed to make a vast swath of ordinary women feel good about themselves, sending the subtle message that - just as a middle-aged male loner with no tangible talent, wealth or good looks often ends up with a 20-year-old stunner who falls head over heels for him - women in the real world can also expect men from out of this world to shower them with love and attention, plus fashion and diet tips.

Not just romantic love such as from a date or spouse but the kind of love from a pet. While some women still expect to be swept off their feet by these fairer-than-thou men - or shall we call them "the new fair sex"? - a growing segment admits they want to dote on these big boys, who have skinnier legs but will never run away. It's like mothers mollycoddling their young sons.

"It brings out the motherly instincts in us," many say of them, proudly.

That's why these male idols rarely grow into their 30s. Partly because the actors have to go into mandatory military service, they are quickly displaced by another generation of mimbos (short for male bimbos).

Real actors need not worry about competition: These hotties are no Leonardo DiCaprio. Their acting ability can be boiled down to one intense gaze.

As a matter of fact, some of the series are essentially personal videos of beauty shots with a scattershot of narrative built around them. The stories don't make sense, but their faces do.

About the only male attribute - I mean among those visible to a television audience - is the killer abs they flaunt from time to time. It's said to be de rigueur in the current sexual climate and is, I guess, the equivalent of blondes wearing only Victoria's Secret.

Some women who have realized the irony in this reversal of male-dominated aesthetics have started to call this kind of drama series "porno for the new women."

Why not? Why shouldn't men be exploited for a change, just as women have been for ages?

raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/23/2014 page3)