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Draft:Edison Fan

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Edison Fan
樊野
Born
Hua Fan (樊离花)

(1982-11-01)November 1, 1982
Nanjing, China
Other namesFan Ye (樊野), RMIUC
CitizenshipNew Zealand
Occupations
  • Model
  • actor
  • entrepreneur
  • civil engineer
Years active2011–present
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Spouse
Josh Taylor
​
​
(m. 2012; div. 2015)​
ChildrenFrederic Y. Fan

Edison Ye Fan[a] (born Hua Fan;[b] November 1, 1982) is a Chinese New Zealand model, internet personality, and entrepreneur. He is one of China’s biggest openly gay influencers, with more than 1 million followers on Weibo and more than 700,000 followers on Instagram.[3][4][5]

Early and personal life

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Fan was born in Nanjing, China, and moved to New Zealand as a teenager.[6] During his childhood, he enjoyed learning traditional Chinese painting and ballet; but his parents, both of whom are doctors, preferred that he studied science.[3] He graduated from the University of Auckland with a degree in civil engineering.[7]

After moving to New Zealand, watching Ellen Degeneres' stand-ups made him realise that it was okay to be gay;[8] and he eventually came out to his family at the age of 22.[9] Fan married[c] his British boyfriend Josh Taylor in October 2012,[10] but they divorced in 2015.[7] He has a mixed-race son,[11] Frederic Y. Fan, who was born via surrogacy in November 2017.[12]

In June 2024, Edison got engaged to Korean model Huyve Seo (also known as Rob Seo) in Paris.[13]

Career

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While in university, Fan got himself signed to a local modeling agency after being inspired by the show America’s Next Top Model, and started working as a part-time model. After graduating, he worked as a civil engineer for many years.[14]

In 2012, he began to achieve Internet fame on Chinese social media after posting selfies and vlogs. In October 2014, he was contacted to be one of the fashion judges on I Supermodel, and he got to be a guest judge for six episodes. After this opportunity, he moved to China in March 2015, as that is where most of his fanbase was. In the same year, he appeared in an episode of the online debate variety show, U Can U Bibi (Qi Pa Shuo)[15], discussing whether gay men and lesbians should come out to their parents, where he shared his coming out story.[16] His popularity from the show led to gigs in Chinese dramas and movies in the following years.[3][17] He was also featured in the August 2015 issue of Male Model Scene magazine.[18]

After a conversation with an agent, who told Fan to stop posting sexy pictures because luxury brands won't sponsor him and he'd end up only selling Speedos and underwear, he got the idea of founding his fashion ventures OMG (On My Game)[19] Sportswear and U-Touch Underwear.[17]

Public image

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Fan used the moniker "RMIUC", short for "rape me if you can", drawing inspiration from the movie Catch Me If You Can. He clarified that it refers to the stand taken by unfearing minds against rape, but his fans tended to read this in a more sexually suggestive way. RMIUC, called R da ("Master R") by his fans, had a channel named Master R's Channel on Tudou; and it had a video series called The Josh & Eddie Show with his then boyfriend Josh Taylor. The most well-known video in the series was The Josh & Eddie Show—Ep13—20 Days to Go, which quickly went viral after it was posted days before their wedding[c] in October 2012.

Oscar Tianyang Zhou's paper "Chinese Top, British Bottom": Becoming a Gay Male Internet Celebrity in China (2019)[20] discusses how the interracial relationship of RMIUC and J.T. was discursively constructed as “Chinese top, British bottom” among the Chinese BL fandom— as opposed to the stereotypical pattern of dominant White top vs submissive Chinese bottom— which transformed RMIUC into a masculinist and nationalistic gay icon.[21]

As one of China’s few openly gay public figures, Fan has been criticised by his Chinese fans, for not speaking out about the LGBTQ+ community enough. He was also met with backlash when he voiced his support for BLM in 2020— some criticised him for only doing the bare minimum, while others attacked him for not speaking out on other issues.[22] However, he has made it clear that he is no role model, nor does he have a hidden agenda. He is simply someone who decided to take advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him because of his appearance. He does feel compelled to speak up on important things; but as he says, sometimes he just doesn’t have “anything inspirational to say.”[8]

Fan, who was a finalist in the LGBTQ+ Account category at the 12th Annual Shorty Awards,[23] had said in an interview,[17] "We all have our ways of supporting the community, and I do it through showcasing my life candidly."

Bibliography

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  • To Be Continued (2012)[24], Fan's autobiography[25]
  • Love/The Play (2013)[26], a romance novel

Notes

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  1. ^ Chinese: 樊野
  2. ^ Chinese: 樊离花[2]
  3. ^ a b Since 2005, New Zealand's law has allowed homosexual couples to enter into partnerships through civil unions and hold a "commitment ceremony" similar to a wedding. Same-sex marriage in New Zealand was legalised in August 2013.

References

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  1. ^ "Edison Fan". www.collaborate.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  2. ^ "后宫离花传 | RMIUC从十八线深柜男孩到名媛一姐的故事" [The Story of the Flower in the Harem | RMIUC's Story of a Closeted Boy from an 18th-tier Line to a Celebrity]. www.sohu.com (in Chinese). 2017-03-15. Archived from the original on 2024-09-14. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  3. ^ a b c Wang, Ying (2016-04-09). "A Chinese social media heartthrob from New Zealand". China Daily. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  4. ^ Mendoza, Kenn Anthony (2020-07-14). "Why Edison Fan – Chinese influencer, gay model and LGBT advocate – is so much more than just a pretty face". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  5. ^ "EDGE Rewind: Watch: Out Chinese Social Media Influencer Edison Fan Celebrates 40th Birthday". EDGE Media Network. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  6. ^ Tan, William (2016-03-02). "#HISSTYLESNAPS: Edison Fan, New Zealand". His Style Diary. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  7. ^ a b "起底gay圈一代名媛樊野 離婚男神變身「奇葩」小白兔" [Fan Ye, a famous socialite in gay circles, divorced male idol turned into a "weird" little white rabbit]. kknews.cc (in Chinese). 2015-07-18.
  8. ^ a b Reid, Rahmel R. (2022-11-07). "The Entrepreneur And Sexy Social Media Tease Is Living His Best Life". Instinct Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  9. ^ Mendoza, Kenn Anthony (2020-07-14). "5 things about Edison Fan, Chinese LGBTQ+ influencer and gay model". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  10. ^ "新西兰华裔男模樊华Edison与男友结婚_娱乐_彩虹看台_心同网" [New Zealand Chinese male model Fan Hua Edison marries his boyfriend]. www.1314xt.com (in Chinese). 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  11. ^ Tao, Han (2024-09-02). "Good deeds or exploitation?: Queer parents working for private assisted reproductive technologies companies in urban China". Journal of Lesbian Studies: 1–13. doi:10.1080/10894160.2024.2382575. ISSN 1089-4160. PMID 39219405.
  12. ^ "新晋奶爸樊野活着就是我最真实的样子" [The new baby daddy, Fan Ye, is living in truest form]. ELLE Men (in Chinese). 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2024-09-14 – via PressReader.
  13. ^ Joseph, Andrea Marks (2024-06-30). "InstaQueer: Slayful Models, Paris Engagements, and Karamo & Mario Lopez Match Each Other's Freak!". EDGE Media Network. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  14. ^ Tan, William (2016-03-02). "#HISSTYLESNAPS: Edison Fan, New Zealand". His Style Diary. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  15. ^ 网易 (2023-06-01). "樊野：奇葩说的奇葩恋情！奇葩人生的背后，是对爱情的执着" [Fan Ye: The strange love story of Qipa Shuo! Behind the strange life is the persistence of love]. www.163.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  16. ^ Zhou, Oscar Tianyang (2023-02-16). "Gay Men in/and Kangsi Coming". In Zhao, Jamie J. (ed.). Queer TV China: Televisual and Fannish Imaginaries of Gender, Sexuality, and Chineseness. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 161–176. ISBN 978-988-8805-61-7.
  17. ^ a b c Lu, Fei (2019-06-11). "How This Openly Gay Influencer and Entrepreneur Is Navigating China". Paper.
  18. ^ "Edison Fan by Karim Konrad for MALE MODEL SCENE + Exclusive Interview". Male Model Scene. 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  19. ^ Felner, Jeffrey (2020-08-05). "FASHION BY THE RULES: meet EDISON Y. FAN & his brand OMG". FASHION BY THE RULES. Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2024-09-14 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Zhou, Oscar Tianyang (2019-10-31), EGUCHI, S.; CALAFELL, B. (eds.), "Chinese Top, British Bottom": Becoming a Gay Male Internet Celebrity in China, Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 79–95, ISBN 978-1-5381-2140-5, retrieved 2024-09-15
  21. ^ Zhou, Tianyang (2019). ""Chinese Top, British Bottom": Becoming a Gay Male Internet Celebrity in China". Queer Intercultural Communication: The Intersectional Politics of Belonging in and across Differences. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 79–95.
  22. ^ "Out Of The Closet: Edison Fan Shares His Story". Dear Straight People. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  23. ^ "Edison Fan - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  24. ^ RMIUC艾迪生 (2012-10-17). 待续 [to be continued] (in Chinese). YES Media. ISBN 978-0-473-22535-3.
  25. ^ 网易 (2018-08-13). "知名男模特樊野，Gay圈"名媛"私生活混乱，通过代孕生了个孩子" [Well-known male model Fan Ye, a "socialite" in the gay circle, has a chaotic private life and gave birth to a child through surrogacy]. www.163.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  26. ^ 樊野; RMIUC (August 2013). 恋/脚本 [LOVE THE PLAY] (in Chinese). 江苏文艺出版社. ISBN 978-7-5399-6428-7.
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