Jolin Cai and Womxnly 1 Favorite 

The famous pop singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林 Cài Yīlín) wrote and released a song named “Rose Boy” (official English title “Womxnly”) in 2018, inspired by the story of Yeh Yung-chih (叶永志 Yè Yǒngzhì), also known as “Rose Boy” (méiguī shǎonián 玫瑰少年), whose death has made him an iconic figure in Chinese-speaking LGBTQ communities around the world.

On the morning of April 20, 2000, Yeh, who was at the time a junior high student in Taiwan, asked his teacher to go to the bathroom in the middle of a class. A few minutes later, he was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. Yeh later died of head trauma at a local hospital at the age of 15. An investigation concluded it was an accident: as Yeh rushed back to the classroom, he slipped and fell head-first onto the wet floor in the bathroom.

Prior to his death, Yeh suffered verbal and physical bullying by schoolmates due to his non-conforming gender expression. Despite multiple complaints lodged by his mother, the school did nothing to improve the situation. Although there was no direct evidence connecting the incident to his past experience of being bullied, Yeh’s plight attracted a great deal of public attention and prompted local queer activists to advocate for more inclusive education on diverse sexuality and gender identities in school.

“Which rose has no thorns? The best revenge is beauty,” the chorus goes. It quickly became a hit, earning Song of the Year at the 2019 Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan’s equivalent of the Grammys. Its wide reception among both queer and straight audiences in and outside of Taiwan helped further circulate Yeh’s story and the name of “Rose Boy” in Chinese-speaking societies, including mainland China. Its wide reception among both queer and straight audiences in and outside of Taiwan helped further circulate Yeh’s story and the name of “Rose Boy” in Chinese-speaking societies, including mainland China.

In June 2023, when Cai went on stage at the Japanese music programme "THE FIRST TAKE", she also chose to perform the song Womxnly. During the Pride Month, the significance of Jolin's choice became even more significant and self-evident, as many netizens left their comments on "THE FIRST TAKE", saying “Thank you Jolin Cai, thank you Womxnly, thank you 'THE FIRST TAKE' for letting the world know about this song and the true story of Rose Boy". Whether Jolin did it intentionally or unintentionally, the fact that she chose to perform this song in June does give more courage and support to the LGBTQ community, and the fact that the same-sex marriage law has not yet been passed in Japan makes this song even more meaningful.