Pseudo-Pacifist Misogyny: EMWF Records' Chinese Variant of Western Pickup Ideology

February 1, 2025

This is not supposed to be a serious sociological analysis. This article represents the author’s work over a few days and is not supposed to be taken extremely seriously.

Unveiling EMWF

The organization EMWF Records (Every Man Wants Freedom) has attracted my attention recently. EMWF is highly active on WeChat, writing dissertation-length articles on dating strategies, ultimately gaining significant traction across WeChat, Zhihu, and Twitter (now X). The accounts center around the promotion of an exclusive male-only pickup community hosted on WeChat group-chats.

Having read some of their articles, I decided to look a little deeper into their philosophy. The community revolves around a single self-published guide, which I gained undercover access to analyze for my own amusement. All prospective members are required to pay a small fee (~20 USD) and submit a short voice-recording for identity verification. Notably, the central publication, titled The Ultimate Transformative Guide for Chinese Men, Third Edition, is now available on Z-Library, uploaded under an anonymous account.

The philosophy itself is far from revolutionary. The bulk of its methodology is pulled from traditional Western pickup techniques, but the surprise lies in its subtle differences. While maintaining a fundamentally misogynistic framework, EMWF rejects explicit hatred toward women and avoids revolutionary rhetoric. Instead, it opts for a pragmatic, calculated approach to dating, leveraging women’s behaviors rather than applying blatant control.

The EMWF Playbook

The EMWF methodology is based on a few fundamental ideas and theories, which seem to be adaptations from Western pickup techniques.

The 8% rule. EMWF asserts that only the top 8% of men within a specific woman’s “league” or social circle, can trigger genuine sexual arousal in women. The narrative of an estrous response, adapted from mammal biology, is used here to legitimize the theory. EMWF insists that sexual arousal is the absolute basis of a relationship, which seems to create a dichotomy: there exists only complete arousal, in which women will comply to “every reasonable demand”, and absolute turn-off, in which she will cut ties in every way possible for her own marginal profit.

The cold treatment. EMWF promotes strategic disengagement rather than absolute dominance and emotional manipulation. “Cold treatment” is encouraged as soon as evidence of non-arousal is detected, making sure no further investment is made when there is no strong prospect of success. EMWF discourages actively pursuing or confessing emotions.

The shit test. This is distinctly different from traditional Western “shit tests”. Under EMWF’s definition, a shit test is performed when a man wants to enter into a binding relationship, such as marriage. EMWF men pretend that they are facing sudden economic hardship that requires support from their partners, like losing their job, to test if the arousal is strong enough for the woman to not betray them. In summary, love and emotional connection are dismissed as biological illusions believed only by gullible, overly romantic women. Under this assumption, the only rational approach is to extract sex and resources without any emotional investment.

Most so-called ‘pursuit’ is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to acquire a woman’s genetic value through flattery and bribery when she is not in heat. It is a disgraceful act that results in significant material and psychological suffering for both parties.

A Self-Defeating Trap

Accepting these theories as fundamental truths comes with several consequences. A closer examination reveals self-contradictions, not within its methodology, but pertaining to its subjects and fundamental motives themselves.

First, EMWF’s biological argument lacks symmetry. While women’s behaviors are deconstructed through the lens of genetic programming, it deliberately avoids applying the same scrutiny to male desire itself. Male desire is never called into question, and their own need for “real” sex, affection, or connection serves as an invisible but essential presumption.

Underlying EMWF’s philosophy is a distinction between “real sex” and “synthetic sex”, which the book itself admits. Real sex, as presented in the book, is manipulated from women and is considered superior, desirable, and worth the effort. In contrast, Synthetic sex, via toys or transactional means, is presented as a last resort—something to settle for when nothing better is available. However, if sex is just a mechanical release and romance just a deception, there should be no difference between an organic partner and an artificial substitute.

This observation presents us with a self-prohibiting cycle. EMWF men are required to detach emotionally from women, because while manipulating their way into intimacy, they must suppress their own emotions and vulnerability. This means that they can never truly immerse themselves in it, preventing enjoyment by turning sex into a performance of power. They play a game they can never truly win—because the moment they succeed, they are unable to enjoy their victory.

This should remind any post-structuralist of the Lacanian jouissance. The pleasure disappears as soon as success is achieved, perpetuating an endless loop of dissatisfaction. Their own ideology ensures that they are always chasing something they cannot fully have.

As a man, you should never—nor do you need to—chase after women or confess your feelings.

False Compliance

One might be compelled to ask why EMWF must bite its own tail into a never-ending self-defeating loop. To answer this question, let’s examine another facet of its distinct ideology—one unique from traditional pickup.

Unlike Western pickup artists, EMWF does not advocate for a patriarchal revival. While acknowledging waves of feminism affecting the dating market, it does not dream of “restoring order” or “fighting back”. Surprisingly, it preaches adaptation, encouraging its members to maximize their personal advantage in the current system.

This should not be confused with ideological surrender. It is blatant strategic opportunism. It is further reinforced by the elusive idea of a “healthy market”: if men manipulate the system correctly, the dating market could self-correct. I coined the term pseudo-pacifism here to capture my impression of this ideology. While Western pickup artists are loud and reactionary, EMWF men are silent and tactical. Ditching emotional or explosive methods, this kind of misogyny is cold, calculating, and disturbingly pragmatic.

At this point, any reader who spent their childhood in modern-day China should recognize a sense of familiarity. EMWF’s embrace of quiet manipulation mirrors how Chinese men have been conditioned to interact with larger economic and political structures. In China’s hyper-competitive, high-pressure education system, one simply does not challenge the system—they learn to game it.

Instead of organizing revolts, the fictional rules of the zero-sum game are accepted. There is no fantasy about reversing feminist progress, instead, men are taught to adapt, extract value, and survive. EMWF men are learning to thrive in a system rather than overthrowing it.

So I hope you can face this natural phenomenon with calmness and detachment—just as you would when witnessing a volcanic eruption, a typhoon, or a landslide.

Final Thoughts

As intersectional feminists, we cannot help but see this phenomenon as a consequence of patriarchy combined with China’s broader societal conditioning. It does not explicitly fight feminism, but it does not fully accept it either, adopting a passive, self-serving, but ultimately self-defeating strategy.

At the intersection of gender and policy, EMWF mirrors the broader cultural mentality of compliance under an unchangeable system, extracting what little power one can within its constraints. By teaching men to engage in a silent, strategic war rather than an open battle, this ideology reflects a distinctly Chinese approach to survival under control. At the end, EMWF is not revolutionary, nor is it a rebellion—it is an extension of the very system it claims to oppose.

I genuinely pity them. What I see are withered, desiccated souls emanating the stench of death.

mi tawa.