Some feminists have claimed that many Chinese characters under radical woman are pejorative, 奴 (slave), 妖 (demon), 妒 (JP: 妬, envy), 姦 (Simp.
The 16 characters were 娱 (娛, entertainment), 耍 (to play with, usually classified under radical 126 而), 婪 (greedy), 嫉 (envy), 妒 (envy), 嫌 (dislike), 佞 (flattery), 妄 (presumptuous), 妖 (demon), 奴 (slave), 妓 (prostitute), 娼 (whore), 奸 (姦, rape, traitor), 姘 (extramarital sex), 婊 (bitch), and 嫖 (to visit prostitutes).
[3] Opponents argued that the new characters were historically unsound; that even if they were adopted, they would remain specious and would not effectively improve female's social status.
[3][4] In 2015, an exhibition in Beijing entitled "姦: Cultural Codes of Gender Violence" (姦:性別暴力伤害的文化符号) organized by 65 artists was canceled by the authorities.
[6] Similar controversies also exist in "gendered" European languages which have divisions between masculine and feminine terms.