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Edison Fan
樊野
Born
Fan Hua (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.

After moving to New Zealand, watching Ellen DeGeneres' stand-ups gave him confidence about his sexual orientation;[7] and he eventually came out to his family at the age of 22.[8] Fan married[c] his British boyfriend Josh Taylor in October 2012,[9] after 6 months of knowing each other.[10] They were featured on the cover of Element Magazine #6 - The Love Issue (Feb/Mar 2014).[11][12] The couple got divorced in 2015.

Fan has a mixed-race son,[13] who was born via surrogacy in November 2017.[14] In June 2024, Edison got engaged to Korean model Huyve Seo (also known as Rob Seo) in Paris.[15]

Career

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While in university, Fan signed part-time to a local modeling agency after being inspired by the show America's Next Top Model. After graduating, he worked as a civil engineer for many years.[16]

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 the debate variety show, U Can U Bibi (Qi Pa Shuo). In the episode discussing whether gay men and lesbians should come out to their parents, he shared his coming out story.[17] His popularity from the show led to gigs in Chinese dramas and movies in the following years.[3][18]

As a model, he did a photo shoot for Charlie by Matthew Zink in January 2015,[19][20] and was featured in the August 2015 issue of Male Model Scene magazine.[21] He has also modeled for Tom Ford, Diesel, Calvin Klein, and Schwarzkopf.[22]

In 2016, Fan was approached by a Chinese company to design menswear; citing too much competition he convinced them to do sportswear, after which OMG (On My Game) Sportswear was launched.[23] 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 U-Touch Underwear,[18] which was launched in July 2019 targeting gay men.[23]

Public image

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Oscar Tianyang Zhou's paper "Chinese Top, British Bottom": Becoming a Gay Male Internet Celebrity in China (2019)[24] 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.[25]

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.[26] According to him, he does feel compelled to speak up on important things, but sometimes he just doesn't have “anything inspirational to say.”[7]

Fan, who was a finalist in the LGBTQ+ Account category at the 12th Annual Shorty Awards,[27] had said in an interview, "We all have our ways of supporting the community, and I do it through showcasing my life candidly."[18]

Bibliography

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  • To Be Continued (2012)[28]
  • Love/The Play (2013),[29] a romance novel

Notes

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  1. ^ Chinese: 樊野
  2. ^ Chinese: 樊离花[2]
  3. ^ 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 Reid, Rahmel R. (2022-11-07). "The Entrepreneur And Sexy Social Media Tease Is Living His Best Life". Instinct Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "ẢNH ĐẸP: CẶP ĐÔI ĐỒNG TÍNH NAM hot nhất châu Á, Edison Fan" [Sweet pictures of Asia's hottest gay couple]. kenh14.vn (in Vietnamese). 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  11. ^ Element Magazine #6 - The Love Issue. Element Magazine. February 2014 – via Pubu.
  12. ^ "Cover of Element with Josh Tayler, Edison Fanye, February 2014 (ID:61917)| Magazines | The FMD". FashionModelDirectory.com. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Tan, William (2016-03-02). "#HISSTYLESNAPS: Edison Fan, New Zealand". His Style Diary. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ a b c Lu, Fei (2019-06-11). "How This Openly Gay Influencer and Entrepreneur Is Navigating China". Paper.
  19. ^ "Manhunt Daily Wood: Edison Fan Is Serving PURE SEX In A Bath Tub". Manhunt Daily. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  20. ^ Bence, Gyulai (2015-01-28). "Íme valami, amiből Kínában még nincs sorozatgyártás" [Here is something that is not yet mass produced in China]. Velvet (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  21. ^ "Edison Fan by Karim Konrad for MALE MODEL SCENE + Exclusive Interview". Male Model Scene. 2015-07-31. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  22. ^ "名媛樊野拍了Tom Ford的软宣，他的公关厉害极了！" [Socialite Fan Ye shot a soft promotion for Tom Ford, his public relations is amazing!]. www.sohu.com (in Chinese). 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  23. ^ a b "Dare to wear? Swimwear and underwear targeting gay men". South China Morning Post. 2020-01-18. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  24. ^ 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
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "Out Of The Closet: Edison Fan Shares His Story". Dear Straight People. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  27. ^ "Edison Fan - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  28. ^ RMIUC艾迪生 (2012-10-17). 待续 [to be continued] (in Chinese). ISBN 978-0-473-22535-3.
  29. ^ 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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