Yang Li

Yang Li (; born 1992 ) is a Chinese stand-up comedian and scriptwriter. Most known for her iconic punchline on the male psyche, "How can he be so average, yet so full of confidence?", Yang rose to fame in a Chinese stand-up comedy competition series Rock & Roast. Tackling controversial gender issues with humour and sarcasm, she received outpouring support as well as overwhelming backlash, stirring up a fierce online debate. The catchphrase "average-yet-confident" went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and became one of the most popular memes among feminist internet users in 2020. Meanwhile, male netizens have accused Yang of "sexism" and "man-hating", provoking gender opposition. Critics have characterised Yang and her followers as unreasonable feminists who "demand privilege", while supporters defend Yang to be articulating the female perspective silenced in a patriarchal society.

Early life Yang comes from a family in rural Hebei. In 2014, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in animation from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. After graduating, she worked as a graphic designer and a production assistant before getting involved in stand-up comedy in 2017. Finding it difficult for her personal style to be appreciated by the clients, she left her job as a designer after six months. Thereafter, she worked in Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre for a year as a production assistant. In 2019, she made her appearance in the Chinese stand-up comedy contest Rock & Roast: Season 2. Yang took part in four recordings and ranked bottom twice, placing 10th overall. She established a character by addressing controversial gender issues with her self-deprecating sense of humour.

Yang took the internet by storm with her iconic punchline on the male psyche: "How can he be so average, yet so full of confidence?" She went on to question the superpower of Black Widow whose body is modified to slow down ageing. She drew an example by comparing male students with their female counterparts in a Chinese classroom. While female students with high grades are often troubled by not scoring perfectly, Yang noticed, some male classmates seem unfazed by their poor performance. "You feel he owns the whole world", she said, comparing a male student with female students who score 85 percent or higher, "He can prance around the room with his exam papers held high. 'Look at me, I got a 40. I'm a fool.'" "A joke can only get laughs for one reason," she concluded, "because it resonates."

JD.com Singles' Day Campaign Yang faced significant backlash in November 2024 after being a part of a JD.com marketing effort for Singles' Day. JD.com was accused of supporting "a male-hating witch" and promoting "gender antagonism." This resulted in boycotts of JD.com, threats of violence against Yang, and a significant number of account cancellations. In response, JD.com apologized and immediately suspended the campaign.