 She is also known for having written and produced much of her own music, in a time when few Chinese artists were doing so.Much of her music defied stylistic rules and incorporated Western folk and rock styles.But after her early albums, Baranovitch claims, Ai's popularity decreased as her themes became more "personal and nonconformist", and she faced "antagonism" from men within the music industry because she did not sexually objectify herself and because her introduction of new musical styles challenged the male-dominated industry.