China Bans Women From Modelling Lingerie To Sell Online... So Men Are Doing It Instead
Adapting.
By Tamara Jayne — 03 Mar 2023, 04:14 PM
Businesses in China have found a loophole after the country banned women from modelling undergarments online.
The solution? Male models.
Since the law was introduced, some livestreams with women modelling lingerie to sell have been permanently banned, as they were deemed as spreading obscene material online.
So the workaround for companies has been to hire men to model women's lingerie instead
According to New York Post, several companies show males sporting undergarments, including push-up bras, lacey nightgowns, and corsets.
"Personally, we don't really have a choice. The designs can't be modelled by our female colleagues, so we will use our male colleagues to model it," said Xu, the owner of a livestream business, told Jiupai News.
Amused by this loophole, many locals have been giving their take on these videos
One person wrote, "The guy wears it better than the girl," on a livestream posted on Douyin, China's equivalent of TikTok. The video has received over 2,000 likes.
Another commented, "Why don't you finish taking [it] off?" cheekily asking the male model to take off more than just the robe.
On the flip side, there are a number of comments that are less supportive of this move
One person on Weibo suggested using mannequins instead of real people. Another comment, which received over 13,000 likes, wrote that this "would deprive women of job opportunities".
In response, Xu told Jiupai News, "Many directors of these livestreams are women. So, are they also stealing men's jobs?"
Livestream shopping took off in China in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic was a partial reason for its success, reported South China Morning Post. With more people stuck at home, physical shops began to shut down and companies took their businesses online, selling everything from eggs to designer bags.
According to Statista, China's livestream shopping industry, which has been soaring, is estimated to be worth USD700 billion (RM3 trillion) by this year.
