“The most important thing is appearance”… Taiwanese girls wearing lingerie and selling fruit

The work of a photographer from New York, USA, who captured Taiwan’s ‘Betel Nut Beauty’ selling betel nuts in revealing outfits, is attracting attention around the world.

On the 23rd (local time), CNN introduced photographer Constanze Hahn’s photo series ‘Betel Nut Poetry (Betel Nut Beauty)’, which was released last month.

Betel Nut Seosi is a nickname taken from ‘Se Si’, one of the four beauties of China, and refers to women who sell betel nuts. Betel nut is a fruit chewed in the mouth in China, Taiwan, India, and Southeast Asian countries. It is known to have stimulant and addictive effects and to cause oral cancer. In Taiwan, betel nuts are frequently chewed by logistics workers who drive long distances and the elderly.

According to reports, you can find stores selling betel nuts in Taiwan’s big cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung. Most of these stores are built in the form of glass booths. Neon lights illuminate the store, and a female clerk selling betel nuts guards the booth in lingerie.

Most of the people in the ‘Betel Nut Beauty’ photos were women in their late teens or early 20s. They usually come to work in casual clothes and then change into revealing clothes at the booth. Mr. Han explains that store owners sometimes ask for more exposure from them because they need to increase sales.

Meng Xuan (18), who appears in the photo, started this job when he was 16. The main task is to neatly package thinly sliced ​​betel nuts and sell them. He said that in selling betel nuts, “the most important thing is appearance.”

Meng Shuan wears revealing clothes to work. He said it was to secure more male customers. If you work 6 days a week like this, you earn about $670 (about 920,000 won) per month.

This ‘betel nut beauty’ first appeared at a betel nut stall in central Taiwan in the late 1960s. As the sales performance of this stall was high at the time, tens of thousands of stores featuring ‘betel nut beauties’ gradually opened throughout Taiwan.

The sight of a woman wearing revealing clothing guarding a glass booth may seem like it is related to a brothel, but CNN reported that selling betel nut does not actually lead to prostitution. It is said that the ‘Betel Nut Beauty’ only leaves her booth to bring betel nuts to customers who are unable to leave the driver’s seat.

However, in Taiwan, there are concerns that ‘betel nut beauties’ may become victims of exploitation. Accordingly, several regulations targeting them have been created over the past 20 years. For example, in 2002, the local government of Taoyuan County implemented a strict dress code requiring ‘betel nut beauties’ to cover their breasts, buttocks and stomachs.

Mr. Han, who took the photo, said, “(People) might think, ‘These are girls who came from the wrong path.’” However, the people he actually met seemed to be quite high-quality and responsible. She added, “I hope people just see it as an interesting phenomenon without undue judgment.”