"Female Model's Bare Skin with Floor Plan..." Controversy Over Repeated 'Female Objectification Ads' in China

Published 27 Mar.2021 12:02(KST)

Updated 27 Mar.2021 12:07(KST)

A floor plan of an apartment is drawn on the back of a female model. Photo by Weibo capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Nah Han-ah] Amid ongoing controversies over 'sexual objectification of women' in advertisements in China, a Chinese real estate developer has halted its development activities after advertising by drawing apartment floor plans on the bare skin of female models.

On the 26th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that at an apartment briefing held last week in Xi'an, Shanxi Province, China, a real estate development company used two female models for promotional activities.

The two women wore dresses with deep cuts on their backs, on which apartment floor plans were drawn. Attendees at the briefing took photos of the models' backs and even took commemorative photos with the models.

Later, one of the attendees posted a video of the event on Weibo, sparking controversy.

Chinese netizens who saw the video criticized the real estate company for using models, saying, "Why should women's backs be used as apartment floor plans?" "This is the objectification of women," and "This is an inappropriate promotional act."

As the controversy grew, Shanxi provincial authorities banned further briefings and halted the real estate development project altogether.

Previously, in 2018, a real estate developer in Nanning, Guangxi Autonomous Region, also drew floor plans on female models' backs, and in 2015, another real estate exhibition held in Rizhao, Shandong Province, attempted to attract buyers using the same method.

Recently in China, cases of 'sexual objectification of women' using women's sexual appeal in product advertisements have been increasing. According to Global Times on the 14th, popular Chinese talk show host and comedian Li Dan (32) caused a stir by posting on Weibo to promote the women's underwear brand 'Youbras,' writing, "Even if a woman is just lying down (doing nothing), it leads to success in her career."

Netizens criticized, saying, "Why does a male celebrity promote women's underwear and stir up controversy?" and "What on earth is the connection between lingerie and success at work?"

Youbras explained, "The intention was only to convey the efficacy of our products, not a sexual intent," but as netizens' protests did not stop, they eventually apologized for Li Dan's inappropriate remarks and deleted the related content.

The Chinese game 'Wangbi-ui Mat' (Taste of the Queen) also received a recommendation to block its advertisements for sexual objectification of women and containing provocative content. Rated for ages 15 and up, the game used a Japanese AV actress as a model, promoting with the phrase 'Experience the taste of *** **!' and attached descriptions such as 'Rose flavor,' 'Lemon flavor,' 'Peach flavor,' and 'Milk flavor' to female characters, blatantly exposing specific body parts, which drew heavy criticism from netizens.