BETEL NUT BEAUTY 檳榔西施
Recently a phenomenon seems to draw a lot of attention around the world to a common sight along roadsides in Taiwan: a young woman selling betel nuts and cigarettes from a brightly lit glass enclosure while wearing revealing clothing. At first glance, you might think that it is a hidden part of society.
The Mandarin term names the women after Xi Shi, the legendary beauty of imperial China’s Spring and Autumn Period. Though betel nuts are chewed in many regions of the Asia-Pacific, the betel nut beauty phenomenon is distinctly Taiwanese.
The original betel nut beauties were the “Shuangdong Girls” who, in the 1960s, brought glamour to the opening of the Shuangdong Betel Nut Stand in Guoxing Township. The success of the marketing strategy led competitors to follow suit, and by the end of the century betel nut beauties and their neon-topped kiosks were a trademark feature of Taiwan’s cities and countryside. The kiosks appear in urban, suburban and rural settings alike. They are most characteristically encountered along major highways where truck drivers–famously enthusiastic consumers of betel nuts–can easily find them.
Many of the women recruited by the booth owners are dropouts, single parents or runaways from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The average age is 14 to 17. By 20, they are often too old. The businesses are legal, but many are owned by gangsters who bribe police to alert them of pending raids, allowing them to hide underage workers. Where women once faced pressure from heavy-handed owners, a commission system now puts more of the onus on the women to decide how they want to dress, allowing some to earn upward of $50,000 a year. This has prompted a debate in Taiwan’s academia over whether they are being empowered or exploited.
Truck drivers might think this is a cheap thrill, given that packages sell for a dollar or two. Nonetheless, this phenomenon of second largest corp in Taiwan gives photographer Masato Seto a chance to explore and tell us the lives of those young Taiwanese girls.
