Sex sells. If you can't get away with selling sex -- then sell something sexy. The conservatism of Asia has curiously spawned a backlash of raunchy subcultures. Japan's porn industry is the world's largest. Thailand boasts Asia's largest sex market. Even the Vietnamese, after uprooting from the motherland, have reinvented coffee shops in local Westminster, California.
If grading on wackiness, Taiwan undoubtedly takes the cake.
Enter the world of betel nuts and the "betel nut beauty" subculture.
About the size of a walnut, betel nuts contain arecoline -- a mild stimulant that affects the nervous system. Additives and sometimes tobacco are added to the nut before being wrapped in areca leaf. Producing a crimson fluid when chewed, the nut is messy and addictive.Betel nuts have been blamed for soil erosion and oral cancer, but while the government and health officials shake their heads in disdain, the betel nut beauty phenomenon is keeping business booming.
At first glance, especially for foreigners, the sight of skimpy girls sitting inside neon-lighted glass cubicles suggests prostitution. Sadly, the assumption is sometimes true, but for the most part, the young women in mini skirts and lingerie are betel nut vendors. They are colloquially referred to as bin lang xi shi -- named after a famous beauty in ancient Chinese lore.Many of the scantily-clad vendors are just 16 to 18 years old. For those seeking a way to make easy cash, selling betel nuts half-naked is what puts the rice on the table. The more revealing the outfits, the greater the chances of attracting loyal customers.
Industry estimates put the number of cubicles at roughly 100,000. At its peak during the early part of this decade, the betel nut market was saturated to the point where four cubicles would be contending for business on one side of a city block. Cubicle names such as Sexual Fire Hot Girls (Xing Gan Huo La Mei) enticed a healthy dose of customers. Some cubicles went so far as to showcase pole dancing -- in plain view of the public.
Eventually, Taiwanese officials had had enough, or so they said. In 2002, efforts to ban the glass kiosks were speedily dismissed, although one city was successful in passing a "no buttocks, no breasts, no bellies" law. Currently, the effectiveness of that law is debatable. Girls continue to sell betel nuts via micro skirts and see-through dresses -- in hopes of financial security, and possibly, better times down the road.
