China Censors Women Modeling Underwear In Live Shopping, So Men Do It | CNN Business

Hong Kong
CNN
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Wearing a cheeky piece of silk lingerie, a male model goes to the beat and forms a heart shape with his fingers during a live streaming session on Douyin, one of China’s most popular video sharing platforms.

Their modeling performance is the latest illustration of the kind of business innovation that is sometimes needed to circumvent China’s strict internet censorship, a trawl net that can ensnare seemingly innocuous activities, in this case the retailers that sell women’s underwear online.

China deploys one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world, with a history of blocking not only politically sensitive information, but also images of women’s bodies deemed marginally racist.

Several companies that specialize in selling underwear via live streaming have had their sessions cut short after they featured a female model and their brush with internet censorship came to light in January.

Hence the use of men instead.

In one of the sales channels, a man dressed in black underwear is seen standing next to a mannequin displaying a similar outfit, in what appears to be a screenshot from a live broadcast on Taobao Live Alibaba (BABA), a streaming platform. for the e-commerce giant.

In another image, a different male model donned a pink suit and silky shawl, accessorized with cat-ear headbands.

In a live streaming clip, carried by several state media, an online business owner said he was simply trying to play it safe.

“This is not an attempt at sarcasm. Everyone is taking compliance very seriously,” said the man, who identified himself as Mr Xu.

The emergence of male underwear models has sparked mixed opinions online in China, from glee and annoyance to reluctant acceptance.

“So what should I do if I want to promote and show underwear in the live streaming session? It’s very simple, find a man to wear it,” read a comment on China’s microblogging site Weibo.

Live product sales are a multibillion-dollar industry in mainland China and were given a big boost during the country’s three years of strict Covid lockdowns that affected many brick-and-mortar businesses.

As of June last year, the number of live e-commerce users in mainland China exceeded 460 million, according to the China Academy Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a ministry-affiliated body of trade in Beijing.

A 2021 report by iResearch, a Beijing-based company that specializes in measuring online audience growth, predicted that the live streaming industry would be worth as much as $720 billion this year.

Male models are not the only solution.

On Douyin, China’s domestic version of TikTok, other female models have circumvented censorship by showing off the latest underwear style over a T-shirt they’re already wearing.

Others displayed the items on mannequins.

In 2015, China led a crackdown on TV shows that exposed actresses’ cleavage, forcing some of the most popular costume dramas to enlarge their faces to avoid trouble with broadcasting authorities.

Having male influencers promoting products aimed at women is also not new in China.

One of the most successful direct shopping influencers in the industry is Austin Li Jiaqi, who made a name for himself as the “Lipstick King” after selling 15,000 lipsticks in just five minutes in 2018.

As one of China’s biggest internet celebrities, Li also markets cosmetics, skin care products and fashion clothing, often applying products she sells to her own face.

Even outside of China, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have faced criticism for restricting the sharing of images involving partial nudity, particularly of women.

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta restricts breast sharing, although it says it aims to “allow images that are shared for medical or health purposes.” But even Meta’s Supervisory Board has asked the company to make its policy less confusing and more gender inclusive.

YouTube says it prohibits “clothed or unclothed depictions of genitalia, breasts, or buttocks that are intended for sexual gratification,” but may restrict the age of other images or videos involving nudity.