Wrapped in a silk slip with an exposed bra, a model sensually dances and forms a heart with her fingers during a live stream on Douyin, one of the most popular video sharing platforms in China. Her (highly clicked) performance as a “model” is the latest reaction to Internet censorship in China, a trawl net that can ensnare seemingly harmless businesses, in this case retailers selling women’s underwear online.
Are women actually forbidden to show up in skimpy clothes (nothing compared to what you see here in the West)? For a mixture of rebellion and the saving act of marketing, male models appear in their place. A bra worn by them will be less sensual, but in the meantime the female audience sees it and buys it and the deal is safe. A way to say no to censorship by getting around the problem and protecting the business from the government’s ax.
China is known to have one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world, with a proven track record of blocking not only politically sensitive information, but images of women’s bodies deemed marginally audacious.
Last January several companies specializing in the sale of lingerie via live streaming interrupted their sessions after presenting a female model and running into censorship. Hence the use instead of men.
On Alibaba’s Taobao Live (BABA), a man dressed in black lingerie is seen standing next to a mannequin displaying a similar outfit. In another image, another model wears a pink slip dress and silk shawl, accessorized with cat-ear headbands. “This is not an attempt at sarcasm. Everyone takes compliance with the rules very seriously,” commented the entrepreneur who came up with the idea and identified himself as Mr. Xu on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo. “So what should I do if I want to promote and showcase the lingerie in the live broadcast session? It’s very simple, find a man who wears it».
multibillion dollar industry
Selling live streaming products is a multibillion-dollar industry in mainland China and has received a major boost during the country’s three years of strict Covid lockdowns that have hit many businesses. As of June last year, the number of live streaming e-commerce users in mainland China exceeded 460 million. A 2021 report by Beijing-based iResearch predicted that the live streaming industry will be worth up to $720 billion this year.Male models aren’t the only solution
On Douyin, China’s home version of TikTok, other female models bypassed censorship by sporting lacy bras over a T-shirt. Others displayed the items on mannequins. But men are very strong. Son of the super-close censorship on female models is one of the most successful live streaming shopping influencers: Austin Li Jiaqi renamed “Lipstick King” after selling 15,000 lipsticks in just five minutes in 2018.
Li was both courageous and very sharp because he challenged what is considered the norm in China in gender representations, presenting himself as the “gay friend” of Chinese women (his call is “all the girls”, which he repeats over and over ) but without ever crossing the line. Where many male influencers fall because they are too effeminate, banned because they go beyond the boundaries of “traditional masculinity”, Li strikes a balance: yes, she tries lipsticks, but her look exclusively contemplates solid-colored suits and T-shirts, no reference to a alleged homosexuality. The success is immense, so much so that online lipstick sellers are starting to put the “recommended by Li Jiaqi” label on their products to increase sales.