Ok, every other Asian Blogger has had a Betelnut Girls story so I figured “if you cant beat them – join em”
Mr Smith
The term Betel nut beauty refers 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.(Openshaw) 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, Nantou County. 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.
Controversy surrounding betel nut beauties generally centers on two questions: (1) the propriety of their revealing dress in public places and (2) whether their dress marks them as victims of exploitation.
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