China Bans Female Lingerie Models, So Men Are Doing This

Companies that feature female models in scantily clad looks have a history of being shut down for violating China’s law against spreading obscene material online

After China banned female models from showcasing undergarments online, the country's livestream lingerie industry is swapping female lingerie models for male models.

Companies that feature female models in scantily clad looks have a history of being shut down for violating China’s law against spreading obscene material online, reported the New York Post. And since the companies don’t want to lose out on potential revenue due to the ban they have resorted to hiring male models to flaunt women's lingerie, including push-up bras, tight-fitting corsets and lace-trimmed nightgowns. 

"Personally, we don’t really have a choice. The designs can’t be modelled by our female colleagues, so we will use our male colleagues to model it," Xu, the owner of a livestream business, told Jiupai News, as reported by the New York Post.

Xu even introduced a male model in December last year wearing a silk robe on the social media website Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. "The light and luxurious boudoir of the wife and adults," the caption of the post read, as per the outlet. 

The video after it was posted on Douyin,  amassed 2,000 likes and several comment sharing their opinion on the gender-bending decision.

"The guy wears it better than the girl," wrote one user. While another wrote "If it’s a female model, the live stream would be banned every other minute, it’s not like this hasn’t happened before, this is still depriving a group of women of their job opportunities."

Xu does not seem much hassled by the allegations that male models are taking female jobs.

"Many directors of these live streams are women, are they also stealing men’s jobs?" said Xu, according to the New York Post.

According to Statista, China’s livestream shopping scene is estimated to be worth over $700 billion in 2023.