A Chinese debate about sexualization in advertising

A beverage company has kicked up an enormous online debate that showcases the entire spectrum of public opinion on sexual liberation in Chinese society.

The row erupted on Weibo on Wednesday after a Chinese news outlet reported that Auntea Jenny (沪上阿姨 hù shàng āyí), a Shanghai-headquartered boutique tea drink franchise, was considering a makeover for its current packaging after receiving complaints from customers.

The backlash was prompted by a post on Chinese lifestyle app Xiaohongshu earlier this week that included a photo of an Auntea Jenny’s cup, which shows an illustration of two women clothed in the traditional Chinese dress qipao. One of the ladies is wearing a high-slit qipao, and the way she sits exposes most of her thigh.

Critics scrutinized the design and condemned it as overly sexualized. “First of all, a proper qipao wouldn’t have a slit that high up,” reads the most upvoted comment, which has nearly 1,500 likes. “I bet the illustrator is a man because the image is giving a strong male-gaze feeling,” another Xiaohonghsu user said.

Within 24 hours, the outcry escalated to a point where the beverage company felt compelled to respond. According to Muzhi Video, an online news portal, a spokesperson for Auntea Jenny told its reporter that the company’s design department was aware of the complaints and would mull over a potential makeover.

As news of the response spread, a backlash against the backlash ensued. On Weibo, the hashtag “The qipao image on the packaging of Auntea Jenny is blasted for being inappropriate” #沪上阿姨外包装旗袍图被质疑不雅# has more than 290 millions views, with commenters accusing the brand’s critics of overreacting to an article of clothing.

“The illustration is perfectly fine, but I think there’s something wrong with the people who can’t stop zooming in on the image and making a whole deal out of just one small part of it,” one wrote.

“This is not even a real woman and the dress is just slightly revealing. People really need to chill out,” another added.

Supporters of Auntea Jenny have used a famous line by Lǔ Xùn 鲁迅, a towering figure of Chinese modern literature, to decry the relentless policing of womenswear in Chinese society. The quote reads, “The sight of a woman’s short sleeves at once makes them think of bare arms, of the naked body, the genitals, copulation, promiscuity, and children born out of wedlock. This is the sole respect in which the Chinese have a lively imagination.”