Binglang Xi Shi
“Betelnut Beauties” 檳榔西施 are a unique Taiwan phenomenon that have garnered a fair amount of attention on the blogsphere, including three posts (here, here, and here) on BoingBoing. And an extensive set of links on this page maintained by David of David on Formosa. Some of the pictures and links are really quite good, but I’ve refrained from writing about it myself because the Western fascination with oriental women as sexual objects on display is such a tiresome trope and I had little to add to it … till now.
I just had to blog about these Betelnut beauty action figures that emKid found in a Taiwan Blockbuster.
I still don’t have much to say, except that I must immediately go out and get one … for my research, of course.
The first link above is to the Wikipedia page on Betelnut Beauties, from where I finally learned why they are called “Xi Shi” in Chinese:
Xi Shi (西施) was one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue.
Although, interestingly, these action figures seem to use the term: Lamei 辣妹 which was how the band The Spice Girls was translated into Chinese and has been a popular term ever since.
(via Michael Turton)
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
betel nut on roadside kiosks in Taiwan. A uniquely Taiwanese phenomenon, they are named after the legendary beauty Xi Shi from the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China.” P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords.Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) [IMG]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
You probably know it but for your readers “lamei” (pron: Lah May) literally means “Spicy Beauty”. It’s equivilant usage would be something like, “Damn, check out that hottie over there”. With “hottie” being the equivilant.
I use it waaaay more than I should (which makes me sound like a “liu mang”) but that is a different story. 
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]
[…] Betelnut beauty action figures Apprently, Blockbusters in Taiwan sell Betelnut Beauty figurines. According to Wikipedia, Betelnut beauties are “scantily-clad young women selling betel nut on roadside kiosks in Taiwan. A uniquely Taiwanese phenomenon, they are named after the legendary beauty Xi Shi from the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China.”More links and info on Betelnet Beauties here […]
[…] Betelnut Beauties. That’s what they call this phenomenon of sexual objectification in Taiwan… young women with street vendor carts selling betel nuts… it’s all the rage to combine high-protein snackery with upskirts over there, apparently (hmm…here too) and leaving no merchandising stone unturned, it wasn’t long before the desk accessory was available: http://keywords.oxus.net/archives/2006/03/25/binglang-xi-shi/_________________ […]
[…] robotbrain (robotbrain) wrote,@ 2006-03-30 00:35:00 Betelnut beauty action figures Apprently, Blockbusters in Taiwan sell Betelnut Beauty figurines. According to Wikipedia, Betelnut beauties are “scantily-clad young women selling betel nut on roadside kiosks in Taiwan. A uniquely Taiwanese phenomenon, they are named after the legendary beauty Xi Shi from the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China.”More links and info on Betelnet Beauties here(Post a new comment) a_international 2006-03-29 08:47 pm UTC (link) I WANT ONE!Are you going to collect the figurines???(Reply to this) (Thread) robotbrain 2006-03-30 02:01 am UTC (link) I’m definitely going to get at least one if I can, but now that you mention it, the whole collection has an appeal too…(Reply to this) (Parent) artsclub 2006-03-30 05:14 am UTC (link) yeah, they seem uber cool!(Reply to this) (Thread) robotbrain 2006-03-30 12:07 pm UTC (link) God bless capitalism! I am still often surprised at what the market so obviously demanded!(Reply to this) (Parent) background items (Anonymous) 2006-03-30 08:45 pm UTC (link) Did those pink pkgs in top left corner come with the Betelnut beauties or were they left over from last nights guest? *wink*wink ~nudge~nudge(Reply to this) Log in now.(Create account, or use OpenID) […]
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
An anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, 
[…] P. Kerim Friedman has more to add on the topic at his blog, Keywords. Link (Previous coverage of betelnut girls on Boing Boing here, here, and here) […]