?The shy, reserved and submissive Chinese woman is no longer an appropriate
stereotype -- if it ever was -- as a recent survey suggests the
country's women want to be seen as sexy, healthy and smart.
Nearly 340,000 people voted in an on-line poll that asked
respondents to select 10 key words describing the charm of Chinese
women. Sexy ranked fourth, after elegant, intelligent and
healthy.
"We women love to talk about our experience of how to make our
breasts larger and also how to lift our hips and keep our wrists
smaller," the 20-something Ms. Chen said when giving her reasons
for wanting to be considered "sexy".
The views expressed in the survey highlight a profound change in
attitude. Ms Chen was born at a time when women wore thick clothes
to hide their figures. But the past two-decades of social and
economic development have transformed the traditional Chinese
concept of women.
Baidu.com, the country's largest Chinese language Internet
search engine, lists over 36 million hits relating to the word
"sexy", an expression rarely uttered by past generations.
The idea of staying in fashion has also resulted in a whole area
of business blossoming with trendy underwear boutiques, fitness
salons, fashion magazines and shows all becoming increasingly
popular.
Many survey respondents observed that looking sexy by wearing
stylish clothing or having a healthy physique helped boost their
self-esteem.
(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)