AsiaPop: A look at cultures across the
sea
Betel nut Beauties
by Ben Freund
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In the 4,700 square miles of the tiny nation of Vanuatu, betel juice is chewed as a social pastime and is a regular feature of
banquet spreads at large gatherings.
But it is the culture surrounding betel nuts in Taiwan which has recently received the most attention. In the small
independent, industrialized nation, betel nuts are sold in stalls manned by scantily clad young women known as "betel nut
beauties," who fold the nut decoratively into leaves from the betel palm and sell them to customers. More than 60,000
'beauties' staff the ubiquitous booths, and their influence has no small impact on the popularity of the nut, now the island's
second-largest crop and a regular purchase of about 18 percent of the nation's adult male population.
The phenomenon started in the early '90s, as Taiwanese manufacturing companies joined many other countries in
relocating factories to China, the emerging center of boundless cheap labor. Many of the 'beauties' are 20-40-year olds who
once worked in Taiwanese factories and feel fortunate to have found such light, pleasant, and relatively high-paying work. In
fact, the wages are so high and the education requirements so low that many 'beauties' have become the primary wage-
earners for their poverty-stricken families. The pressure this puts on them to earn quickly leads to competition of the most
simple and direct kind: the skimpier the outfit, the better the sales. The beauties wear semi-see-thru tops, microskirts,
thongs, and even no thongs at all. "I don't see why its OK for a singer or a model to make money showing her body but it's not
right to do it selling betel nut," said one beauty, and many others echo her sentiment.
There are other reasons to put a stop to the betel nut business in Taiwan. The betel nut trees themselves are ecological
nightmares; their shallow root systems often rip away topsoil during typhoons, and their immense thirst consumes 20
percent of available ground water, lowering water tables across the island. The bright red saliva that chewers constantly spit
onto the highways and streets in the vicinity of the cheap glass booths that sell the nut is not only an eyesore; it's the cause of
a national oral cancer rate 2.5 times higher than America's, and four times higher than nearby Japan. But trying to break the
multibillion-dollar betel nut industry wouldn't just hurt the beauties, it would cripple countless mountain farming communities
that are unable to find any other stable, profitable cash crop.
Nevertheless, the most visible tip of the betel phenomenon is, of course, still the beauties, who many Taiwanese legislators
consider a more serious eyesore than the crimson streaks in the street. "It's embarrassing that there are so many betel-nut
stands along the roads carrying foreign visitors from CKS [Chiang Kai Shek] Airport in Taoyuan County to Taipei City," said
Liao Cheng-Ching, deputy head of the Taoyuan government in 2002, when the government decided to take action and crack
down on the beauties in many areas of the country. The government issued a policy nicknamed "The Three Nos" which
restricted the beauties' from displaying their breasts, buttocks or bellies. Rather than addressing the more serious economic
and ecological concerns, the government based the measure on questionable grounds such as, the danger that the scantily
clad beauties are so distracting they would cause traffic accidents. Loud and immediate complaints quickly truncated the
policy to only two “nos” (bellies were spared), but the debate continues.
Beauties and social critics have said that the policy is unfair and reveals a class bias, as the beauties tend to be from lower
classes and incomes. The crackdowns on the beauties, they say, deny their chance for economic independence and a sense
of personal autonomy and power. Combined with the uniqueness of the cultural practice as a whole, the betel nut girl
phenomenon has attracted interest worldwide. There is a strong artistic appeal in the betel nut beauties: they are in the center
of a controversial, dangerous, even deadly industry, yet at the same time they have the chance to improve their families' lots in
life and exert a power and presence in society rarely enjoyed by the poor. All the while, they have become a symbol of
Taiwanese culture to the rest of the world. Already many documentaries have been made about aspects of the "beauty"
lifestyle and more are in the works. The girls are also a popular subject for Taiwanese art students.
Despite the two remaining "nos," the beauties aren't going anywhere just yet. They're becoming firmly ingrained in the
national culture, the subject of both "high" art like photo galleries and "low" art like action figures and other toys. And as betel
nut use continues to spread, who knows where the beauties will show up next?
Betel nuts are big business in parts of Asia. The chewable
seeds are a mild stimulant, perhaps on a par with caffeine, but
long-term use can lead to addiction and in turn to mouth ulcers,
gum deterioration, and other oral cancers. In effect and risk,
betel nuts bear a similarity to tobacco
chewing-indeed, in India, a preparation of betel nut and spices called paan, made either for
consumption or a religious offering, is often mixed with tobacco. In Vietnam, betel nut is
used ceremonially in weddings and symbolizes love and marriage; a folk tale explains that
this is because a man caught between loyalty to his brother and his wife died and became a
betel palm.