Hot girls are neither sexy nor feminists

In today's Taiwan, shallow and materialistic young girls in sexy and revealing clothes are turning to"enjokosai," (援助交際) or subsidized social activities, a term used by the Japanese to refer to prostitution or sexual favors provided by teenage girls in exchange for money or other valuables. Through massive and exaggerated reports by local media recently, the term "enjokosai" seems to have become synonymous with prostitution, as well as a popular term in Taiwan's porn culture.

One newspaper story said: "With the rapid rise of feminism, the culture of "hot girls" (辣妹) may perhaps be feminist heresy." At least the writer used the word "perhaps," but we still cannot help but wonder: is it true that "hot girls" are a by-product of "feminism?"

Taiwan's mass media has a very vague, incomplete and unfamiliar understanding of "feminism."

Take Vice President-elect Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) as an example. The out-spoken feminist pledged to be her own master and considers a woman's autonomy and dignity as the realization of "feminism." It is impossible for her to be a "voiceless" vice president and to give up "equal rights of women," an ideal she has pursued all her life.

Nevertheless, if women's autonomy and dignity are considered an essence of feminism, can we assume "hot girls" who trade their young bodies for money as a "school" of feminism?

The porn culture of "hot girls" is the result of the colonialization of Taiwan by Japanese pop culture.

Besides "enjokosai," Japanese porn culture has infiltrated Taiwan's media, Internet, video tapes, DVD, literature and leisure life. In the area of pornography alone, the explosive impact of Japanese porn culture is felt on both the economic and social levels.

Such a materialistic concept of porn consumption is deeply rooted and seriously affects our younger generation's mentality and values. It is widely believed by the public that sex is a daily activity beyond the restrictions of discipline and morality. "Hot girls" have drawn more attention simply because they are dressed in a sexually revealing way.

The "enjokosai" of "hot girls" has helped our society to move from the traditional institution of marriage (a kind of wholesale prostitution) into the retailing of sexual entertainment. It did not derive from a feminist awakening. It is a regression for the women's rights movement, since these girls materialize and belittle their bodies as commodities.

The prevailing porn culture of "hot girls" is based on an erroneous materialism. It actually has nothing to do with feminism.

The goal of feminism is to fight for completely equal rights between men and women. The movement has gone through hardship in Europe and the US for a century and finally made limited progress in Taiwan at the end of the 20th century.

Now, we need to clarify that women's autonomy is not autonomy to engage in prostitution. We do not want the public to be misled.

"Anti-porn" has always been an important topic of discussion in the history of feminism. While pioneer feminists still remember their glorious battles against porn culture, it will be very difficult for them to change their mind and endorse the porn culture.

I believe the economy of sex will become a tremendous industry in the 21st century. The foxy girls are just the first ripples in this wave. Anything related to human beings' sexual behavior will seriously affect marriage, family and social customs. The maturity of feminism will, to a certain degree, be related to it, and that is another issue worthy of discussions.