Chinese women warned not to wear mini skirts or hot pants on public transport
Capturing the imagination of the world at large is the above photo of ‘anti pervert stockings’ which first landed on China’s Twitter-alike Sina Weibo. The stockings tell the site offers the following must have glee and excitement: “Super sexy, summertime anti-pervert full-leg-of-hair stockings, essential for all young girls going out.”
Although reposted ad infinitum by now all over the web, no one manufacturer has actually stepped out to offer that they are indeed manufacturing such savory anti rape pervert stockings (yes China has its fare share of nasty men who can’t resist manhandling women). That though hasn’t necessarily many from wondering if the stockings may just be real or just a vicious prank.
Offers Daily Telegraph columnist Katy Brand:
In fact what will happen is that all those nice, feminist men who pride themselves on being above their own cultural conditioning will be buying the drinks, and the old misogynists will leave the ladies alone – the successful suitors will be a pleasantly self-selecting group of males who are intellectual, lentil-eating, gentle and good at listening. The sex will be awful, of course, but it will be ever so respectful.
Which is to say the problem of women being manhandled, ogled, sexualized and exposed to ever denser versions of patriarchal behavior, the stockings may actually serve to offer women respite as well as the plausibility that there are now women in China busily going from store to store desperately looking to acquire their own fashion must have anti repellant rape stockings.
But perhaps the following may sum up the wonderful madness taking place in China and one assumes pretty much anywhere in the world where rampant sexism exists: “If it has come to this, why not just wear pants?”
