Taiwan’s betel-nut beauties spice up business

The practice has been cheered by male customers,condemned by feminist groups,decried by health professionals and studied by sociologists keen to understand the island’s “betel nut culture.”

But the aggressive sales tactics are credited with jump-starting a ho-hum industry: after rice,betel nuts now supplant sugar cane as Taiwan’s second-largest crop. Chewed in parts of Southeast Asia,India,Pakistan and the South Pacific,the betel nut is a stimulant popular as a hunger suppressant,breath freshener,tobacco substitute or for getting a mild buzz similar to cigarettes. There is a downside. Chewing betel nuts can lead to red-stained teeth,drooling,red-splotched sidewalks and oral cancer.

“Basically,men are randy,” says taxi driver Cheng Chunho,dipping into a plastic bag of ‘Hi Class Beetle Nut Crispy & Tasty’. “I don’t even like the stuff. But after a long day of driving,buying it provides a bit of excitement.”

Suggestively dressed women on lonely highways would spell serious trouble in many countries. But attacks are rare,a fact sociologists attribute to Taiwan’s relatively nonviolent,reserved culture.

Outsiders often assume the betel nut industry is a cover for prostitution. Although some cases may exist,doing 12-hour shifts in a plastic box isn’t exactly conducive to “the world’s oldest profession,” which is amply served by barber shops and escort services.

Most betel nut stands feature glaring neon lights and a mirror to draw attention to the women. It stops traffic. The women hand over packets of betel nuts and a plastic cup for drivers to spit into.

Many of the women recruited by booth owners are dropouts,single parents or runaways from lower socio-economic backgrounds,says Christian Wu,an artist and scholar and unofficially called “Minister of Betel nut Beauties” by Taiwan’s Art Critic magazine for her long-standing work with the community. “The average age is 14 to 17,” Wu says. “By 20,you’re often too old.”

Where women once faced pressure from heavy-handed owners,a commission system now puts the onus on the women to decide how they want to dress,allowing some to earn $50,000 a year.

Current and former betel nut beauties say owners give new recruits some basic tips on what to wear and how to act,but,ultimately,the women develop their own style.

As the industry has become more successful—by some estimates earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually and employing 2.5 million people—it has drawn more critics and calls for regulation. Health concerns also have grown: Oral cancer cases in Taiwan rose to 4,750 in 2004 from 1,790 in 1994,an increase the government blames on betel nut use.

All the gawking can also create safety problems. “Guys are so busy looking,they crash,” Cheng says. But in some cases,the women call to report the crash,says Wang. “So while they cause the accident,they also help alleviate the damage.”