This image presents itself as a collage divided into four, near equal, vertical sections (from left to right): an interior, a poster, a section of wall, and a street scene. The inclusion of the characters 米兔, pronounced “mi tu”, references the MeToo movement and the clever way Chinese feminists got around censorship by using characters from the words rice and bunny to phonetically match the banned English moniker. Combining this with the text already on the poster, 我的身体 是我 由我 (My body is me by me) puts a feminist reading on imagery that might otherwise by associated with pandering to a male gaze.
As women’s independence increases, so does their self-confidence. In China, the apparent growing industry and demand for lingerie speaks to womens’ desire to embrace and celebrate their bodies and accentuate their femininity instead of chastely hiding their beauty.
Edward Lewis 