Betelnut Girls 檳榔西施 Taiwan

Teaser for a documentary on the unique betelnut culture (檳榔西施) in Taiwan - slightly expanded from the version posted here before. Also see my Flickr gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/
Bignose Productions Taiwan topenshaw@hotmail.com

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• betelnut
• girls
• taiwan
• culture
• bin
• lang
• betel
• nut
• pinlang
• binlang
• exploitation
• 檳榔
• 檳榔西施

[guitarhamster102]

wow the professor dude has good English

ANYWAYS, I'm a Taiwanese American and I will say that most betelnut girls in taiwan don't really want to do that job but are forced to because their family doesn't have much money.

[Bignosetw]

@guitarhamster102 - Yes Professor Bien Chiang was Visiting Professor of Ethnography at (I think) UCLA , and before that he also lived in the US for some periods.

Re your "most betelnut girls" comment - what do you base that assertion on?

[tinfoilandy]

what are betelnut girls? what do they do? I don't understand this video. whats a betelnut?

[Bignosetw]

@tinfoilandy: google is your friend: Just try to search for "Betelnut Girls Taiwan"

[Bignosetw]

Note that there was vigorous demand for this "nasty shit" hundreds of years before it started getting sold by pretty young girls - or old binlang aunties.

[gicole]

It's like bikini car wash

[MrGreenteaking]

要注意!!在台灣並非大家都嚼食檳榔,檳榔用於提神,禦寒,早期­是勞工朋友的提神品,但後來已經變成街頭流氓,壞孩子在嚼食了!­現在年輕人因從小教育而都知道,嚼食檳榔易引發口腔癌.因此並不­能以偏概全的認為,台灣人嗜嚼檳榔!!

[MrBrucebracey]

This is a great video

[Novaspes82]

This video is clearly fake. The guys on the scooters always look back at the incoming traffic before starting, which scooter riders in Taiwan NEVER do. I live in Taipei and speak out of experience. Also, Bin Lang girls are not particularly easy. Girls you meet in some (not all) bars that cater mostly to foreigners are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier than Bing Lang girls (who are, after all, at their workplace doing their job).

[Apteryxrules]

This clip has brought back so many happy memories.

[MrHelmyabdullah]

@tinfoilandy They sell betelnuts . Betelnut is a distant cousin to the coconut fruit . It tastes a bit bitter and you eat it with what we Malaysians call it the "Sireh" leaves . We Malays in Malaysia , especially the older generation still serve betel nut and the Sireh leaves to anyone that comes to our house as a way to welcome them

[Jonboyappleseed]

I'm no expert but I think there is more respect for women in Taiwan because most are raised by dominant mothers. The fact that there is controversy over girls wearing provocative clothing selling beetle nuts shows how far away they are from strip clubs on every corner. Good for them.

[MrDanbloom]

LO LAT

[nenabunena]

@tinfoilandy i don't understand it as well. but betel nut is what we call nga nga in the philippines. it's what ancients used to chew that stains the teeth to either black or red, & it also strengthens the teeth. now only old people in rural areas use it. they also had this in taiwan (aborgines), japan, & the pacific islands. not sure about the rest of se asia. why do you need girls in skimpy clothes selling betel nut? & why would people still use it, it tastes horrible actually

[alamakmatila]

taiwan people put " Ho " on the end of santence....?

[Quy4life]

is this any different from vietnamese coffee shop here in the US? LOL