Betel Nuts Beauty is a kind of unique career in Taiwan. Chewing betel nut is a daily habit of Taiwanese. There are betel nuts stands of all sizes in the street in Taiwan. Walking on the street, you can see a beautiful young girl behind the big glass window of nearly every stand. They are so-called 'the betel nuts beauty'’ The betel nuts beauties are usually known for impressions such as sexy, bold, and the soft-porn industry. However, when I approached the stands, trying to talk to them and be friends with them, I discovered that they are just common girls of my age, doing an ordinary job to make a living under the misunderstood cover.
The girls in my photos are Tingting and Xiaomei. They work in a betel nuts stand named '520' in Hsinchu. In the beginning, I chatted with them a lot. Gradually, We became friends. They told me that they prefer to be called betel nuts salesperson than betel nuts beauty.
In my opinion, the stereotyped impression the whole society has towards betel nuts beauty was hardly shown on them. What I see was their protection for themselves, their loyalty to love, and their perseverance for life. I witnessed them sitting in the betel nuts stand for at least eight hours a day, devoting their life and youth to '520'. People come and go in '520'. Except for betel nuts customers, their boyfriends would come and accompany them. Their friends would come to support their sales, too. '520' is their whole miniature of life. Like every ordinary people busy running for life, they are reluctant but still happy.
