A Chinese shop owner who gained internet fame for wearing revealing clothes to work has been forced to close her shop due to its mainly male clientele.
The video of the woman, who runs a small supermarket in Hangzhou city, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, began circulating widely on social media in mainland China earlier this month, Red Star News reported.
In footage filmed by a customer, the woman can be seen wearing a brightly colored, skin-tight dress.
In one video, she leans over a counter, exposing a ton of cleavage in front of a male customer.
“What man could wear an outfit like that and not do something?” one man said in the video.
The woman, whose identity has not been released, was reported to local authorities and police because her clothing was deemed provocative and inappropriate for work.
One complainant, believed to be from a rival business, told authorities that the women wore tight, low-cut dresses to attract more customers.
Local officials said they could not do anything as women have the freedom to wear what they like.
Police officers attended the supermarket but left soon after it became clear she was not doing anything illegal, but advised her to be more careful about how she dressed.
The woman complied and changed into clothes that were considered less sexy.
But she found herself with even more customers than before.
Again, most of the visitors were men, hanging around in the hopes of talking to her and adding her to their WeChat contact list.
Some people wanted to videotape her, but she refused, saying it would be an invasion of privacy.
On August 17, the woman took to social media to say that her online fame had led to negative experiences.
“Many people came to bully me. One man punched me and made my hands bleed,” she said.
Police said the man shoved, but did not punch, the store owner during the argument, and the dispute was resolved through mediation.
The woman closed her store on August 20, less than three months after opening, and put up a sign on the door saying “For Sale.”
The incident has become a hot topic online, with internet users in mainland China expressing a variety of opinions.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her outfit. If it’s not okay to show too much skin in public, then why don’t the police close down porn-free swimming pools because of revealing outfits?” commented one Baidu netizen.
“It’s inappropriate for her to dress provocatively while working in public. She has no regard for public order and morals,” another said.
