Though betel nuts are chewed in many regions in Southeast Asia, the betel nut beauty phenomenon is distinctly Taiwanese. The original betel nut beauties were the "Shuangdong Girls" who, in the s, brought glamour to the opening of the Shuangdong Betel Nut Stand in Guoxing , Nantou. The stands appear in urban, suburban and rural settings alike. As icons of Taiwanese culture, betel nut beauties appear frequently in art and film, notably the movie Betelnut Beauty [2] and the art film Help Me, Eros.
In a general sense, betel nut beauty refers to any female betel nut saleswoman wearing seductive clothing. Flamboyant betel nut stands decorated with flashing neon signs are a common sight on many major roads in Taiwan.
Their primary target consumers are blue-collar laborers, including truck drivers, construction workers, and fishermen, who use betel nut's stimulating properties to stay awake during long work hours. Some shop owners started to hire girls dressed in sexy outfits to grab customers' attention, and rivals followed suit.
Apart from being scantily clothed, some betel nut beauties also allowed customers to touch their bodies, putting them on a par with sex workers. However, this special kind of service was believed to be available only to customers who had purchased a certain amount of betel nut. Aside from the fear that these practices would generate crime, the presence of betel nut beauties is said to also distract drivers and cause more car accidents. Betel nut refers to the seed of Areca catechu , or betel palm, which, like Cocos nucifera coconut palm , belongs to family Arecaceae.
It is an evergreen tree whose trunk can grow as tall as twenty meters. The word binlan originated from Indonesian. Betel nut was initially used as a herbal plant, although in modern times it is mostly taken for its stimulating properties. Betel nut chewing is a widespread practice in Taiwan.
