In China, sexual politics tends to play out in operatic overindulgence. Posturing and scenery-chewing are the norm. Subtlety is not something to be appreciated.

First, a recent spate of the glaring manoeuvre:

In Shanghai, a real estate exhibition hired topless women, their bare bodies strategically painted with flowery patterns, to sell housing units.

In the Northeastern city of Changchun, one restaurant owner came up with the idea of asking her waitresses to wear menu tags on their breasts.

Talk about the "eyeball economy." Once you unleash the entrepreneurship, the creativity is unbounded.

The counter-manoeuvres are equally heavy-handed.

In Wuxi, a city in East China's Jiangsu Province, local education authorities decreed that no teacher should be left alone with a student of the opposite sex. It is meant to prevent male teachers from sexually harassing female students, media reports emphasized.

But one cannot help wondering: What if a conversation starts with two students and then one of them has to leave? Should the teacher excuse himself rather than continuing to talk with the single female student?

What if the teacher is gay and is more likely to be physically attracted to male students? Should the pronouncement be revised to include scenarios of any sexual orientation?

A human society is complicated. Laws and ethics exist to regulate our behaviour, but generalizing a whole group of people as potential victimizers is to use a cow knife to kill a chicken.

Granted, there have been numerous reports of teachers molesting girls. Some of the cases were so heinous, such as the one who raped his students right in the back of the classroom or the one who demanded young girls go to his office one by one, that it is simply beyond comprehension for people living in vigilant urban areas.

But ever since Confucius' time, teaching has been a noble profession. The public holds teachers in high esteem. The few rotten apples among them should not turn the whole group into a target of suspicion.

Given that teachers probably already know what is proper when it comes to making contact with students, it's the students, especially the underaged ones, who should receive awareness training on how to protect themselves.

They should be told explicitly that they have recourse if they suspect any inappropriate behaviour by a teacher, or a fellow student for that matter.

This will be like American kids who threaten to call the cops and allege child abuse when their parents are about to spank them.

The Changchun restaurant reminds me of Hooters, the US restaurant chain that employs big-breasted waitresses who wear tight T-shirts. The objectification of women in both cases is obvious. But somehow, with Hooters, it's more unpretentious, while the practice of menu tags is a bit sneaky and hypocritical.

To fend off criticism, the restaurant owner asked her male employees to do the same. But feminists must be crying foul: It's just not the same for men to wear something on their chests.

There's no denying that sex appeal sells. It is not unhealthy in itself. One should overcome the stigma of outdated moral codes and appreciate it for what it is.

But in breaking loose of the shackles, some have opted for lasciviousness and cheap thrills.

That has created situations that not only run against public acceptance, but are counterproductive in themselves.

Take the body-paint models at the trade show. They no doubt drew in a bigger crowd, but the crowd was fixated on the titillating parts of the female bodies rather than the glowing miniatures of high-rises.

There is a similarity with fashion designer Versace using stunning human forms, usually au naturel, to sell fashion products. But housing is not the same as haute couture. Are you more likely to buy an apartment because a stark naked model-type inhabited a similar unit?

The trick is to use sex appeal tastefully. There are non-exploitive ways to associate a product or service with sex appeal and it takes more imagination than parading flesh.

E-mail: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/25/2006 page4)