Explainer | What is ‘escape beauty duty’? China women shun societal pressure, choose natural looks
- Online content exploring unconventional ideas about what a woman should look like attracts 21 million views
Young women in China are rejecting high heels, makeup, diets, and other appearance-focused traditions because they view them as costly and unfair.
Instead, they are embracing buzz-cut hairstyles, loose clothing, and natural, cosmetic-free looks.
The trend, known as “escape beauty duty” or tuo mei yi in Mandarin, emerged last year and content about it has garnered more than 21 million views on Xiaohongshu.
The term is derived from the Chinese word yi, typically used to describe hard labour duty or military service, emphasising the excessive effort women often undertake to meet societal expectations of beauty.
The Post finds out more about the trend.
What is it?
Beauty duty describes the societal pressure women face to dress up and wear makeup, conforming to stereotypical female beauty standards prevalent in modern Chinese culture.
