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A sculpture of an ample and scantily-clad woman inside a Chinese airport has sparked a fierce debate online about the depiction of women in wider society. Photo: SCMP Composite

Fat furore: scantily-clad, ample Chinese airport sculpture sparks online gender-respect debate over society’s depiction of women

  • Chinese airport staff say they will investigate complaint about artwork depicting large, scantily-clad, middle-aged woman at sewing machine
  • Online commenters reject suggestions that sculpture damages the image of all Chinese women, saying instead that it reflects reality

A controversial airport sculpture of a large Chinese woman operating a sewing machine has become a hot social media topic of debate amid complaints that the artwork “damages the image of all Chinese women”.

The bronze installation at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong features a vividly depicted chubby woman in her underwear, making clothes using a sewing machine, with a joyous smile on her face.

In a video that went viral on January 18, a member of staff at the airport’s customer service unit said a complaint about the statue had been received and was being investigated.

The sculpture is the work of artist and president of Guangzhou Sculpture Academy, Xu Hongfei, and is also one of his world-famous signature sculpture series “Fat Ladies” that he began working on in 1999.

Disrespecting women? Chinese airport sculpture of ample, scantily-clad woman has caused an online row. Photo: Weibo

Titled “Wedding Clothes”, the airport sculpture tells the story of a mother sewing wedding garments for her beloved daughter.

It was created in 2020 for the Spring Festival Gala of Guangdong province, and has been exhibited at the airport since early 2022 as part of a group sculpture exhibition that aims to “create a peaceful and happy atmosphere,” according to the Baiyun Airport.

In an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Xu said he was inspired by many plump women he met, who have a positive attitude and a sense of humour towards life, and he wanted his “Fat Ladies” sculptures to bring people happiness.

Many online observers rejected the “image-damaging” allegation and supported the sculpture for truthfully reflecting the diversity of women in real life.

The controversy led many online to say that the “demeaning” sculpture reflects a wider, unfair portrayal of women in society. Photo: AFP

“Why would anyone think this damages anyone’s image? I think it’s very lifelike. It would be abnormal if all women had the same figure like robots?” Said one Weibo poster.

“I like it. It reminds me of my grandma,” said another.

A member of staff with the Beijing-based Equality, an NGO that promotes women’s rights and gender equality, told the South China Morning Post that the sculpture represents an improvement of the representation of the image of women, which should be diverse.

Some people online took issue with the scantily-clad nature of the sculpture.

This was decried by others as “old-fashioned”.

“Go check out the great sculpture works in art history. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your foot-binding cloth,” a person commented sarcastically.

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