From the spotlight to the shadows, nude models fight for acceptance
They can earn anywhere from 1,000 yuan ($140) to 3,000 yuan for a day's work and are the personification of beauty to the discerning eyes of artists and photographers.
They are nude models, a group of pretty girls who have been endowed with all the beauty and controversy they can handle.
"Although we earn a lot, we have our own troubles, such as a lack of privacy when we work outdoors and the pressures of social discrimination and misunderstanding of our work," Qin Hua, a model who has been working for six years, said.
Qin was the only person out of more than 100 contacted who was willing to give an interview. None of the others wanted other people to know what sort of work they were doing.
Qin hua was born in a small town in the Daba Mountainous area in Sichuan province, and in 2002, when she was 21, she was attracted by a photographer's ad seeking nude models.
"I was very confident about my body, and I was attracted to the conditions cited in the ad. Qualified applicants would be given free travel to Hainan Island, a place I'd long dreamed of visiting," she said.
Qin's dreams became real the next day after she beat several other candidates who were even more beautiful. Thus began her career as a nude photographic model.
"Qin's posture is almost perfect and she has a deep understanding of the art of the human body and photography," Jiang Shangbo, a well-known human body photographer who has used Qin as a model, said.
He said the life of a professional nude model is not easy.
"Because of the pressure from their families and society, the group is very unstable. Some leave after working for a few days, and new people come in. They get money in accordance with their posture, age and appearance, so the income gap among them is very large," the photographer said.
And as the work is only for young people, the models usually change their profession when they reach 30.
Qin no longer models though she is only 27. She now works as a model broker and manager.
"I got married in 2006, and the busy life of a nude model left me less time to look after our family. Eventually, I had enough and decided to pay more attention to my husband and family," she said.
Because of her special qualities, Qin received many invitations to travel around the country, keeping her away from home for weeks at a time.
Qin later decided she could continue her work in the field by training and managing models and set up her own company. She has since trained more than 10 models.
"As a nude model, we sometimes face harassment from some photographers and onlookers. We will just turn our back to such harassment. The best way to deal with those people is to ignore them," she said.
And once when she was hired for some pictures at a tourist attraction, some onlookers shouted curse words, Qin said.
"Also, Chinese traditionally think the nude body, especially the female nude body, should not be seen by others and that nude photos are obscene and immoral. So the parents of the models strongly oppose such work," Jiang said.
However, as China opens to the outside world and people's ideas change over time, nude models expect their prospects to improve, and more girls will bravely enter the field.
China Daily
(China Daily 03/25/2008 page6)
