A micro blog post by the Shanghai No 2 Subway Co urging female passengers to dress in a “dignified” manner to avoid sexual assaults has caused an uproar among netizens on Sina Weibo. Attaching a picture of a woman wearing a semi-transparent dress standing on the metro platform, it wrote, "It is no wonder if you dress like this in the subway and get harassed. Girls, please be dignified to avoid perverts."

It was forwarded more than 10,000 times, drawing ire and criticism online. On June 24, two women in Shanghai, outraged about the micro blog, staged a protest in the subway with their faces covered, holding signs saying, "Yes to coolness, no to perversion," and "I can be coquettish, but you can't harass me," adding fuel to the already volatile debate.

 @Xiaowa Cissy Sina Weibo user

The position of women in both current society and history should be looked at  properly. Women should not be tied up by either male authority or self-imprisonment. It’s the result of a lack of self-discipline when men cannot control their eyes. Why do women have to cover themselves up just to yield to men’s uncontrollable eyes?

@Zuoshengxian Sina Weibo user

Women are free to wear whatever they want, while men are free to look at whoever they want. And it is the responsibility of the government to deal with indecent behaviors and obscene assaults on the basis of law. People should know that our rights should be protected by the government. Just like problems such as food safety, we can’t deal with them on our own.

@Guiminadianshi Sina Weibo user

The rape rate doesn’t seem low in Iran or Saudi Arabia, where women cover up most of their bodies. There are numerous beautiful bikini girls in Hawaii and Maldives, where indecent behavior is barely heard of. Obscene men deserve to be single to masturbate and watch porno movies their whole life. You can sue a person for streaking, but you can’t assault him. It should be the most basic code of ethics.

@Jinmanlou independant author specializing in social and political affairs 

Feminism in China is mostly fake feminism. Real feminism is about self-respect, self-love and self-reliance. In the metro station of Shanghai, women are warned not to expose too much of their body.

But the feminist shouted, “I can be slutty, but you can’t bother me.” I was confused, is being slutty the spirit of feminism of a new era? Fake feminism goes to extremes and is self-willed, focuses more on receiving than giving, female authority than male authority. It is not feminism but gender hegemony.

@Yanziwuchao Sina Weibo user

I disagree with those who wear too little in public. But wearing little doesn’t mean men can harass women because these are two different things.

To women, wearing too little is not a polite thing, so in public women need to know self-love and self-protection. But to men, however much a woman wears is none of his business. Just don’t cross the line and be respectful. In China, people say don’t look at things that don’t conform to the norm, let alone harass.

@Qibufan Sina Weibo user

There’s no doubt that people are free to wear whatever they want. Wearing little knowing that the less you wear, the more likely you are to get harassed is like dressing up like tiger’s food and fighting with it… If you don’t have the strength to protect yourself, then please wear more clothes.

While many are declaring that women are not to blame for sexual harassment by dressing scantily, in a Sina Weibo survey of 49,376 respondents, almost 70% agree that women should dress in a more protective manner, when asked what they think of the Shanghai Metro's appeal for modest clothing.

Sexual harassment can happen anywhere in the world, and women have the responsibility to try to protect themselves amid the rising incidence of sexual harassment, but it does little to actually address the real problem.