Sexy photos spark harsh rebukes

By Guo Qiang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-10-23 17:28

The Super Voice Girl singing competition, a Chinese version of American idol, is always capable of making headlines in the Chinese media. This time, it is about a Super Girl contestant's sexy photos shot for a magazine and her mother who poured cold water on China's entertainment industry.

Shao is on the cover of the magazine.

Super Girl contestant Shao Yuhan posed for a string of sexy photos but her move sparked a harsh reaction from her mother, writes the Chongqing Times on October 23.

"It is ridiculous for her to shoot such a series of sexy photos," Shao's mother wrote in a public letter obtained by the paper in which she did not include her name.

"Although some neighbors told me that she is very beautiful, I cannot bear her insolence," the enraged mother wrote.

The singing competition, whose official name is the Mengniu Yogurt Super Girl Contest, after the company that sponsors the series, is unprecedentedly popular among Chinese teenager, and even seniors are saddened when their favorite contenders are knocked out. However, until now, no one has suggested the show be canceled.

"I want her to be a normal girl who leads a happy life. I regret I allowed her to be one of the participants. The entertainment industry is too dirty and girls are easily led the wrong way. I should have prevented her from attending the show," Shao's mother wrote, adding that 'Shao didn't listen to" her.

Shao's mother was also doubtful about the magazine's credibility.

"Can it be a good magazine if it always shoots pictures of girls wearing almost nothing?" she asked.

"Lots of girls are persuaded to pose for such pictures out of a desire for fame and popularity, but have they ever thought of their mothers' personal feelings?" she asked.

"I am afraid the overall environment will destroy my daughter. She is too young to be able to judge for herself. I hope she will get out of it and make a better choice for a more promising future life," she wrote.

"Parents of those who are looking to join the industry should dissuade their children from doing so. You can't take it back if anything bad happens," she wrote.

The 1980s in China saw a generation of children who held different attitudes than those of their parents, who were at times labeled 'outdated' by their offspring.

"It is nothing serious," Shao says, adding it is all right to pose for a magazine as long as the content of the magazine is acceptable.

"When I first saw the design, I thought it was acceptable, but when I saw the photos, I thought I was a little underdressed. My mother got angry and I am sorry for that," says Shao.

According to the paper, the pictures were discussed and accepted by both parties.

"We are male-orientated," the picture designer told the paper.