Singapore hair removal chain Strip: Ministry of Wax has come under fire in China for implying that women who do not remove their body hair are like orangutans. The firm's advertisements featuring photos of hairy orangutans juxtaposed against attractive human models made the rounds of Chinese social media earlier this month, incurring the wrath of those using the popular platforms Weibo and Douyin.

The offending advertisement was spotted by online users at Xin Tian Di Plaza in Shanghai, China, one of the four Strip outlets in Shanghai. In one ad, a dejected-looking orangutan stands beside a door, while a hairless woman poses confidently on the other side wearing a dress identical to the orangutan. In another, an orangutan cannonballs into a lake alongside two attractive, bikini-clad models, in an image apparently intended to highlight the stark contrast between the two in a manner favorable to the models.

Weibo users expressed unhappiness over the portrayal of women in the ads. China Women's Newspaper, the official newspaper of the All-China Women's Federation, has also voiced its disapproval at the ads in a Weibo post last Friday (Feb 3).

Strip said in a statement that the company has been using an orangutan as its mascot since its inception in 2002 and the brand also emphasized its use of humor for advertising and advocacy of female empowerment.

In response to the backlash, Strip Shanghai told Xinhao Caijing that it has reported the issue back to its Singapore headquarters. Strip Singapore told TODAY that the orangutan image will be removed from current and upcoming campaign visuals in China to avoid further "misunderstandings".

Source: Today Online