The Conversation:

Tobie Openshaw is a South African-born photographer who has been working in video and photography for over 18 years.   We discussed his photography and documentary work on betelnut girls, betelnut girls' place in Taiwanese culture, the issue of exploitation vs. empowerment, and Tobie's perspective on betelnut girls as urban art. View Tobie Openshaw's betelnut beauty photo gallery here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobie_openshaw/

Questions:

When did betel nut girls start emerging?

What are some of the issues surrounding betel nut girls?

Do you feel that Taiwanese have accepted it is not necessarily exploitation and may be empowerment?

Vocabulary: documentary tobacco rush stimulant arecoline aboriginal hospitality hut container transfer suppressed entrenched eradicated cash-crop unprepossessing clientele stall naked prostitution exploited feminist coerced harassed boundaries empowered strata turning tricks social class spokesperson broad realm stigmatize ancillary velcro

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