‘Stigmatising’: China influencer wearing miniskirt to deliver food forced to apologise after triggering online outrage for insult to women workers

An online influencer in China with 430,000 followers has apologised for stigmatising female food delivery workers by wearing a miniskirt and high heels to pose as one of their number.

The influencer, who goes by the name, Xiaodoudou, on Weibo, said on November 16 that she made videos and photos of herself dressing provocatively to hype her account and she had since removed the offending footage.

Screenshots from one of her earlier videos, in which she delivers food wearing the food delivery platform Meituan’s uniform along with a black miniskirt, pantyhose and high heels, were used by some people to spread a rumour that a restaurant provides a sex service in the name of food delivery.

According to the rumour, a restaurant in Hainan island province, located off the southernmost tip of China, sells beef offal soup priced at 1,400 yuan (US$200) and sends out prostitutes dressed as food delivery riders.

The social media influencer faced a fierce online backlash as online observers branded her stunt an “insult”. Photo: YouTube/@Flash News

The police denied the rumour in early November.

A Meituan staff member told Chinese media outlet Hongxing News that the woman’s outfit did not comply with the company dress code.

Xiaodoudou was one of many influencers who uploaded videos that featured them wearing food delivery uniforms worn with short skirts and stockings.

An online observer said on Weibo that the videos were absurd because “it is impossible to deliver food dressed like that”.

According to data from two food delivery giants in China, Meituan and Ele.me, there were nearly 10 million registered delivery riders nationwide as of last year.

Increasing numbers of new graduates have become food delivery workers in recent years as a result of the growing shortage of jobs for young people aged 16 to 24.

The youth unemployment figure steadily increased with consecutive record highs from 17.3 per cent to 21.3 per cent in the first six months of 2023, before China stopped releasing the data.

Delivery jobs are considered stressful and risky.

According to a 2021 survey by the non-governmental organisation, Beijing Social Work Development Centre for Facilitators, most riders work more than eight hours a day, with 37 per cent of them saying they had almost no days off.

The influencer admitted that she dressed up provocatively to boost her online profile. Photo: YouTube/@Flash News

The much-criticised food delivery platforms’ strict control of delivery times has forced many workers to rush to deliver food on time.

In June, a rider jumped off a 12-metre high bridge in the middle of his shift to save a drowning woman in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province in southeastern China.

The man said he suffered from several compression fractures because of the plunge, but the moment he got ashore he got back on his bike to complete his deliveries, fearing the platform would fine him for delays.