The Zeal of Sensuality

By Huang Liangqi

According to a guy who plays a ghost in a local haunted house, it is easier be the female ghost,because “All you need is to moan and wail.” A wailing ghost woman is hardly sexy; she just leaves you cold. In love, bitching and moaning are not the way to be sexy. Just like the whining girl ghost, a woman always moaning and wailing is like taking a cold shower. That’s not what sexy is.It’s not cold, it’s hot. Hot, hot heat.

Heat makes things expand and cold makes them contract. Cold is the terminator of sex appeal,which holds true for both men and women. While on the other hand,“Hot” is a synonym for “sexy.”

You can feel the heat when you watch the film adaptation of Marguerite Duras’ novelThe Lover. Set in a hot tropical atmosphere, the burning desire is palpable in the hot and sultry air that blows a white silk dress gliding over the heroine’s feminine curves.

一个在游乐场鬼屋里扮鬼的男生说，女鬼好演，只要凄切地长哭就可以。在爱情里，哭或哀伤不是一个特性感的招儿，如同女鬼，给人的是一种异样的冷。林黛玉是不性感的。性感的最大特征是热，是烫。

天冷了，热胀冷缩。冷是性感的致命伤。冷会锐减你的性别魅力，男女通用。

反过来，热情似火就是性感。

电影《情人》拍得很性感，那种热带的氛围营造得很成功：女主角男式的帽子，风一吹就贴身的丝裙，热带地区炎热、黏稠的空气。在这样的大背景下，情欲总是蠢蠢欲动。“阳”气十足，即性感。阴冷对应的是冷感。

中外艺术家常常喜欢拿粗辫子来表现性感，粗辫子如同男生的浓眉、剑眉，是一种强大生命力的表征。小说《洛丽塔》两次被改编成电影，女主角的麻花辫很抢眼。杜拉斯的《情人》，女主角第一次出场，也梳着麻花辫。麻花辫给人以朝气、生命力，那是一种热度。

Pigtails have been used by both eastern and western artists alike to express sensuality. The girls’thick braids are like the boys’thick, sword-shaped eyebrows;both of which are the symbols of strong vitality. InThe Lover, the heroine wears her hair in pigtails in her first appearance. In the film adaptation ofLolita, the titular character also have twisted pigtails. Pigtails convey a sense of youthful energy and vitality,and you instantly feel the heat.Things associated with heat are brightness, smiles, willfulness,and even impetuousness, which are all the characteristics of sensuality.

In other words, sensuality shows a kind of “positivity,” like a ray of sunshine. Some people say what separates the modern western sensuality from its traditional eastern counterpart is just one thing—the smile.For example, a very important standard in selecting the “angels”for the Victoria’s Secret show is their warm smile. There’s nothing sexier than a beautiful girl who knows how to smile.

I think Eastern and Western people can agree on the perfect female form. However, the expressions of such perfection are different. Western sensuality is the art of “showing,” and the eastern sensuality is the art of“hiding,” which leads to different views on the subject.

Though views on sensuality are largely the same around the globe, there are some key differences between traditional eastern sensuality and the modern western version. In the East, sensuality is sometimes equated to softness, which is often confused with weakness.Feminine weakness is delicate and arouses within the man the desire to protect. For example, “delicate beauty.” It’s a rather passive brand of sensuality.

In contrast, western sensuality has a lot to do with self-con fidence and can even be downright aggressive. According to research,in role-plays, the top three favorite roles Western women love to play are, the policewoman,the stripper and the housewife.Whereas in Eastern countries,roles such as the school girl(wearing a school uniform),the innocent nurse (sucking a lollipop), and the Manchurian princess (wrapped in full palace regalia) are deemed more charming.

(FromShenzhen Youth,February 2018. Translation:Wang Xiaoke)

与热情相关的是明亮、笑容、率性，甚至冲动。这些都是性感的表征。

换言之，性感是一种“积极性”，一种阳光。有人说，传统中国和欧美性感的区别，突出表现在一个字上：笑。看看维密秀就知道，选拔天使们的一个很重要的标准就是微笑。性感是一个人身上的光芒与热能。

传统东方性感与西方性感有一些区别：东方性感是遮的艺术，西方性感是露的艺术。总体来说，对好身材，中西、南北的审美都差不多。东方性感里有一点是比较“落后”的，那就是性感里的“弱”，常常与“柔”混为一谈。所谓“弱”，无非是想激起他人的保护欲，如“娇弱”，是相当被动的一种性感，本质上是在展现自己的依附欲。

相对而言，西方标榜的性感更大方，和自信有很大关系，甚至有一点攻击性。据调查，西方女人最爱的角色扮演前三名是：妖娆的女刑警，热烈的脱衣舞娘，成熟的有夫之妇。再看看东方的性感，往往带有男人的喜好，比如“穿水手服的纯纯女学生、含着棒棒糖的无辜女护士，或更惨烈的——把自己裹得像粽子的清代格格”。