The case, reported by Oddity Central and reposted by the mainland media, triggered overwhelming condemnation, with many viewing the cafe’s practices as objectifying and exploiting women. — SCMP
A cafe in Vietnam has been accused of “objectifying and exploiting women” for using a one-way mirror that allows men to observe women before their blind dates.
Mina Coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City looks like any ordinary cafe from the outside, but there is something different going on inside.
There is a “guys’ room” – a dark space like a cinema with two rows of low seats, which has a one-way glass wall. From there, men can clearly observe what is happening in the cafe without being seen.
During the dates, men are first asked to fill out a form with details such as their name, nationality, age, occupation, zodiac sign and personality traits.
Then they are invited into the guys’ room to watch the women seated in the cafe and are allowed to initiate a five-minute conversation with any woman they like the look of.
If the woman is satisfied with the information the man provides on the form and with their short interaction, the two continue their date in one of the cafe’s four private rooms.
Notably, the cafe is free of charge for the women, while it offers four packages for men, ranging from one hour to three days, with costs varying from VND$180,000 (RM33 or US$7) to VND$1mil (RM184 or US$40).
It was revealed that the café did not tell female customers about the one-way glass, so they were unaware they were of the “male gaze”– a term used to describe women being reduced to objects of sexual desire.
The set-up has been described as “vulgar”, not least because the stools the women sat on were higher than the seats for the men, so they could potentially see up skirts.
The cafe was also exposed for offering services such as “renting a lover” and companionship city tours for foreign tourists.
Online observers in China discovered that the cafe was advertising its services and promoting the “one-way” views on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.
One of the posts said: “The girls who come to the cafe are mostly local female university students from Ho Chi Minh City. Guys who want to experience dating ‘ordinary’ Vietnamese girls, hurry up.”
The cafe’s owner, Lina, defended the set up, saying it was designed to allow men to take the initiative, but with women having the final say.
She attributed the failure to tell female customers about the one-way glass to an oversight by staff.
According to an investigation by the Vietnamese police in early June, neither concrete evidence of harm to women nor organised prostitution was found.
However, other violations were discovered, such as the absence of labour contracts with employees, lack of a food hygiene certificate and issues with fire safety regulations.
The case, reported by Oddity Central and reposted by the mainland media, triggered overwhelming condemnation, with many viewing the cafe’s practices as objectifying and exploiting women.
“Seeing that the cafe is free for female customers, I immediately became suspicious. In today’s society, free things often turn out to be the most expensive,” one person said.
“This is basically putting prostitution on the table, just under a different name. It’s really pitiful for those unsuspecting women,” said another.
“This is a blatant display of male gaze. The business owner is a woman and she still exploits and objectifies women. That is really disgusting,” said a third. – South China Morning Post
