Like anywhere else in the world, China has turned to the “selfie” as the primary method of self-expression. For years, Chinese have individualized their selfies with “peace signs” and Photoshopping, but the recent trend has been for Chinese women to take selfies under increasingly risque conditions.
And that’s where we find ourselves with the dawn of the newest meme in China: selfies of Chinese women reaching around their back in order to grope their own breasts.
This may seem out of line with Chinese conservative values, but nothing will stop young women from “proving” their beauty just as they did with previous memes like the belly button test, a roll of coins on your collar bone, and folding your hands behind your back.
And to be clear, the “self-groping selfie” is not a test of flexibility, but an indicator of China’s obsession with breasts. As reported by the Capital Report, “It’s said that only women with large breasts are able to perform this act,” while Sina wrote, “Women with small breasts and killer stares appear to be in the background.”
This meme first appeared last June, but has only recently achieved viral status. One of the first examples of the “self-groping selfie” was this television segment from last summer:
Does this meme push the limits of public decency? Here’s a few examples of the “self-groping selfie”:
As with other memes that involve performing a trick, some of these submissions are made with a slight bending of the rules, as with this person who seems to have two right hands:
Or, you can even get creative:
With this escalation of the selfie in China, we can only imagine where things we take us next as Chinese women are still game to adhere to tests that can “prove” their beauty.