Nude models in China still find themselves battling prejudice despite living on honest wages

An artist's model poses in the studio.

"The job is completely different from those women who sell their bodies to men, and the professors told us our job is sacred a contribution to the arts."

LIU Junming (not his real name), 28, got up a little earlier than usual and looked at herself in the mirror for a good while.

Her husband thought it was because it was her first day of work as a librarian at East China Normal University.

But Liu did not go to the university, instead walking to the studio of the Department of Art.

She could feel sights of curiosity shooting at her body when she walked into the studio. Her face scorching and her eyes drooping, Liu was led to the centre of the room. A professor whispered: "Don't be nervous."

Slowly she took off her clothes one after the other, and she saw the kind looks of the students as they snatched shy glimpses.

It was the first day of Liu's career as an artist's model.

She didn't know where to put her hands and eyes and what pose was proper when she got totally naked for the first time, with so many strangers gazing.

"I calmed down after several minutes and the professor taught me how to pose as required," Liu said.

Male experts

She tried hard in the first several months to get accustomed to the job, and in the next four years gained interest in the special work. However, she never shared pleasure with any of her acquaintances except her colleagues in the model team she leads.

"My family and friends would never forgive me if they knew the truth," she said. "I have to lie about what I do every day."

She never gave her family the telephone number of her "office" and could only be reached by cellphone.

Liu didn't have a schedule every day and her working time was flexible, but she had to kill time walking around the street and didn't dare go back home for fear of being doubted.

After losing her job as a hotel waitress, Liu asked for help from a job agent, where for the first time in her life she heard there was a career called art model.

The test for the job - getting stark-naked and showing oneself before female and male experts - shocked her at first. But she stood out among dozens of competitors.

She admitted she was pressured to choose this job due to the burdens of life.

"It's difficult to find a position for me, I only have a graduation certificate from middle school. I hoped to find a job that has enough freedom," she said.

Body structure

Models that have been married or have borne children are most welcome, for their bodies have been well developed and matured, and are more easily drawn.

The team recruits models of various ages.

The oldest is 78-year-old Wang Tongfa, who has been an artist's model for six years.

His wrinkled face attracted the attention of an art professor who lived on the floor under Wang's apartment, when Wang was playing chess in the garden.

He persuaded Wang to work as a model for the university because he thought Wang had a perfect human body structure.

"I was almost cheated to sit on the chair in the studio and I didn't know what I was doing at the beginning. It took me about two years to get used to it," Wang said.

He was fortunate that his wife and four sons supported his work.

"My wife got up early with me and prepared breakfast and went to the university with me," he said.

The models usually have to keep the same pose for 30 or 45 minutes in a class.

"The teachers and students were so kind they asked us to rest for about 10 minutes if we felt tired," Liu said.

For one class an art model can get 120 yuan ($14.49). The average monthly wage is 600 to 1,000 yuan ($72 to $120).

Liu said it's not good pay, but compared with other jobs, they have less pressure.

"It is pleasant to stay and talk with the well-educated students," said Ni Junping (not his real name), 32, another model, who left her elderly parents and 14-year-old son in Chongming Island to work alone in the city.

Although she has kept her job a secret from her family, she doesn't consider it a low-grade profession.

"The job is completely different from those women who sell their bodies to men, and the professors told us our job is sacred - a contribution to the arts," Ni said.

The models obtain a sense of drawing and painting gradually, and sometimes can give natural poses without the professor's instruction.

"It seems to be a compensation for my childhood dream to become a painter," Liu said.

The models have no friends to communicate with about their work, so they have set up a special relationship, understanding, interdependent and supporting to keep their secrets together. They kept in touch only by pager or mobile phone.

They all said they were interested in the job and willing to continue unless they found other jobs.

"Most of us took up the job in order to make a living, and we would not do this work if we had other choices. Society is not open enough and people don't understand what the job is really like. We cannot bear whispers around us," Liu said.

The job of art model is not considered much of an above-board profession in China, and no one pays insurance or pension.

"I have to hand in one-fifth of my wage every month for medical, housing insurance and pension for my old age. I have no plans to bear children under such a huge burden," Liu said.