Ladies, do you love running but hate what it does to your hair and makeup? Well, Shanghai has the perfect event planned for you next month!
On December 2nd, the 2018 Shanghai International Women’s Elite 10K Race will be held in Changning district beginning from Zhongshan Park. In attendance, there will be thousands of women who will be offered cupcakes, cotton candy, and hot chocolate. If they make it to the finish line, they’ll receive a special medal in the form of a shiny necklace, awarded to them by hunky male models, and will be able to treat themselves to free makeup and hair styling services.
A People’s Daily post says that these features have been added in order to “highlight the female element of the race” and allow women runners to “hold up half the sky,” referencing a famous quote of Mao Zedong.
Meanwhile, commenters have called out the race for being blatantly, antiquatedly, sexist.
OK, leaving aside for a moment the sexism of "make-up and hair services", in your experience, do many marathoners, male or female, consume cupcakes and cotton candy during a run? Not familiar with this as a common marathon practice.
— Edmond Lococo 罗孟德 (@EdmondLococo) October 31, 2018
Oh, come on, @PDChina, it’s 2018, not 1818.
— Sophie Richardson (@SophieHRW) October 31, 2018
Phew, glad I saw this tweet. I’m not sure what I’d do with all my free time today if I weren’t permitted to hold up half the sky by People’s Daily & a marathon committee.
— Keddie Apo (@KeddieApo) October 31, 2018
Will the track be paved with glitter and cuddly toys?
— S a m (@cancelorder) October 31, 2018
The race is being organized by the Shanghai Donghao Lansheng Event Managment Company. Its general manager, Zhou Jin, says that the event is well-intentioned, aiming to get more women interested in running. Next year, it will be upgraded into a half-marathon.
