China Student, Zou Yaqi, Lived For Free For 3 Weeks By Posing As A Fake Socialite
Source: chinanews.com
An art student became an overnight sensation when her social experiment video went viral.
Zou Yaqi, a 23 year old student, conducted an experiment to find out if people could live off of the excessive material produced by society. In simple terms, she wanted to know if she could use up resources that’s meant for “high class” society just by looking the part.
“In my experience, it’s interesting how these materials are distributed, they are usually assigned to people who look like they already have sufficient wealth in life — they can sleep in extravagant hotel lobbies for free, shower in the airport and use hotel beaches for free, eat at weddings or buffets … or enjoy snacks and wine at auctions,” – Zou Yaqi
Armed with a fake Hermes bag, fake diamond ring and signature red lips, Zou Yaqi lived the life of a socialite. For 21 days, she lived in luxury for free, sleeping in fully furnished lobbies of extravagant hotels, trying on jade bracelets and using VIP lounges and facilities.
Source: chinanews.com
Netizens chimed in with their 2 cents on her project, most saying that she survived the 21 days because of her good looks.
Others applauded her for being gutsy and believing in her art.
Zou Yaqi was able to gain entry into VIP lounges with a forged entry pass on her first day. She relied on the buffets offered by the lounge and even packed away some food in a Gucci paper bag that helped make her disguise believable.
She maintained her disguise by constantly keeping her hair straight and a haughty look with a red lip that is favoured by most socialites there. According to Zou Yaqi, looking like a mingyuan (socialite) gained her access to the world of the rich and the famous. Businesses didn’t bat an eye when she exploited their hospitality.
Source: chinanews.com
“I’m more cautious and casual in daily life, but I had to present an elegant, haughty, and self-confident image,'”- Zou Yaqi for Sixth Tone
Her project triggered a much needed conversation about the wealth inequality in China but not without backlash from the public who deemed it a cheap stunt to get freebies. Zou Yaqi responded to her critics on Weibo, saying while she look the part, she wasn’t a socialite and it wasn’t her intention to talk about wealth disparity.
“Prosperity gap and class stratification are only temporary, the public will reach common prosperity sooner or later,”
Source: Getty Images
Zou Yaqi’s project reminds one of Anna Sorokin, the woman who scammed banks and luxury hotels of over USD200 000. Anna Sorokin pretended to be a socialite named Anna Delvey who has a trust fund of over 6o million dollars in Europe. The charade went on for years as Anna networked with powerful people in New York. She became so famous that there is a Netflix show being made about her titled Inventing Anna.
Reporter’s Opinions: Pretty privilege is real. She got away with a lot simply because of her soft look and probably glib tongue.
This shows how superficial the world can be especially when you look the part of a socialite. Everyone wants to be your friend, make you happy, serve you.
It is also why a lot of people who are trying to break into high society fake it till they make it. Faking it till you make it works if you know what you’re doing. It’s especially helpful when you’re trying to network your way into the big money league as a Realtor, salesperson, etc.
It can be applied everywhere really except for professions where people’s lives are in your hands.
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