Outcry over Foodpanda bra request

A food delivery rider sets off after receiving an order. Photo by Apichart Jinakul.
A food delivery rider sets off after receiving an order. Photo by Apichart Jinakul.

A screenshot of a message sent by a Foodpanda rider to a female customer has gone viral after it was posted on Facebook, drawing heavy criticism from netizens.

In the chat, the driver sent a message to a customer, saying "Customer when you come out to pick up your stuff, please wear a bra. I don't feel comfortable [if you don't wear one]."

Apparently, the rider was referring to an awkward incident in which the customer he was supposed to deliver food to picked up her order without wearing a bra.

The post, which has been shared extensively since it was first posted, drew criticism from netizens, especially women who believed the message had sexual undertones.

"Whether a woman chooses to wear a bra or not, that is her personal right. It doesn't mean anyone can harass or humiliate her," a netizen wrote.

Others defended the woman, saying many women choose not to wear a bra at home in order to feel more comfortable, and she probably did not think it was necessary to put one on for a couple of minutes just to pick up a food order.

However, some disagreed with their view. Several food delivery riders shared their experiences, but others said they believed these women deliberately wore no undergarment to seduce them.

Foodpanda Thailand later issued a public apology, pledging to investigate the matter and punish the rider in question.

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Vocabulary

  • awkward: difficult to deal with; causing problems - กระอักกระอ่วน
  • bra: a piece of women's underwear worn to cover and support the breasts - เสื้อชั้นในสตรี
  • comfortable: an easy life without difficulties - ความสะดวกสบาย
  • criticism: comments that show that you think something is wrong or bad - การวิจารณ์
  • extensively: widely; covering a large area - อย่างกว้างขวาง
  • harass: to keep attacking or annoying someone - รบกวน, ทำให้ลำบากใจ
  • humiliate: to make someone feel very embarrassed and ashamed - ทำให้เสียเกียรติ
  • incident: something that happens, usually something bad - เหตุการณ์
  • necessary (adj.): essential, needful, something that you must do or have - จำเป็น, ซึ่งเลี่ยงไม่ได้, ซึ่งเป็นที่ต้องการ, สำคัญ
  • netizen: a person who uses the Internet a lot - พลเมืองเครือข่ายคอมพิวเตอร์
  • outcry: a strong expression of anger and disapproval about something, made by a group of people or by the public - การคัดค้านอย่างรุนแรง
  • punish: to make somebody suffer because they have broken the law or done something wrong - ทำโทษ
  • right: a moral or legal claim to have or get something or to behave in a particular way - สิทธิ
  • seduce: to persuade or interest somebody to do something that they would not usually agree to do by making it seem very attractive - ยั่วยวน, ล่อใจ,
  • undertone (n): if something has undertones, it suggests ideas or attitudes without expressing them directly -
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