"We humans are the most intelligent beings on the planet, but we are still animals and posses animal instincts. Sex is one of them," said Hu Xianglin, a 29-year-old engineer from Hefei in Anhui province.

Hu said both women and men should behave properly to avoid inappropriate sexual overtones. "The mode of dress is also a part of the behavior that needs to be corrected."

That view was echoed by Lin Guirui, professor of psychology at Capital Normal University in Beijing. "The exposure of women's bodies easily leads to sexual desire in the opposite sex."

A model presents a creation during China Fashion Week 2011, held in Beijing. Zhuo Ensen / for China Daily

The overexposure of women's bodies can increase the chances of being sexually harassed in some cases, she said. "Mentally healthy men will soon shift their focus on sexy women to other things. However, some rare psychopathic types will commit sexual harassment, based on their fantasies."

Women have to pay attention to how people react to the way they dress, said Lin whose center has helped women who have been groped on buses "because they dressed unconventionally, perhaps sexily". She said the experience of being hassled would make women wary of the opposite sex for a very long time.

"The Chinese people are subconsciously subtle in expressing sexual desires, so most people think they should not express desires in public. Some sexually suppressed men will find a way to vent their frustrations and women in scanty outfits often become their targets. Men's natural desires should not be blamed, but they do need to behave themselves," Lin said.

"In China, people say the flies only bite cracked eggs. Overexposed women are like fractured eggs and they should know their dresses are a signal to attract males," said Zhao Dan, a 29-year-old news commentator in Urumqi, the capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"Women need to protect themselves and should be aware that they may be subject to hassle if they expose their bodies too much. For example, a guy looks at an attractive woman walking practically naked on the street, and the woman claims the guy is harassing her. But, maybe she is actually harassing the man, instead?" said Zhao.