近代上海的女招待，兴盛于20世纪20年代，抗战胜利后逐渐走向衰落。上海女招待的出现，顺应了城市经济与服务业快速发展的趋势，以及职工阶层不断增长的消费需求。因为职业技能要求低，女招待职业吸引着大量底层年轻女性涌入。女招待一经出现，就饱受社会舆论关注。时人侧重于从性别角度评价女招待职业，批评她们以色侍人、败坏风化，同时也有一些舆论认可女招待的积极意义。与媒体报道的轻松且高薪的形象相反，女招待群体平均薪资较低，并且工作劳累、生活开支大。此外，她们还要面对来自舆论的批判和自身的职业羞耻感。这些都造成了她们沉重的生存压力。

Modern Shanghai waitresses flourished in the 1920s, but gradually declined after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. The emergence of waitresses in Shanghai conforms to the trend of the rapid development of urban economy and service industry, as well as the increasing consumption demand of the employee class. Because of the low skill requirements, waitress attracts an influx of young women at the lower end of the ladder. As soon as waitresses appeared, they were subject to public scrutiny. People at that time focused on the evaluation of waitresses from the perspective of gender, criticizing them for serving people with sex and corrupting morals. At the same time, some public opinions recognized the positive significance of waitresses. Contrary to the media image of relaxed and well-paid waitresses, on average, they earn low salaries, work hard and have high living expenses. In addition, they face criticism from public opinion and their own professional shame. All these have caused their heavy living pressure.