Women of HK (港女)
As most know, I watch a LOT of stuff - movies, TV, news, docos, forums/panel shows, dramas, home improvement, food, anime...a lot.
Recently I tuned into this new Chinese reality TV show filmed in HK titled "盛女愛作戰" (Bride Wannabes) I was really surprised since I rarely see any reality shows on Chinese television unless they are about singing and dancing. This new show is basically about 5 single women who have signed up to find their partner. The ages of the participants range from 28-39 - pretty high, huh? Well, as far as I know about the crisis of this generation not being able to find and maintain meaningful relationships, I have discovered that this issue is BIG in HK.
The fact that the HK population have this bad habit of making a nickname for everything doesn't help the situation at all. With that said, the majority of unmarried, single women (usually over 30 yrs old) have been coined as "港女". The title refers to single HK women who are materialistic and picky when they are looking for a partner. "盛女" is another nickname for the women who are in their late twenties and over thirties and are unmarried - I believe it is similar to 港女, but in the older age bracket. Some examples of the standards that they expect from men: they have to be good-looking; have a stable, well-paying job (CEO or manager position preferred); knowledgeable in a gazillion topics; sensitive; caring; older then them; wont cheat on them; looks respectable to show to friends/family.
To be honest, when I look at those examples, I can't really see much difference between them and what any normal woman would expect from their future partner. The only one troubling me is the fact that they have to have moolah...which really hits home the 'materialistic' factor of 港女.
The show follows these real women and employs a range of "experts" in different areas of social interactions to help these women become better at socialising, meeting and maintaining relationships, including make-up artists, matchmakers, life coaches. One of the experts was teaching the women how to behave around men to appear more feminine and sexy to attract their attention - one was playing "hard to get" ^^;
I really don't know what to feel about this show... I mean, I understand the whole concept behind it and it is a step in the right direction to help motivate and get those HK women out there and find partners but I'm unsure whether the attitude or the techniques are correct. I guess the show is correct that men (particularly Asian men) are attracted to good-looking, sexy, feminine girls who give them that need to protect them. As with all modern women, HK women are outspoken, independant and match equally with men in almost all areas, from jobs to sports. Naturally, people believe this places a lot of pressure on the HK men, they find it hard to approach these types of women. But, it's not the 1900s when the women have basically no rights and are expected to be the homemaker after they're married!
The women learn to speak, walk and go through a great deal to change themselves all for that goal of finding a partner. I am most concerned about the attitude about physical appearance. One of the participants, Florence, who is 39, has only one relationship experience and believes strongly that love should not be about looks. I agree strongly with her, I mean, if that was the case then the man doesn't love YOU, he loves the hundreds of dollars worth of make-up that you have plastered all over you face or the botox or the weeks of dieting or the "brightening" skin treatment that you had expertly done on your face or the new set of teeth. Is that the definition of love these days? BUT, I guess if that is what it takes for HK women to start a conversation with the opposite sex then I guess it's the norm these days... I guess, it just means more money into the pockets of the thousands of beauty and slimming clinics in HK.
I agree with one of the experts about one of the big problems with some HK women, they can be very clingy. They have no inner goal or dream that motivates them in other areas of life and instead focus all their attention on finding a partner. They hope that by finding a partner they will place them at the center of their world and they will be the one driver of the woman's life. This is a lot of pressure on the partner and is devastating to the woman when the relationship ends. It is correct to recommend to the women that they should find their own life girls to pursue rather than just finding "the one".
What I don't understand is...why does it have to be the woman that changes? Why does it have to be the woman that has to play 'dumb' around men? Why can't the HK men take a look at themselves in the mirror and see whether THEY could use with a face lift or a trip to the hairdressers or be less obnoxious!? Seriously, at the very least, get some contacts - the whole otaku, glasses thing is a real turn off (unless you're going for the Korean preppy look). Holy crap! I just sounded like a 港女!! XP
Later on in the show, two of the participants pull out of the program for different reasons. One pulled out because she (miraculously) found a boyfriend who was the nephew of one of the other participants - this girl was the youngest and had recently broken up. She had a pretty face and body. The other left the show because "she felt the show had taught her a lot about herself and now she felt equipped now to try and find her partner on her own", that was what she said but if you ask me, this woman was a successful OL and her standards were HIGH - I personally think she carefully analysed the potential of the show and worked out that the risk was not worth the reward and decided to leave XP
In any case, the show has been an absolute ratings winner in HK and it's not hard to see why considering all the 港女! XP But the truth is that the relationship crisis looms as we go about our daily lives - I will keep watching to see how things unfold - I wonder if the remaining women will be able to find happiness or...trip on their new heels...? XD
Recently I tuned into this new Chinese reality TV show filmed in HK titled "盛女愛作戰" (Bride Wannabes) I was really surprised since I rarely see any reality shows on Chinese television unless they are about singing and dancing. This new show is basically about 5 single women who have signed up to find their partner. The ages of the participants range from 28-39 - pretty high, huh? Well, as far as I know about the crisis of this generation not being able to find and maintain meaningful relationships, I have discovered that this issue is BIG in HK.
The fact that the HK population have this bad habit of making a nickname for everything doesn't help the situation at all. With that said, the majority of unmarried, single women (usually over 30 yrs old) have been coined as "港女". The title refers to single HK women who are materialistic and picky when they are looking for a partner. "盛女" is another nickname for the women who are in their late twenties and over thirties and are unmarried - I believe it is similar to 港女, but in the older age bracket. Some examples of the standards that they expect from men: they have to be good-looking; have a stable, well-paying job (CEO or manager position preferred); knowledgeable in a gazillion topics; sensitive; caring; older then them; wont cheat on them; looks respectable to show to friends/family.
To be honest, when I look at those examples, I can't really see much difference between them and what any normal woman would expect from their future partner. The only one troubling me is the fact that they have to have moolah...which really hits home the 'materialistic' factor of 港女.
The show follows these real women and employs a range of "experts" in different areas of social interactions to help these women become better at socialising, meeting and maintaining relationships, including make-up artists, matchmakers, life coaches. One of the experts was teaching the women how to behave around men to appear more feminine and sexy to attract their attention - one was playing "hard to get" ^^;
I really don't know what to feel about this show... I mean, I understand the whole concept behind it and it is a step in the right direction to help motivate and get those HK women out there and find partners but I'm unsure whether the attitude or the techniques are correct. I guess the show is correct that men (particularly Asian men) are attracted to good-looking, sexy, feminine girls who give them that need to protect them. As with all modern women, HK women are outspoken, independant and match equally with men in almost all areas, from jobs to sports. Naturally, people believe this places a lot of pressure on the HK men, they find it hard to approach these types of women. But, it's not the 1900s when the women have basically no rights and are expected to be the homemaker after they're married!
The women learn to speak, walk and go through a great deal to change themselves all for that goal of finding a partner. I am most concerned about the attitude about physical appearance. One of the participants, Florence, who is 39, has only one relationship experience and believes strongly that love should not be about looks. I agree strongly with her, I mean, if that was the case then the man doesn't love YOU, he loves the hundreds of dollars worth of make-up that you have plastered all over you face or the botox or the weeks of dieting or the "brightening" skin treatment that you had expertly done on your face or the new set of teeth. Is that the definition of love these days? BUT, I guess if that is what it takes for HK women to start a conversation with the opposite sex then I guess it's the norm these days... I guess, it just means more money into the pockets of the thousands of beauty and slimming clinics in HK.
I agree with one of the experts about one of the big problems with some HK women, they can be very clingy. They have no inner goal or dream that motivates them in other areas of life and instead focus all their attention on finding a partner. They hope that by finding a partner they will place them at the center of their world and they will be the one driver of the woman's life. This is a lot of pressure on the partner and is devastating to the woman when the relationship ends. It is correct to recommend to the women that they should find their own life girls to pursue rather than just finding "the one".
What I don't understand is...why does it have to be the woman that changes? Why does it have to be the woman that has to play 'dumb' around men? Why can't the HK men take a look at themselves in the mirror and see whether THEY could use with a face lift or a trip to the hairdressers or be less obnoxious!? Seriously, at the very least, get some contacts - the whole otaku, glasses thing is a real turn off (unless you're going for the Korean preppy look). Holy crap! I just sounded like a 港女!! XP
Later on in the show, two of the participants pull out of the program for different reasons. One pulled out because she (miraculously) found a boyfriend who was the nephew of one of the other participants - this girl was the youngest and had recently broken up. She had a pretty face and body. The other left the show because "she felt the show had taught her a lot about herself and now she felt equipped now to try and find her partner on her own", that was what she said but if you ask me, this woman was a successful OL and her standards were HIGH - I personally think she carefully analysed the potential of the show and worked out that the risk was not worth the reward and decided to leave XP
In any case, the show has been an absolute ratings winner in HK and it's not hard to see why considering all the 港女! XP But the truth is that the relationship crisis looms as we go about our daily lives - I will keep watching to see how things unfold - I wonder if the remaining women will be able to find happiness or...trip on their new heels...? XD