Mounting Sexist Claims Against Mr. Hong Kong Contest
Various male activist groups have rallied against the upcoming Mr. Hong Kong 2010 Contest, which will be held on August 21st. The groups claim that the show is lascivious, belittle men, and resembles a stripper show, yet the program is aired during prime time with young viewers watching. In addition, the all-female judging panel breaches the Sex Discrimination Ordinance law and protesters insist that the show should be stopped or reformatted. The Organization for Justice and Equality, the Federation of Trade Unions, and other interest groups have filed a formal complaint against TVB with the Equal Opportunities Commission.
In response, TVB noted that the all-female audience and judging panel is the program’s unique feature and will adhere to its original approach. TVB Deputy Director of External Affairs, Tsang Sing Ming said,“We welcome both male and female audiences at our live broadcast venues in Olympian City . Male and female voters can participate in the internet and telephone voting on the evening of the contest, but in order to preserve the program’s unique flavor, we will only allow females among the live audience.”
Despite the recent controversy, the Mr. Hong Kong 2010 candidates appeared at a promotional event the day before. After a round of questions, a committee awarded contestant #10, William Chak, with the Most Charming Financial Talent Award. At a previous event, William had already won the Tourism Ambassador Award.
Regarding recent protests that the Mr. Hong Kong contest was sexist, William said that the contest was a program with an entertainment aspect. As a contestant, William did not feel that the program contained any features which involved sexual harassment. The goal was to entertain and make the viewers happy. He believed that the female judges would not touch any sensitive regions of the male body. William noted that the contest organizers did not prohibit the contestants from touching the female judges. Perhaps William may shake hands with the judges on that night. Some interest groups mentioned that the selected Mr. Hong Kong winner was without dignity. William said, “I have no comment, this is not for me to say. I will follow TVB’s policies for the contest.”
Compiled from the Sun, Mingpao
Jayne: I do see similarities between TVB’s Mr. Hong Kong Contest versus a male stripper show. Although the swimsuit segment is a little scintillating, the audience and judges are respectful and do not belittle men.
On the other hand, Eric Tsang has made some highly inappropriate comments regarding the Miss Hong Kong contestants’ anatomical parts during the swimsuit segment, which I find offensive. He has also been sarcastic to contestants, belittling their responses. In the old Super Trio summer games segment, Eric also made some lewd comments about actresses popping out of their bikinis. I’m surprised that activist groups did not file complaints about the Miss Hong Kong pageant and Eric Tsang instead?!
I think the only part of the contest where it seems like it is a gigolo show is the swimsuit segment. But I think the women admire the men more than belittle them. Miss Hong Kong and Mr Hong Kong have completely different concepts. If Mr Hong Kong was set up like Miss Hong kong, the show would be boring. I mean pul-eeze, they expect the men to be parading with a crown and scepter to make their win grand like MHK and dress up and catwalk and dance like the girls? The female audience is what makes the show unique. And I agree with you, Jayne. In MHK, the things that the MC’s say about the girls’ bodies and their responses, the way the camera zooms into their bodies, the media’s focus on their figures are also disrespectful to women. You don’t see the female hosts make comments like that to the male contestants. If they were to change the content, maybe it is the swimwear segment. Maybe just have the men walk out and do their walk down the runway instead of around the women so there’s no “touching.” Then it might be a little better. Men and women are just different. That’s all I have to say.
Allow men into the audience and there is no problem. It’s not about belittling men it’s about the sexism in the audience. If Miss Hong Kong didn’t allow women in the audience I’m sure there would be a protest against it as well. Surprised it took so long for people to take action and speak out against Mr Hong Kong.
This is perfectly ok for cable broadcasting but for public tv, it’s a bit much.
i still remember christine ng and her appearance in year 1. absolutely disgusting.
There is way too much female cleavage on TVB in game shows such as Beautiful Cooking and Super Trio. Every time an actress with a low neckline comes on the show and there is “accidental bending,” the hosts seem to get very excited. Eric Tsang is probably the worst. On Super Trio, the games are designed to have awkward male/ female contact. The buzz on these shows seem to be more about the scintillation than anything else.
The Mr. HK Contest is very tame compared to the above two shows. Both Beautiful Cooking and Super Trio have a lot more innuendo than Mr. HK.
Hence the double standard…