The Emergence of a New Sexual Ideal: A Case Study of Yuki Maiko's Pornographic VCDs in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper explores why a female Japanese adult video star, Yuki Maiko, was so popular among men in Hong Kong during the late 1990s. We argue that the image she embodies is very similar to that of an emerging sexual ideal among the Hong Kong new middle class in the early and mid 1990s. Her image of being sexual and orgasmic but ultimately passive in her sexuality is arguably the idealisation of this kind of emerging sexual symbol in Hong Kong. Through our analysis of interview data with 17 men in Hong Kong, we contend that this emerging sexual ideal is closely related to the changing class structure and cultural trend with regard to femininity. As this paper will show, the contradictory terms inherent in the identity formation of the new middle class in 1980s’ Hong Kong explains why many new middle class young men would identify with Japan in general and Japanese culture in particular as a symbol of their new identity. The resulting submersion in Japanese culture in turn allows them to find favour with the 'cute and gentle' female ideal, an alternative femininity to the previous aggressive model, which has become popular in Hong Kong since the mid-1990s. This paper explores why a female Japanese adult video star, Yuki Maiko, was so popular among men in Hong Kong during the late 1990s. We argue that the image she embodies is very similar to that of an emerging sexual ideal among the Hong Kong new middle class in the early and mid 1990s. Her image of being sexual and orgasmic but ultimately passive in her sexuality is arguably the idealisation of this kind of emerging sexual symbol in Hong Kong. Through our analysis of interview data with 17 men in Hong Kong, we contend that this emerging sexual ideal is closely related to the changing class structure and cultural trend with regard to femininity. As this paper will show, the contradictory terms inherent in the identity formation of the new middle class in 1980s’ Hong Kong explains why many new middle class young men would identify with Japan in general and Japanese culture in particular as a symbol of their new identity. The resulting submersion in Japanese culture in turn allows them to find favour with the “cute and gentle” female ideal, an alternative femininity to the previous aggressive model, which has become popular in Hong Kong since the mid-1990s.

本文旨在探討日本色情錄影帶女優夕樹舞子為何在1990 年代未能獲得香港男性廣泛的青睞。咎其原因，筆者認為夕樹舞子所代表的形象與始於1990年代初香港中產階級中的新性感女神形象不謀而合。夕樹舞子那種既豪放卻又被動的形象可以說是此新性感女神形象的最佳示範。通過分析與17位香港男性的訪談資料，筆者認為此種新性感女神形象與社會階級結構之轉變及男性審美眼光之變化有著密不可分的關係。本文將會指出，1980年代香港新興中產階級身分認同中的矛盾元素是許多新興中產年輕男性以日本及日本文化作為他們身分認同之重要原因。而此種對日本文化的嚮往更使得他們捨棄早期「主動」的女性形象而鐘情 於在1990年代中出現的「可愛及溫柔」之新性感女神形象。