3 A man’s playground
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Mark Hampton
Abstract
Post-war Hong Kong was not merely an arena for developing capitalism, modernisation, and good governance; it was also a site for leisure. Above all, Hong Kong was described as a venue for male leisure. This included recreating institutions familiar from home, such as sport and clubs, and allowing a wider range of sexual opportunity than the UK did, even in an era of “permissiveness”. Commentators, including for example Ian Fleming, described Hong Kong as a place in which European and American men could enjoy easy access to Asian women’s bodies, thanks to the conjunction of poverty and a traditional desire of Asian women to please men. The archetype of such a woman was Richard Mason’s character Suzie Wong. Whereas the enjoyment of heterosexual opportunity required a moderate amount of discretion, homosexual liaisons—criminal offenses for most of the Colonial period—required virtual secrecy. The latter point is illustrated by the death of police inspector John MacLennan.
Abstract
Post-war Hong Kong was not merely an arena for developing capitalism, modernisation, and good governance; it was also a site for leisure. Above all, Hong Kong was described as a venue for male leisure. This included recreating institutions familiar from home, such as sport and clubs, and allowing a wider range of sexual opportunity than the UK did, even in an era of “permissiveness”. Commentators, including for example Ian Fleming, described Hong Kong as a place in which European and American men could enjoy easy access to Asian women’s bodies, thanks to the conjunction of poverty and a traditional desire of Asian women to please men. The archetype of such a woman was Richard Mason’s character Suzie Wong. Whereas the enjoyment of heterosexual opportunity required a moderate amount of discretion, homosexual liaisons—criminal offenses for most of the Colonial period—required virtual secrecy. The latter point is illustrated by the death of police inspector John MacLennan.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of illustrations viii
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Hong Kong and British culture 15
- 2 The discourse of unbridled capitalism in postwar Hong Kong 42
- 3 A man’s playground 72
- 4 The discourses of order and modernisation 100
- 5 Good governance 131
- 6 Chinese Britishness 160
- 7 Narratives of 1997 186
- Epilogue 211
- Select bibliography 219
- Index 230
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of illustrations viii
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Hong Kong and British culture 15
- 2 The discourse of unbridled capitalism in postwar Hong Kong 42
- 3 A man’s playground 72
- 4 The discourses of order and modernisation 100
- 5 Good governance 131
- 6 Chinese Britishness 160
- 7 Narratives of 1997 186
- Epilogue 211
- Select bibliography 219
- Index 230
