"Nowhere girls" or "Mei Nü" (Chinese: 沒女; pinyin: méi nǚ) is a neologism coined to describe women who have no money, employment, education, prospects, looks, friends, or sophistication.[1] The pronunciation of "nowhere girls" is homophonic[a] with "beautiful girls" (Chinese: 美女; pinyin: měi nǚ) in Mandarin Chinese.[2]
The term, which has strong pejorative connotations, is used to characterise women who refuse to conform to male expectations and are therefore thought to be unattractive by men. It may be a calque of a South Korean term,[citation needed] it spread to Hong Kong via China, and became popularised through its use in a reality show called Nowhere Girls, which was broadcast by Television Broadcasts Limited. This show has aroused much public discussion on this topic.[3]
Description
In the TV programme Nowhere Girls, women are called "nowhere girls" because they are lazy, selfish, short-tempered, rude to others, unfashionable and self-deluded.[4]
Characteristics
Don't conform to traditional expectations of beauty[5][6]
Unemployed or have low income
Lack social competence
Tend to escape reality
Self-centered, deny any problems of themselves
Emotional or short-tempered
Dependent
Causes
Family
As nowhere girls experience distinct family affairs, leaving them psychologically hurt. Moreover, Hong Kong has low birth rates from time to time,[7] leading to single-child families. They become the treasure of their parents. They are pampered and spoiled,[8] which results in weakened coping abilities. In addition, children nowadays engage in less communication with their parents who are always out for work, and thus children receive less parental mental support.[9]
Media
TV programme
Nowhere Girls (Chinese: 沒女大翻身) is a reality show produced by Television Broadcasts Limited. It was broadcast in August 2014 and there are 20 episodes in total. The show focuses on seven women who are described as "have nots" and each of them is said to represent one of "seven deadly sins", including laziness, selfishness, ugliness and being a recent mainland immigrant etc.[10] This programme stirred up much controversy since it discriminated against so-called "Mei Nu" and brought out wrong messages – "makeovers, working with fitness trainers and life coaches can lead to better lives"[11] to the audience.
There were also suspicions that seven women got paid to act and some incidents were staged.[12] Moreover, the show hurt the professional image of psychologists in Hong Kong because Wong Hoi-man, who is a clinical psychologist and the guest counsellor of Nowhere Girls, handled cases in improper ways. It led to misunderstandings towards therapeutic techniques of qualified psychologists.[13]
