| dc.description.abstract | The paper first examines the Feminist Sex War in the 1970s and its impact on the emergence of women-oriented sex shops and reviews the development of the “female-friendly” sex toy retail model that has been discussed in Euro-American academia. Some scholars criticize the business model for intensifying commodification and gentrification of (cis-)female sexuality. This paper offers a case study on the female-oriented sex toy retail model in Hong Kong. By comparing closed and ongoing business examples, I pay attention to the differences in shop decoration, selection, and packaging of stick-shaped vibrators and dildos and media exposure between the 2000s and the 2010s. I point out the linkage between establishing “female-friendly” sex toy consumption, taste formation, and British coloniality and investigate the impact of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO) on my case study subject.
The case study of Hong Kong is as follow: 1) Tracking the growth in popularity of female-friendly sex shops on media since 2000; 2) Comparing the difference between two generations of female-oriented sex shops: the 2000s and the 2010s; 3) Reviewing the British colonial influence on the sourcing and the middle-class taste construction for sex toys; and 4) Discussing the tension and difficulties between sex toy retail business and the COIAO in Hong Kong. Backed by first-hand working experience and interviews with industry insiders, the thesis hopefully offers an in-depth study on the current situation of the female-oriented sex-related business in East Asia. I attempt to seek the relation among Hong Kong feminist sex liberation advocacy, capitalist consumerism, and business-making in the female-oriented sex toy retail model. Using multi- and mixed methods in English, Chinese, and Cantonese, this paper interrogates whether the model could be a way out for the sex toy market to avoid legal complications, sustain their businesses, and expand the space of sexuality in the public sphere. The thesis ends by suggesting some angles for future research. | en_US |