Speaking as a guy, it's really hard to justify the recent boneheaded antics of those Commercial Radio DJs. Any male with half a brain (even if it's the reptilian half) wouldn't be so stupid as to suggest that sexually assaulting females would be socially acceptable as a joke. It's one thing to be laddish and lewd; it's another to invite violence as light-hearted sport.
That's not to say I haven't indulged in my share of locker-room talk. Not long ago, a colleague and I exchanged some in-depth and poignant discourse about where Lucy Liu sits on the babe-meter. I think she's just OK, whereas my friend staunchly stands by the opinion that she's a 'freakin' goddess'.
I don't deny Liu is lovely, but put her in the middle of Mongkok and she wouldn't stand out from a dozen other attractive local girls. Plus, if you've seen Charlie's Angels, you'll know she's covered with freckles. As most local beauty ads will tell you, that's not a quality an Asian female would want. Try as I may to convince my friend of Liu's ordinariness, he retorts with full conviction: 'No way, dude.'
Liu's appeal to hot-blooded males, though, is less her proportions than her butt-kicking. A breakout role as a dominatrix in the Mel Gibson vehicle Payback set the tone for her catty, bitch-in-heels Ling on Ally McBeal, as well as star-making turns in Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels. Liu's image is all about power, confidence and the ability to bring a man to his knees. And that's a very enticing idea for some males of the species.
Another Asian actress with the interesting dichotomy of raising temperatures overseas, but barely registering with guys here is Bai Ling. The Chengdu-born actress may not possess A-list credentials yet, but she's considered something of a sexpot in the US. Of course, showing up in public in barely-there, provocative clothes and posing for Playboy will encourage that reputation.
Yet in Hong Kong, I don't think she even registers on anyone's score card. To test my theory, I mention her name to some local friends and they all screw up their faces to suggest a general disdain. Is she just too intimidating, or insufficiently demure for local tastes?