WHAT IS IT with Hong Kong men and women? A spat raging in cyberspace over the past six months has pinned the worst stereotypes on both sexes. And judging by the level of mutual contempt, it's perhaps not surprising that so few marry each other.
The squabbling began with a tongue-in-cheek website called the Hong Kong Girls Disaster Management Centre (konggirl.hkloves. com). Launched in August, it set out to 'improve the psychological well-being' of Hong Kong women - gong nui in colloquial Cantonese.
Its definition of gong nui: manipulative, egotistical, phony, coquettish, controlling, money-grabbing and enslaved by designer brands. The men who indulge these overbearing women were 'dogs'.
The website was an immediate hit, especially with men still smarting from previous media reports that showed Hong Kong women found them wanting. It was payback time for years of slights. On YouTube, one resentful male uploaded a video on which he rapped through his list of pet hates about the Hong Kong woman, and it's attracted more than 30,000 views.
Not long after, local females retaliated with a list of '81 sins committed by Hong Kong men', detailing their less-than-desirable traits. Not only were local men geeky-looking, they were irresponsible, chauvinistic and feeble-minded underachievers with low self-esteem.
The debate degenerated into a vicious, irrational fight, with sexist remarks exchanged on both sides.