Hong Kong Moms: the go-to Facebook page for tips on sex toys, nappy rash and life
Facebook group Hong Kong Moms has exploded in popularity among expat women, its 14,500 members providing each other with advice and support on every conceivable problem, passion and perversion. Hazel and Simon Parry report
You're an expatriate mum in Hong Kong and you've got things on your mind. You suspect your best friend's husband is having an affair. What's more, you're fretting about whether your own sex life and bedtime habits are "normal". And, on top of all that, you're worried your baby son may be communicating with spirits from another world.
Should you keep your fears to yourself? Should you confide in your husband or a close friend? Or should you tell thousands upon thousands of strangers?
The answer for an increasing number of women is option three and the medium of choice for many is Hong Kong Moms, a Facebook group that has become something of an internet phenomenon. It has nearly 14,500 members, representing a sizeable proportion of the female expat population, and shines a revealing - and sometimes hilarious - light on the lives, loves and intrigues of expat wives across the city.
As the telephone-based Community Advice Bureau wound down, finally closing late last year after 40 years in operation, Hong Kong Moms' reputa-tion for quirky, frank and sometimes explicit posts has made it popular not only among expat wives but local women, and an increasing number of husbands who unashamedly log in to catch up on the latest gossip. From the mundane and everyday to the audacious and outrageous, the group attracts about 1,000 posts and comments a day, on everything from how to deal with aggressive neighbours to where to buy supplies for a superhero-themed children's party and what to do if you see a helper chewing up food before feeding it to a toddler.
It began about five years ago, when American mother-of-four Kara Arnaudy decided to swap tips on Hong Kong life with a small group of friends.
"When I first moved here, 10 years ago, I didn't know anyone," says Arnaudy, who arrived in Hong Kong from Tokyo with her British husband before their children were born. "I felt like I was climbing Mount Everest every day. It was challenging.
