The word Gong Nui (港女) can be directly translated to "Hong Kong Girls" and is commonly used on Hong Kong Internet forums as well as in the press. It represents a negative stereotype portraying Hong Kong women as worshiping money, narcissistic, being obsessed with foreign culture, and suffering from the so-called "Princess Syndrome".
The usage of this word began in 2005 when several fights and discussions started online. This word does not represent all women in Hong Kong but being used to describe all the women who are arrogant, proud and shallow.
The word "Hong Kong Girls" was coined online and there are several main forums either defending or attacking this phenomenon.
Viewpoints on Gong Nui
Traditional media generally present a neutral view of the Gong Nui phenomenon.
Generally, men have negative feelings on 'Gong Nui'. They refuse to get married with Gong Nui as they think those girls are materialistic and above all, the girls are not looking for true love but someone who is wealthy. Besides, it is difficult to get along with Gong Nui while they are "narcissistic" according to the definition of Gong Nui. Gong Nui being self-confident, men would gradually lose their self-esteem in front of these girls and they would be afraid of having low status at home after marriage. They, therefore, do not even want to have a relationship with Gong Nui.
In most cases, women in Hong Kong regard the "Gong nui" label as offensive. Some of them nowadays have high education level and income, as a result, they would simply want their partner to have as same social status as they have. From their point of view, all they want is a stable future and the sense of security instead of money or material stuff.