Bad Girl, Femme Fatale, and the Androgynous Body: Cantopop Queen Anita Mui’s Gender Game

Abstract

This article examines the career of the Hong Kong popular singer, Anita Mui (1963–2003), widely known as the Cantopop Queen throughout the Chinese-speaking world, thanks to her subversive gender politics and “ever-changing” stage persona. Focusing on how Mui and her collaborators co-constructed her star image, the article draws attention to Mui’s emerging authorship and subjectivity, and the inherent tension and contradictions in the diva’s multi-faceted “performances” which culminated in the star text called “Anita Mui.”

Notes

1 A video created by Mui’s fans of the event can be found on a Mainland China website: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av371427825. (accessed 11 Nov. 2020). These high profile commemoration activities also took place at different locations in Mainland China on the star’s birthday.

2 For a discussion on the lyrics of “Bad Girl,” see Witzleben (1999).

3 Originally titled Mui Mui s/s 2000, the album was renamed to I’m So Happy, after an allegation of intellectual property-right infringement raised by a similarly named international fashion label, “Miu Miu.”

4 Upon the success of Fantasy Gig 2002, Christian Dior continued to sponsor her final concert in 2003 with eight sets of haute couture.

5 Mui’s fan base has been expanding in Greater China throughout the years, and her career and life-story have been the subject of TV dramas, exhibitions, films, biographies, and fans’ memoirs. Numerous portraits may be found on the internet.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Josephine Y. Y. Lai

Josephine Y. Y. LAI is a postgraduate student in Hong Kong Studies at the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include Hong Kong’s cultural industries, cultural and heritage policy, and stardom. E-mail: [email protected]