Evelyn Mok is the kind of uncensored, unapologetic and uncouth human I can get on board with. Her show
Fundamentally, Hymen Manoeuvre is honest
Storytelling is evidently part of Mok's DNA, with witty anecdotes about growing up as a plus-size, Chinese girl in Sweden. It was her personality that she knew held real currency. Using her innate charisma, she regales with stories about why cake is better than sex, her role in friendship groups and why Chinese mentality, most notably her mum, sparked insecurities about her looks. Mok comfortably plays around with Chinese stereotypes — from being approached by weird Chinophile men to racist playground rhymes, allowing for some brilliant and uncomfortable crowd interaction.
Then, she got down to business... quite literally. And the “deed”, let's just say, didn't live up to her expectations. Unquestionably the most hilarious, side-splitting bit of the show was in this section, when Mok went into describe what having sex was like as a 25-year-old woman, including daydreaming about cake, a graphic description of how it feels, eye contact during foreplay and an incredible bit about why, as a non-white woman, she can never #freethenipple. Certain elements needed slight polishing, a touch more finesse in order to sound less predictable. For example, certain food-sex analogies, that, with some more work on execution, have the potential to be winning bits.
Unsurprisingly Mok hasn't done ‘it’ again and after listening to her relay all the negatives, I'm even questioning why we prioritise it so much. Mok's monologue about her vagina, spoken so candidly is wildly refreshing. Fundamentally, Hymen Manoeuvre is honest, with Mok inviting us into her intimate world, while also reminding us to love ourselves more and why cake always should, logically, always seem like the better option.
