Eroticism of Asian American Women

The fetishization of Asian women has spurred along several discussions about whether issues of both gender and race can be considered into the sexual objectification of minority women, and whether or not this is widely contributed by the media. In addition, many professionals argue that the ‘exotification’ of Asian women [some other terms that have sprung up from this issue into our everyday discussion of this topic include: “Asiaphiles,” “Asian fetish,” and “yellow fever”] stems, not from the distribution of popular media, but from the seemingly perverse roll that most men in the United States seem to believe Asian women can fulfill (Chandra, 2013).

For instance, Goal Auzeen Saedi, Ph.D and author of Millenial Media, argues that men often sexually objectify women because of the overall social stereotype - and the clash in understandings of East Asian cultures - that Asian women are more quiet and “submissive” in nature, and that they are the perfect idealized version of a homemaker and, again, an eroticized partner (2013).

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Others argue that the fetishization of Asian women is completely reliant on Western Civilizations’ long and strenuous history of colonizing and cultivating an economic codependence with the cultures and societies in Asia, starting over 200 years ago with the end of the Opium War (Park, 2014).

In addition, Kim Brandt, associate professor of Japanese history at Columbia University and specialist in the cultural relationships between East Asian and American society, addresses that most of this issue originally stems from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the European/American desire for “oriental” goods and East Asian art.

This was spurred along by the trading system between European countries and the more advanced trade routes in Asia, such as the Qing dynasty in China and parts of Japan (Pletcher, 2018). In her opinion, the economic relationship between these two cultures is what is partly to blame for the ‘thingification’ [or separating a person’s existence and relating to them in the same way one would an inanimate object] of Asian women in popular media.

The interwoven history and socio-marital and sexual interactions between the people of these cultures are what ultimately shaped the view of the common “erotic other” we continue to see in our society and literary texts to this day (2014). An earlier example of the influence of post-war beliefs - and views of the Asian population as a whole - in a popular culture text are the Fu Manchu movie series installments [beginning in 1931], in which actress Anna May Wong plays the daughter of an evil Chinese genius intent on dominating the world, and is often dressed in overly exaggerated traditional Chinese clothing (Park, 2014).

Patricia Park, author of New York Times Bestseller “Re-Jane” and literature professor at Queens College in New York City, argues that Wong’s role in these movie installments is partly to blame for the mass eroticism of Asian women later found in American movies and television (2014). As this was the actress’ first big role in a Hollywood production, there was large excitement gathered over Wong’s involvement, as she was one of the very few Asian women in the business, and certainly the only one in such a largely centered role opposite a white man (2011). However, Wong’s overtly-erotic and sexualized performance in these movies are what began the American archetype commonly found later in film, of the “dragon woman,” or a mysterious woman of ‘oriental’ background and versed in the ways of martial arts and seductiveness.

This common trope, along with the “asian doll” and “mysterious geisha” has pervaded American film [even currently], and Park attributes part of the allure - and eroticism - of Asian women to these earlier misrepresentations of asian cultures (2014). Another example of a popular literary text that can be found particularly disturbing is the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Park also discusses this as one of the first movies to come out of Hollywood that directly ties Asian women to the previously ignored sex industry in these cultures, and exaggerates the overtly sexual nature of American soldiers’ presence in East Asian countries such as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. While it is widely known that American soldiers often had sexual interactions with the native women of these regions, the most unethical issue of including the prostitution of Asian women is that, for most Americans back home, this was one of the few understandings they had of East Asian women and their cultures.

This movie also has a strikingly specific impact on American men’s views of Asian women, as it is responsible for the famous quote “me so horny,” which continues to persist in both movie references and American music even today (2014). In order to further show the lack of understanding or admission to the hypersexuality of Asian women in popular culture, I will lastly be using the literary text Kill Bill as an example to show the impact and ethical dilemma of misrepresentation of minority women in American media. This movie is slightly more recent [2003], and continues to stand as both a violent cult classic and a contemporary image of American appropriation of East Asian cultures and fetishization into their literary texts.

While Lucy Liu herself is somewhat of an example of the eroticism towards Asian women in America, she is essentially one of the most renown Asian American actresses in the country due to her being typecast into yet another “dragon lady” role within the movie Kill Bill. While some may praise the seemingly strong and powerful representation of a young and attractive Asian woman into a box-office phenomena such as this movie, it is also important to realize the unethical implications of automatically associating sexually provocative and racially stereotypical roles with minority women, and how it might affect them in their everyday lives.

For instance, many researchers discuss the implications of mass intertextuality in both American film and TV shows, and their repetitive use of misrepresented depictions of racial/gender minorities and its influence on American men and, particularly, their views of Asian women (Ramasubramanian, 2011). This becomes all the more important when we consider the implications of Cultivation Theory and the more long-term effects that television can have on minority women’s lives and liberties as American citizens and residents. For instance, one could argue that the events and relationship between Western and Asian societies throughout history have impacted TV material and roles that are being filled in Hollywood, and sexual objectification is a result of this (Park, 2014). However, as we’ve discussed in class, it’s often difficult to ascertain whether or not this is the case, or if the stereotypes and content we seen on television every day is a result of targeting specific views that Americans already possess.

Regardless, it can be assumed that, as more American viewers consume popular media [such as television and film], their belief systems are constantly evolving - for the best or for the worst, though it can certainly be seen that there has been no dramatic change in the way Asian women have been represented over the past few decades - and could potentially affect the way that they interact with other people and, specifically, Asian women in real life (Wang, 2018). For the purpose of choosing an argument - based on the stark misrepresentation and generalization of Asian women in American media - I will continue to argue that the sexual objectification of Asian women is completely unethical.

It can be naturally assumed that, regardless of the original cause or catalyst in the development of eroticism and sexual microaggressions toward minority women, this is a prevalent issue that continues to impact these women in their everyday lives and often strips them of the same personal independence and freedoms that some people may not even consider. For example, psychologists have found that Asian American women experience both racial and sexual microaggressions on a nearly-routine basis, in all areas of their public and private life: their careers, education, and even their relationships (Noh, 2007). Noh also states in his research that Asian American women between the ages of 15-25 have the highest rates of depression and suicide amongst females, some of this being factored into by the constant stereotyping, sexual harassment, and eroticism of Asian American women in their daily lives (2007).