Asian fetish

Template:Globalize/US

Asian fetishism is a term that is sometimes used to describe sexual attraction toward people of Asian descent by those of non-Asian descent. The term has been defined as "the sexual objectification of people of Asian descent, typically females, who are objectified and valued not for who they are as people, but for their race or perceptions of their culture."^[1][2] The term is generally considered derisive and is often directed at Caucasian males who date, or have married, women of Asian descent.^[3]

During periods of wide-spread anti-Asian sentiment in the United States in the late 1800s, the image of Chinese women emerged as sexually corrupt, immoral, and threatening to the white population.^[4] During World War II when American soldiers directly interacted with East Asian and Southeast Asian women, the women were portrayed as obedient, passive, and exotic.^[5] Babysan, a cartoon character sketched as an exotic, curvaceous, slanted eyed woman, was published in the East Asian edition of the Navy Times during wartime.^[6]

In the afterword to the 1988 play M. Butterfly, the writer, David Henry Hwang, using the term "yellow fever," a pun on the disease of the same name, discusses white men with a "fetish" for Asian women. Hwang argues that this phenomenon is caused by stereotyping of Asians in Western society.^[7] Darrell Hamamoto, a professor at University of California Davis, has stated that the stereotypes are a result of Western imperialist influence in Asian countries and increased interaction between different races in the United States after immigration laws were relaxed in the 1960s.^[8] Hamamoto said American soldiers' contact with Vietnamese prostitutes during the Vietnam War have further contributed to reinforcing these images of Asian women.^[8]

Phoebe Eng wrote in her book Warrior Lessons,^[9]

While hypersexualized, commodifying images exist for all women, and especially women of color, the image of the Asian woman combines with this the notion of ultrapassivity. Sexuality for an Asian woman is so tightly wound up in issues of power and global economic order that it is virtually impossible to address the specter of an Asian woman's sexuality without examining the subtle roles of governments and enterprise in perpetuating this situation, especially in developing countries.

In her article in the San Francisco Examiner, "Asian Women, Caucasian Men", Joan Walsh wrote that some non-Asian men pursued Asian females for "their appearance - and stereotypes about how they treat men." The article referred to a "feminist backlash" that drove Caucasian men away from Caucasian women. She described Asian fetish partially as a result of "inability of men to have intimate relationships with women they see as equals." ^[3] Practices of marrying mail-order brides from Asian countries is also sustained by sexual stereotypes of Asian women.^[5]

Other theories claim that Asian fetishism is most common among white males who are less attractive to women of their own race or culture with whom they may feel that they "don't stand a chance with". There is also a generalisation that exists among some white males, including Australian men, that Asian women are more courteous and do not complain as much as White women.^[10]

The gay slang term used for a man, usually white, who exclusively dates Asian males is "rice queen."^[11][3][12] In a similar manner as Asian females, gay Asian males are stereotyped as submissive.^[11]

Raymond Fisman authored an article published in Salon which claimed that the existence of Asian fetish is a myth. Raymond based his conclusions on the results of a study, "Racial Preferences in Dating," that he helped to conduct.^[13] The study, based upon speed dating experiments among Columbia University graduate students, found no general statistically-significant racial preference among males.^[14]

Racism

Many people consider the term "Asian fetishist" to be racist, complaining that the people who use the term treat all cases of sexual attraction as objectification or fetishism, dismissing the possibility of normal "interracial" relationships. Users of the term may be accused of being "angry Asian men"^[15] or just racists. Proponents of this view claim that such interracial or "mixed" relationships are unfairly being held up to greater scrutiny than non-interracial ones. Some critics find irony that in an attempt to fight negative stereotypes about Asians and minority Asian populations, new stereotypes about interracial couples are being created and spread.

American phenomenon

Another common criticism is that it is primarily a term used by Asian-Americans, and doesn't represent the view of Asians around the world, where sensitivity towards the image of Asian women can be markedly different (eg. Singapore Airlines' Singapore Girl campaign). This criticism is that Asian-Americans, being a minority population, are generally-speaking more insecure and confused about identity issues, and therefore more concerned about dating disparities than Asian populations in Asia.

Asian origins

Asian culture is also a frequent target of criticism itself, implying some level of hypocrisy when decrying exploitation of Asian. While present in most if not all cultures, prostitution is a thriving industry in many Asian countries^[16]. It is not unheard of for poor rural parents in countries like Thailand^[17] to sell off their daughters (a practice common in Japan a century ago as well). Asia, especially Japan (#5 in internet porn^[18]), also produces and exports for the world market distinctly degrading styles of pornography (eg. rape themes, 'lolita' themes) are common in some. Moreover, some traditional values discourage women from standing up for their rights or speaking out against abuse or harassment. A good example being the chikan subway groping attacks which were epidemic in Japan until authorities final cracked down. It can be argued that these factors coupled with the low status of women in many Asian societies has unintentionally spread negative messages about Asian women and Asian culture in general.

Stigmatization

Other critics contend that the stereotype of an "Asian fetish" is a means of discouraging interracial relationships or race mixing by stigmatizing them all with ugly stereotyping. In the past, racial supremacists opposed such relationships, though today in the United States, critics of interracial dating are sometimes from other ethnic groups, which in turn may be considered "reverse" racism^[19]. One reason Asian women may have a preference for non-Asian men could be unhappiness with certain perceived aspects of Asian culture, a scenario presented in the novel The Joy Luck Club, which presents Asian men as sexist and domineering. On the contrary, the film M. Butterfly, vehemently criticizes white men who are attracted to Asian women, suggesting they have some kind of pathology.

Clash of cultures

Men from Asian countries may also have a clearly defined image of the role women should play in a married relationship, which may run counter to modern cultural norms in other countries. This "clash of cultures" may result in resentment on both sides, with some Asian females out-dating as a means of indirect criticism of Asian men or negative aspects they perceive of traditional Asian family values^[20]. Conversely, Asian men criticizing Asian women who date other races can be seen as part of the same struggle to either adapt and preserve identity and culture in a changing world.^[21]

Exogamy

It can also be suggested that those who prefer to date partners from other ethnic groups may in fact be acting in the more healthy manner, while those who exclusively date individuals from within their own ethnic group may be the ones expressing unhealthy tendencies. This is because dating individuals who are more closely related means any children will be more likely to suffer from genetics defects caused by inbreeding.^[22] Individuals who date more exotic partners thereby avoiding "incestuous" relationships will have healthier off-spring thanks to the benefits of outbreeding. There are many conditions that are more likely where in-breeding takes place^[23], one example would be cystic fibrosis when a couple of european origin have children, another example would be Sickle-cell anaemia when a Black couple have children. The problems of inbreeding are even more obvious when the relationship between couple is even closer, inbreeding among the Pakistani population is a current issue in the UK [10] due to the large numbers of children born with genetic defects. Therefore the drive to date individuals who look different from oneself ("exogamy")or have a "sexy foreign accent" may derive from an innate drive to seek the healthiest combination of DNA possible for one's offspring by out-breeding as far as possible.

• Interracial relationships
• Interracial marriage
• Interracial pornography
• Asian American contemporary issues
• Social interpretations of race
• Racist love
• Yellow cab (stereotype)
• Stereotypes of Asians
• Amejo

• "The Asian America That Can Say 'No'", Modelminority.com. (Originally published in The Daily Californian, September 9, 1991) Accessed February 17, 2006.
• "The Myth Of The Rice King", Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2004.
• "Racial preferences in the dating world", Seacoast Online, May 11, 2007. Accessed May 25, 2007.