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EspañolSTEREOTYPES OF EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIANS
''This article deals primarily with stereotypes of East Asians. For other Asians, see Stereotypes of Asians. For simplicity, we will denote East Asians and Southeast Asians by ''Asian''.''
'Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians' are ethnic stereotypes that are found in many Western societies. Stereotypes of Asians have been collectively internalized by societies, and are manifested by a society's media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions. In many instances, media portrayals of Asians often reflect the dominant Eurocentric ideas of them rather than their actual customs and behaviors. [1] Some Asians also believe in these stereotypes of themselves. However, these stereotypes have very real repercussions for Asians and Asian Americans in daily interactions, current events, and governmental legislation. Asians have experienced discrimination and have been victims of hate crimes related to their ethnic stereotypes. Also, some Asians may experience stereotype threat, making them less likely to engage in or become successful at activities in which Asians are stereotyped to perform poorly, which ultimately makes the ethnic stereotypes self-fulfilling prophecies.
Some of the stereotypes of Asians are, but are not limited to:
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
being diligently studious and having an affinity for tedious workaholic jobs; having poor leadership and management ability, and lacking assertiveness; impoverished; having autism, being arrogant, smug, and not "well-rounded"; being submissive and feminine; having poor creativity skills; having superior academic abilities; materialism and obsession with prestige (focused particularly on gaining admission to elite academic institutions and attaining high paying, white collar jobs) at the expense of their own personal happiness; being traditional, conservative, ethnocentric, and not able to assimilate; speaking "broken" English with a heavy accent(Engrish).
In addition to the stereotypes ascribed generally to Asians, stereotypes specific to the various Asian nationalities exist as well.
The origins of stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians are influenced by early contact between Western nations and Asian nations. Often this was in the context of colonialism and military occupation, resulting in asymmetrical power relations. This was further exacerbated by specific cultural contexts, such as relatively low status of women and widespread proliferation of prostitution in some countries. In military occupations, such as U.S. military "Rest and Recuperation" in Thailand during the Vietnam war or while stationed in South Vietnam, prostitutes flocked to a lucrative market with higher earnings due to wealth disparities, in the form of U.S. servicemen. This has been said to create a distorted impression of the local populace among customers, who then brought these images back to their home countries. One notable portrayal of this trend was in the movie ''Full Metal Jacket'', where a Vietnamese prostitute's pidgin English is still referenced in Asian-themed American pornography. A similar phenomenon occurred in Shanghai during the 1930s, resulting in very exotic and sensualized imagery brought home to the West. The lack of cultural understanding between the West and Asia during early contact, combined with racy images and stories brought back home, resulted in a distorted image that lingers to this day. In the United States, stereotypes of Asian men being geeky, shy, effeminate, domineering, etc are prevalent. On the other hand, Asian women are portrayed as being submissive, objects of desire, and exotic. Some suggested that the Chinese clothing "dresses" and the long hair that the Asian men worn at that time is a cause of the effeminate stereotype. Due to massive immigration of Asians in America in the 1960s, many of them are do not know how to speak English, thus have strong accents and poor language skills. [6]
According to Edward Said, ''orientalism'' refers to the way that the West interprets or comes to terms with their experiences and encounters with the Orient, or the East. Said claimed that "the Orient" was a European invention to denote Asia as a place of exoticism, romance, and remarkable experiences, and also as a conception to contrast with Western civilization.[7]
The effects of orientalism in Western cultures include an "othering" of Asians and Asian Americans; their cultures and ways of life are seen as being "exotic" and novel, in direct contrast to "normal" Western customs. While Western cultures are capable of changing and modernizing, Asian cultures are seen as being ancient,
[8]
static, and entrenched in the past. Western cultures stereotype Asian cultures as being very superstitious, spiritual and mystical, and full of ancient wisdom. This is manifested by countless fabricated supposed ancient Chinese sayings by Confucius and other ancient wise Asian men found in numerous American novels, movies, and websites, and by the widespread popularity of fortune cookies in North American Chinese restaurants catered to Western customers that supposedly predict the future or dispense sage-sounding advice. Other examples of Asian culture as novelty in Western cultures include the Chinoiserie fad during the 18th century, the trendiness of Asian motifs, and the popular choice of Chinese characters as tattoo designs despite unfamiliarity with the language. Historically, America's Chinatowns have held a place in the American imagination as a mysterious sketchy place of opium dens, gangs, and foreign speech.
In the musical comedy ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'', Mrs. Meers, a White woman pretending to be Asian claims that soy sauce is capable of magically removing stains, one of the "mysteries of the Orient." The lyricist of the musical ''Miss Saigon'' deliberately makes the Vietnamese prostitute's lines "mystical and obscure,"[9] giving her nonsensical lyrics steeped in mysticism like "paper dragons in the sky" and "You are sunlight and I moon/joined by the gods of fortune."[10]
Main articles: Yellow Peril
Yellow Peril refers to a White American fear, peaking in the late 19th century, that hordes of unassimilable Asians would immigrate into the United States and invade the country with foreign incomprehensible culture and speech and take jobs away from Americans. During this time, numerous anti-Asian sentiments were expressed by politicians and writers, especially on the West Coast, with headlines like "The 'Yellow Peril'" (''Los Angeles Times'', 1886) and "Conference Endorses Chinese Exclusion" (''The New York Times'', 1905) and the later Japanese Exclusion Act. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of Asians because they were considered an "undesirable" race. [11]
Australia had similar fears and introduced a racist White Australia policy restricting immigration between 1830 to 1973 with some elements of the policies persisting to the 1980s.
Canada had in place a head tax on Asian immigrants to Canada in the early 20th century; a formal government apology was pending (with compensation to the surviving head tax payers as of 2006).
Throughout America's history, Asian Americans have been conceived, treated, and portrayed as perpetual foreigners; unassimilable and inherently foreign regardless of citizenship or duration of residence in America.[12] This is evident through numerous Supreme Court rulings, acts of legislature, and statements made in the nation's literature and periodicals. "Go back to China!" is a familiar racist expression of xenophobia against Asians. A statement made by Justice Harlan in the 1897 court case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark explicitly illustrates this stereotype of Asians in saying that Asians are "strangers in the land" who are "incapable of assimilating".[13] One of the most obvious manifestations and ramifications of this stereotype in recent history occurred during World War II, when all Japanese Americans were relegated to internment camps as per President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, because of their assumed potential loyalty to Japan.
In 2005, when visiting Sydney in Australia Prince Charles asked an Asian man: "Are you from China?" ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported the man replied in a broad Australian accent: "No, I'm from just up the road, actually." ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' further commented that the question was inappropriate to be asked by the country's future monarch in a country which had an important Chinese Australian population for more than a century.[14]
Due to the immigration of Asians, some overgeneralize that American-born Asians are just as unassimilated as immigrated Asians.
According to political science professor/author/scholar Claire Jean Kim, Asian Americans have been racially triangulated in American society in relation to America's preexisting deeply-rooted black-white bipolar racial dichotomy. This theory is the intersection of the model minority stereotype and the Perpetual Foreigner stereotype. In America's preexisting system of racial valorization, whites have been considered the dominant "superior" group while blacks have been considered a subordinate "inferior" group, often stereotyped as being lazy, cultureless, and primitive throughout American history. Within this spectrum of racial valorization, the dominant group has valued Asian Americans as being "superior" to blacks, and are stereotyped as being a hard-working intelligent people (model minority) having an ancient venerable culture, but still "inferior". However, in the other dimension of this theory, both whites and blacks, regardless of valorization, are considered to be "insiders" to American culture; thoroughly assimilated and native to America. Asian Americans, on the other hand, despite their "superior" valorization by the dominant group in relation to other minorities, are still considered to be unassimilable perpetual "foreigners," inherently fixed in their own exotic Asian cultures and unable to adapt to American ways.[15]
Main articles: Model minority
Asian Americans have been stereotyped as a "model minority": hardworking, politically inactive, studious, intelligent, productive, and inoffensive people who have elevated their social standing through merit and diligence. This label is given in contrast to other minorities who have often been accused of being criminal, welfare-dependent, demandingly rabble-rousing and problematic to American society.
Proponents of the "model minority" stereotype cite statistics of Asian American success, such as their higher-than-average financial status and overrepresentation in prestigious Ivy League universities. Statistics show that a strong plurality of Asian Americans have graduated from elite universities. In a study by Diverse Education, as of 2007, over 1 in 4 Asian American college graduates have graduated from an elite university (school in the Top 40 according to US News and World Report). [16] Including schools ranked in the Top 50, the number increases to around 44% of Asian American college graduates having graduated from a Tier 1 university. In contrast, barely 1 in 4 blacks have attended, let alone graduated from any college. Some proponents of the model minority stereotype also include Asian Americans themselves, such as noted Asian supremacist Arthur Hu, whom are proud of their supposedly genetic advantage, academic achievements and financial success and see this label as being empowering to their image.
However, other Asian Americans believe the model minority stereotype to be damaging and inaccurate, and are fighting to dispel this stereotype. [17] More recently, scholars, activists, and most major American news sources have started to oppose this stereotype calling it a misconception that exaggerates the success of Asian Americans.[18][19][20][21] According to those trying to debunk this belief, the model minority stereotype alienates Asian Americans from other minorities and covers up actual Asian American issues and needs that are still not properly addressed in America today.[22] For example, the widespread notion that Asian Americans earn higher-than-average income obscures issues such as the "glass ceiling" phenomenon, in which high-level managerial or executive positions are only seen but not reached,[23][24][25] and the fact that Asian Americans must acquire more education and work more hours than their white counterparts to earn the same amount of money.[26] The "model minority" image is also seen as being damaging to Asian American students because their assumed success makes it easy for educators to overlook Asian American students who are struggling academically.[27]
The model minority stereotypes also hurts statistically underperforming Asian groups, such as the Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian youths whose dilemma is masked by the more publicized successes of the larger middle-class East Asian population of youth descended from the wave of professionals who emigrated to America during the 1960s. For example, 25.2% of Asian Americans over age 25 hold a bachelor's degree compared to only 15.5% of the general American population, thus giving the impression of Asian American success. However, only 6.9% of Cambodians, and 6.2% of Laotians in this age group in America hold bachelor's degrees.[28]
[29] Despite this stereotype of supposed Asian American success, there is a high 80% unemployment rate among the Hmong Americans and other Asian Americans groups from refugee backgrounds. [26]
Main articles: Affirmative action
Some American universities utilize affirmative action in order to promote racial diversity on campuses by encouraging admission of underrepresented populations. Since Asians are traditionally overrepresented at a number of prestigious universities, some believe that affirmative action works against Asians despite their minority status.[31] Also, the racial categories used by academic institutions often lump together a very diverse population of Asians under a single "Asian and Pacific Islanders" category. This is problematic because there are very large disparities in socioeconomic status and opportunity in the Asian American population. Asian ethnic groups with smaller populations are marginalized and rendered virtually invisible due to racial categorizations.[28]
[29]
Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan are arguably two of the most important and well-known fictional Asian characters in American history. Both were created by white authors, Sax Rohmer and Earl Derr Biggers respectively, in the early part of the 20th century. Fu Manchu is a sardonically evil but intelligent Chinese murderer with plots of world domination, the embodiment of America's imagination of a threatening mysterious Asian people. Charlie Chan is an apologetic submissive Chinese-Hawaiian detective who solves cases and never fights back against the many racist insults hurled at him by white American characters, and represents America's archetypal "good" Asian. Both characters found widespread popularity in numerous novels and films, and therefore have pervaded the American consciousness with stereotypes of Asians.[34]
Main articles: Fu Manchu
Thirteen novels, three short stories, and one novelette have been written about Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, the British agent determined to stop him. Millions of copies have been sold in the United States with publication in British and American periodicals and adaptations to film, comics, radio, and television. Due to his enormous popularity, the "image of Fu Manchu has been absorbed into American consciousness as the archetypal Asian villain." In ''The Insidious Doctor Fu-Manchu'', Sax Rohmer introduces Fu Manchu as a cruel and cunning man, with a face like Satan, who is essentially the "Yellow Peril incarnate".[35]
Sax Rohmer inextricably tied the evil character of Fu Manchu to the entire Asian race as a manifestation of the yellow peril, attributing the villain's behavior to his race. Rohmer also adds an element of mysticism and exoticism to his portrayal of Fu Manchu. As Fu Manchu contrives elaborately creative and cruel methods of murdering his victims, he often uses supposedly Asian methods or elements in his murders such as silk rope. It is also important to note here that despite Fu Manchu's specifically Chinese ethnicity, these elements are pan-Asian, again reinforcing his portrayal as a representation of ''all'' Asian people. Blatantly racist statements made by white protagonists such as: "the swamping of the white world by yellow hordes might well be the price of our failure" again add to Asian stereotypes of exclusion.[36] Fu Manchu's inventively sardonic methods of murder and white protagonist Denis Nayland Smith's grudging respect for his intellect reinforce stereotypes of Asian intelligence, exoticism/mysticism, and extreme cruelty.
Main articles: Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan, a fictional character created by author Earl Derr Biggers, has been the subject of 10 novels (spanning from 1925 to as late as 1981), over 40 American films, a comic strip, a board game, a card game, and a 1970s animated television series. In the films, the role of Charlie Chan has almost always been played by white actors (namely Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters) in "yellowface."[37]
In stark contrast to the Chinese villain Fu Manchu, Asian American protagonist Charlie Chan represents the American archetype of the "good" Asian. In ''The House Without a Key'', Earl Derr Biggers describes Charlie Chan in the following manner: "He was very fat indeed, yet he walked with the light dainty step of a woman. His cheeks were chubby as a baby's, his skin ivory tinted, his black hair close-cropped, his amber eyes slanting."[38] Charlie Chan speaks English with a heavy accent and flawed grammar, and is meticulously polite and apologetic. After one particular racist affront by a Bostonian woman, Chan responds with exaggerated submission, "Humbly asking pardon to mention it, I detect in your eyes slight flame of hostility. Quench it, if you will be so kind. Friendly co-operation are essential between us." Bowing deeply, he added, "Wishing you good morning."
Because of his emasculated, unassertive, and apologetic physical appearance and demeanor, Charlie Chan comes off as non-threatening to mainstream audiences despite his considerable intellect and ability as an Asian American man. He holds none of the daring, assertive, or romantic traits typically attributed of white fictional detectives of the time. Instead, Charlie Chan's successes as a detective are in the context of proving himself to his white superiors or white racists who underestimate him early on in the various plots. His character also perpetuates stereotypes of orientalism as well, as he quotes supposed ancient Chinese wisdom at the end of each novel, saying things like: "The Emperor Shi Hwang-ti, who built the Great Wall of China, once said: 'He who squanders to-day talking of yesterday's triumph, will have nothing to boast of tomorrow.'"[39]
Historically, Americans have thought of Asian men as feminine and emasculated since the mass immigration of Chinese men to the United States to build the transcontinental railroad during the mid-1800's. The primary reasons for their emasculated image included the physical appearances of these laborers, and the fact that they did what was considered to be "women's work." These workers were as a group shorter than the average Chinese man, sported long queues, and sometimes wore long silk gowns.[40] Because Chinese men were seen as an economic threat to the white workforce and laws were passed that barred the Chinese from many industries, the only jobs available to the Chinese of the time were jobs that whites deemed "women's work" (i.e., laundry, cooking, and childcare). In the press, Asian men were constantly compared to white women.
Joan Kee observes that "Asian American male sexuality has long entailed a discourse of nothingness."[41] Instead, according to Sheridan Prasso, Asian men in film have with little exception been portrayed as "small, sneaky, and threatening... spineless, emasculated wimps" with small penises, or "incompetents" who always lose when "faced with white man's superior strength or firepower." For example, in American films ''Kill Bill'', ''Payback'', and the James Bond movie ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974), entire inept Asian male fighting forces are immobilized by a white man (or white woman in the case of ''Kill Bill'').[40]
The recurring image of the Asian male as a "sexually impotent voyeur or pervert" has pervaded television and film throughout American history. Examples include Mickey Rooney in "yellowface" as the bucktoothed Japanese landlord who sneaks peeps at Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', or the pathetically asexual nerd Long Duk Dong from John Hughes's 1984 adolescent classic ''Sixteen Candles'' whose every entrance is accompanied by the clash of a gong. The stereotypes of emasculated sissy Asian men in the media have also translated to real life in the light way that Asian male leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Kim Jong Il, and Mao Zedong are described and portrayed.
In American film, Asian men usually don't get the girl because they are either portrayed as being "Zen-like" and not having romantic feelings, or they are love-shy, or they are economically disadvantaged, or because they are easily defeated by superior white or black protagonists and are too emasculated to provide serious competition for the girl.
Even action movies like ''Kiss of the Dragon'' (2001), or ''The Replacement Killers'' (1998) that contain Asian male protagonists deny the Asian male characters romances with the white women whose lives that they save. Instead of the kiss usually granted to the white male protagonist, in these movies, the rescued white woman only gives the Asian action hero a hug or a grateful obligatory "thank you" kiss on the hand; there is almost never a relationship between the characters even if there is romantic tension.
Asian men have been portrayed as threats to white women[43] in many aspects of American media. Racist depictions of Asian men as "lascivious and predatory" were common at the turn of the 20th century.[44] Between 1850 and 1940, both U.S. popular media and pre-war and WWII propaganda portrayed Asian men as a military and security threat to the country, and therefore a sexual danger to white women[34] since a woman's body traditionally symbolizes her "tribe's" house or country in Western cultures.[46] In the 1916 film ''Petria'', a group of fanatical Japanese individuals who invade the United States, attempt to rape a white woman.[47]
The recurring narrative involving the abduction or sexual contact of a white woman with a non-white (in this case Asian) man is called a "captivity narrative." Most Hollywood captivity narratives involving white women and Asian men either feature the threat of "white slavery," in which a white woman is forced into prostitution; or the capture of a white nurse or missionary, in which there is threatened sexual contact with an Asian warlord or military-related character (e.g. 1933 film ''The Bitter Tea of General Yen''). The "white slavery" portrayal of the threatening Asian man stereotype was mostly predominant during the era of silent films. However, more recent examples of "white slavery" narratives include television movie ''The Girls of the white Orchid'' (1983), in which a white woman answers an advertisement for American singers in Japan and gets trapped in a prostitution slavery group;[48]
A common stereotype of Asian men is that they are misogynistic, too insensitive and disrespecting towards women. They are commonly referred as male chauvinists. [49]
[50]
[51] This stereotype originated from Asian media that portray Asian men as sexist.
''The Joy Luck Club'' is particularly consistent with this racial cliche because it portrays Chinese culture (especially Chinese males) as being negative and restrictive to the freedoms of Chinese females. This in turn might allow for a refreshing picture of white men to somehow liberate Chinese women. About the time the movie made its debut in theatres, many Asian Americans (many of them Chinese American) were offended by the negative portrayal of Asian men in this film. Such screen portrayals are consistent with the restriction and/or absence of Asian American masculinity in the western media.
A common Asian stereotype is that of the rowdy, uncontrollable young male. In Asian cultures parents take special care in upbringing their children to be well mannered and respectful to others. [11] While this of course depends on the conditions of the child's upbringing (such as economic stability), Asian people are renowned for being honorable and respectful. Despite this, many view Asians (particularly those who have immigrated from their homeland to a Western country) as being disrespectful, violent and untrustworthy criminals. As a result of these two contradicting views, Asians are categorized by Westerners into two groups. The studious, polite and intelligent group and the violent, destructive "gangsters". This image has been further fueled in the Western world by Asian drug hoarding circles. An example of real people contributing to the creation of such an image would be Bali Nine drug ringleader Andrew Chan.
Asian women have been portrayed as aggressive sexual beings. Western film and literature has promoted stereotypes of Asian women, such as depicting Asian women as cunning "Dragon Ladies",[53][54][55] as servile "Lotus Blossom Babies", "China dolls", "Geisha girls", war brides, or prostitutes.[56] Japanese media have also at times sensationalistically promoted the stereotype of Japanese women overseas as "yellow cabs".[57] UC Berkeley Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim has argued that the stereotype of Asian women as submissive sex objects has impeded women's economic mobility and has fostered increased demand in mail-order brides and ethnic pornography.[58] Other contributors to these stereotypes may come from the widespread proliferation of pornography, especially on the internet and the globalization of the industry. Japan, especially, has one of the largest adult video markets in the world[59] and many of these are exported overseas, which may contribute to a highly sexualized image of Asian women in general. Although, it may be argued that just as much western pornography is imported in to Asian countries.
More nuanced treatments of stereotypes come from movies like ''The World of Suzie Wong'' (1960) (also a book) where the Asian woman's appeal comes partially from her "orientalness" expressed through their clothing, language and attitudes, and from the fact they serve as cultural and gender guides for foreign men. In these movies, white men are fairy-tale knights and their love functions as a redemptive force for fallen Asian women. Staci Ford of University of Hong Kong concludes that stereotypical depictions of women in general created by sexist white men continue to haunt movies even though they now have a disguised form.[60]
According to author Sheridan Prasso, the China doll stereotype and other variations of this submissive stereotype exist in American movies: "Geisha Girl/Lotus Flower/Servant/China Doll: Submissive, docile, obedient, reverential (including Asian men as effeminate, servile); Vixen/Sex Nymph: Sexy, coquettish, manipulative; tendency toward disloyalty or opportunism; Prostitute/Victim of Sex Trade/War/Oppression: Helpless, in need of assistance or rescue; good-natured at heart."
Gwen Stefani's adoption of this component of Japanese culture drew criticism from Mihi Ahn at Salon.com, and others who feel that Stefani has stripped Japanese street fashion of its authenticity and created yet another example of the 'submissive Asian female' stereotype.[61] According to the Jan/Feb 2006 edition of ''Blender'' magazine, stand-up comic Margaret Cho has labeled the Harajuku Girls as a "minstrel show" that reinforces ethnic stereotypes of Asian women.
The stereotypical image of East Asian and Southeast Asian people's physical appearance generally includes having straight black hair, small or slanted eyelids with an epicanthal fold, brown eyes, yellow-tinged skin, and small stature, amongst other traits. Asian men are stereotyped to have small penises who can't satisfy women, other than from their own race. Asian women are stereotyped to have flat bodies.
There is also the idea that all Asians look alike. It is considered to be a faux pas to mistake a person of one Asian ethnicity for another. For example, during a fight scene involving Chinese men in ''Rush Hour 2'', Chris Tucker accidentally punches Jackie Chan and apologizes by saying, "All y'all look alike!"
Ethnicity-specific stereotypes of physical appearance exist as well. For example, during World War II in America, efforts were made to distinguish "enemy" Japanese from "friendly" Chinese solely by physical appearance (as seen in a Life Magazine article published at this time [9]), thus leading to further stereotyping and the attribution of physical traits to each group.[62]
Asians have also been stereotyped to be poor at sports, related to stereotypes of emasculation, short stature, and nerdiness. Some of these attitudes have emerged during various Olympics, in which people accused Asian athletes of using steroids to win or expressed surprise at Asians medaling. Asians are stereotyped, however, to be quite expert at martial arts.
The recent spate of violent incidents involving Asian Americans as suspects has potentially given rise to an insidious new stereotype of Asian Americans as mentally unstable, emotionally repressed, and prone to acting out in violent ways. [59] Also, Japanese women, on average, statistically have higher suicide rates and other Asian women are stereotyped to have higher rates of anorexia nervosa and suicide. [11]
Besides Seung-Hui Cho's shooting massacre at Virginia Tech which gained national and international attention, in 2007 alone, there has been a rise of violence involving Asian Americans with possible behavioral problems. Joseph Cho, a Yale University graduate and a former law student at the University of Pennsylvania has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and other related offenses after he tried to shoot two South Asian students from Drexel. [59] Some speculate whether this was an ironic racially motivated crime or a mental illness on the part of Joseph Cho. Kenneth Eng, a Chinese American writer notorious for his racist columns in Asian Week was also charged with harassment and assault after allegedly threatening to kill his neighbor and her dog. [59]
Some are trying to restrict the immigration of Asians and other non-whites. The reasons are often stereotypes of Asians.
Asians are scapegoated from the exaggeration violence committed by Asians and Asian gangs.[11]
[11]
They frequently use murderers such as Seung-Hui Cho and Chai Soua Vang, who are South Korean and Laos nationality respectively.
[11]
Some Asians criticized the media for blaming Asians by highlighting Cho Seung-Hui's national origin. [11]
[11]
[11]
Therefore, they sometimes use them as a "proof" of why immigration of non-whites is damaging to the nation.
Some think that American businesses will fail when Asians own them because they are stereotyped to lack some skills such as creativity, abstraction, analytical thinking, divergent thinking, lateral thinking, critical thinking and thinking outside the box to keep businesses running.
[73]
[74]
Also there are stereotypes of Asians lacking leadership, verbal and management skills.
A survey showed attitudes of white views
of Asian CEOs: [11]
7% of Americans would not want to work for an Asian American CEO. This is in contrast to 4% for an African American, 3% for a woman and 4% for a Jew.
Of Asian Presidents 23% of Americans are uncomfortable voting for an Asian American to be President of the United States. This is in contrast to 15% compared with an African American candidate, 14% compared with a woman candidate and 11% compared with a Jewish candidate. However, it may be a result of the discrimination of atheists, not Asians, since many East Asians are atheists. [11]
Asians are often relegated to supporting roles in American entertainment and media. [6] Even in projects centering on Asian or Asian American subject matters, the primary protagonist is still usually a white character. For example, the internment camp movie ''Come See the Paradise'' features a white man as the protagonist, pushing its Japanese American characters into the background, while the American actor Tom Cruise portrays the main character of ''The Last Samurai''. However, ''The Last Emperor'', ''The Joy Luck Club'', and ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' are examples of popular films with Asian and Asian American actors in lead roles.
In American movies, television shows, and theatre, Asian characters are often used as a source of comedy, making the audience laugh by speaking thickly accented pidgin English and acting inappropriately. These mediums also find comedy by making fun of Asian languages and the way that they sound. For example, the thick accent of the goofy Chinese exchange student in ''Sixteen Candles'' — who is given the name "Long Duk Dong" — is used for cheap laughs. He is given lines like: "Wassa happening hot stuff?" and "No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food." On ''Mad TV'', a comedy sketch series, Miss Swan, a juvenilely clueless Asian manicurist played by Alex Borstein, is a favorite recurring character. Her trademark phrase is "Okay, I tell you everything: he look-a like a man!" and she draws laughs by annoying all the other characters to madness by communicating ineffectively due to her language barrier, pidgin English, and ridiculously inappropriate actions in public settings. In the revival of musical ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'', the audience laughs at the purposely exaggerated foreign-sounding Cantonese dialogue between the Chinese villains. In the movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', Mickey Rooney in "yellowface" plays the bucktoothed Japanese neighbor who constantly yells at the protagonists in broken English for being too noisy. Even when they are not being made fun of for comedic purposes, many Asian characters (especially early on in American cinema) are made to speak in broken English.
★ Orientalism
★ Angry Asian Man
★ Asian fetish
★ Chinabounder
★ Sex crimes against Asian women in the United States
★ Model minority
★ Asian pride
★ Pan-Asianism
★ Yellow Peril
★ Stereotype threat
★ Racial profiling
★ Stereotypes of Eurasians
★ Ching Chong
★ Chinaman
1.
2. Jo, Moon H. & Daniel D. Mast, "Changing the Image of Asian Americans," ''International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society,'' Vol. 6 No. 3, March 1993, 417-441. [1]
3. Kim, Bok-Lim C. ''Asian-Americans: No Model Minority''
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6.
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8. Japan as Other: Orientalism and Cultural Conflict, , Steven L., Rosen, ,
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11.
12. Neil Gotanda, "Exclusion and Inclusion: Immigration and American orientalism"
13. ''United States v. Wong Kim Ark'' (169 U.S. 649 1898: 731)
14. "The Prince and the popular," Fairfax Digital, March 11 2005.
15. Claire Jean Kim, "The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans," ''Politics & Society'', Vol 27. No. 1, March 1999, 105-138.
16. [3]
17. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/290/5494/1072
18. Bill Sing, "'Model Minority' Resentments Spawn Anti-Asian-American Insults and Violence," ''Los Angeles Times'' 31 February 1989, p. 12.
19. Greg Toppo, "'Model' Asian student called a myth ; Middle-class status may be a better gauge of classroom success," ''USA Today,'' 10 December 2002, p. 11.
20. Benjamin Pimentel, "Model minority image is a hurdle, Asian Americans feel left out of mainstream," ''San Francisco Chronicle,'' 5 August 2001, p.25.
21. "What 'Model Minority' Doesn't Tell," ''Chicago Tribune'', 3 January 1998, p.18.
22. www.modelminority.com
23. Woo, Deborah, "The Glass Ceiling and Asian Americans," ''Key Workplace Documents:
Federal Publications'', (1994) [4]
24. "The Glass Ceiling for African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans," ''Ethnic Majority'', [5]
25. Constable, Pamela, "A 'Glass Ceiling' of Misperceptions," ''WashingtonPost'', 10 October 1995, Page A01 [6]
26. Ronald Takaki, "The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority," ''The New York Times'', 16 June 1990, p. 21.
27. Felicia R. Lee, "'Model Minority' Label Taxes Asian Youths," ''New York Times'', 20 March 1990, pages B1 & B4.
28.
29.
30. Ronald Takaki, "The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority," ''The New York Times'', 16 June 1990, p. 21.
31. Jaschik, Scott, "New Challenge to Affirmative Action," ''Inside Higher Ed'', November 4, 2006 [7]
32.
33.
34. William F. Wu, ''The Yellow Peril: Chinese Americans in American Fiction, 1850-1940'', Archon Press, 1982.
35. Sax Rohmer, ''The Insidious Doctor Fu-Manchu'' (1913; reprint ed., New York: Pyramid, 1961), p. 17.
36. Rohmer, Sax, ''The Hand of Fu-Manchu'' (1917; reprint ed., New York: Pyramid, 1962), p.111.
37.
38. Earl Derr Biggers, ''The House Without a Key'' (New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1925), p.76.
39. Biggers, Earl Derr, ''Charlie Chan Carries On'' (1930; reprint ed., New York: Bantam, 1975), p.233.
40. Sheridan Prasso, ''The Asian Mystique: dragon ladies, geisha girls, & our fantasies of the exotic orient'', PublicAffairs, 2005.
41. Kee, Joan, "(Re)sexualizing the Desexualized Asian Male
in the Works of Ken Chu and Michael Joo," ''Harvard University''. [8]
42. Sheridan Prasso, ''The Asian Mystique: dragon ladies, geisha girls, & our fantasies of the exotic orient'', PublicAffairs, 2005.
43. Espiritu, Y. E. (1997). Ideological Racism and Cultural Resistance: Constructing Our Own Images, ''Asian American Women and Men'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.
44. Frankenberg, R. (1993). ''White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness.'', University of Minnesota Press.
45. William F. Wu, ''The Yellow Peril: Chinese Americans in American Fiction, 1850-1940'', Archon Press, 1982.
46. Rich, Adrienne. 1994. Blood, Bread and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979-1985. New York: Norton 1986: p. 212.
47. Quinsaat, J. (1976). Asians in the media, The shadows in the spotlight. ''Counterpoint: Perspectives on Asian America'' (pp 264-269). University of California at Los Angeles, Asian American Studies Center.
48. Gina Marchetti, ''Romance and the 'Yellow Peril': Race Sex and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction'', 1993.
49.
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51.
52.
53. ''The Thief of Bagdad'' (1924)
54. ''Daughter of Fu Manchu'' (1931)
55. Tong, B. (1994). ''Unsubmissive women: Chinese prostitutes in nineteenth-century San Francisco'', University of Oklahoma Press.
56. Tajima, R. (1989). Lotus blossoms don't bleed: Images of Asian women., Asian Women United of California's ''Making waves: An anthology of writings by and about Asian American women'', (pp 308-317), Beacon Press.
57. The Modern Madame Butterfly: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Cross-Cultural Relationships, , Karen, Ma, Tuttle Publishing, , ISBN 0804820414
58. Asian American writers: A bibliographical review, , Elaine, Kim, American Studies International,
59.
60. Portrayal of Genders and Generation, East and West: Suzie Wong in the Noble House Staci Ford
61. MiHi Ahn. Gwenihana Gwen Stefani neuters Japanese street fashion... Salon.com. 9 April 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2006.
62. "How to tell Japs from the Chinese," Life Magazine, Dec. 1941
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★ GoldSea Discussing Asians in entertainment and stereotypes.
★ Model Minority.com Discussing Asians in entertainment and stereotypes.
★ Asian-Nation Discussing about Anti-Asian Prejudice & Racism
★ Black Racism Article about blacks against Asians.
★ AllLookSame An educational online quiz which tests the taker's ability to differentiate persons of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean origin.
'Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians' are ethnic stereotypes that are found in many Western societies. Stereotypes of Asians have been collectively internalized by societies, and are manifested by a society's media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions. In many instances, media portrayals of Asians often reflect the dominant Eurocentric ideas of them rather than their actual customs and behaviors. [1] Some Asians also believe in these stereotypes of themselves. However, these stereotypes have very real repercussions for Asians and Asian Americans in daily interactions, current events, and governmental legislation. Asians have experienced discrimination and have been victims of hate crimes related to their ethnic stereotypes. Also, some Asians may experience stereotype threat, making them less likely to engage in or become successful at activities in which Asians are stereotyped to perform poorly, which ultimately makes the ethnic stereotypes self-fulfilling prophecies.
Some of the stereotypes of Asians are, but are not limited to:
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
being diligently studious and having an affinity for tedious workaholic jobs; having poor leadership and management ability, and lacking assertiveness; impoverished; having autism, being arrogant, smug, and not "well-rounded"; being submissive and feminine; having poor creativity skills; having superior academic abilities; materialism and obsession with prestige (focused particularly on gaining admission to elite academic institutions and attaining high paying, white collar jobs) at the expense of their own personal happiness; being traditional, conservative, ethnocentric, and not able to assimilate; speaking "broken" English with a heavy accent(Engrish).
In addition to the stereotypes ascribed generally to Asians, stereotypes specific to the various Asian nationalities exist as well.
Historical origins
The origins of stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians are influenced by early contact between Western nations and Asian nations. Often this was in the context of colonialism and military occupation, resulting in asymmetrical power relations. This was further exacerbated by specific cultural contexts, such as relatively low status of women and widespread proliferation of prostitution in some countries. In military occupations, such as U.S. military "Rest and Recuperation" in Thailand during the Vietnam war or while stationed in South Vietnam, prostitutes flocked to a lucrative market with higher earnings due to wealth disparities, in the form of U.S. servicemen. This has been said to create a distorted impression of the local populace among customers, who then brought these images back to their home countries. One notable portrayal of this trend was in the movie ''Full Metal Jacket'', where a Vietnamese prostitute's pidgin English is still referenced in Asian-themed American pornography. A similar phenomenon occurred in Shanghai during the 1930s, resulting in very exotic and sensualized imagery brought home to the West. The lack of cultural understanding between the West and Asia during early contact, combined with racy images and stories brought back home, resulted in a distorted image that lingers to this day. In the United States, stereotypes of Asian men being geeky, shy, effeminate, domineering, etc are prevalent. On the other hand, Asian women are portrayed as being submissive, objects of desire, and exotic. Some suggested that the Chinese clothing "dresses" and the long hair that the Asian men worn at that time is a cause of the effeminate stereotype. Due to massive immigration of Asians in America in the 1960s, many of them are do not know how to speak English, thus have strong accents and poor language skills. [6]
Orientalism, mysticism and exoticism
According to Edward Said, ''orientalism'' refers to the way that the West interprets or comes to terms with their experiences and encounters with the Orient, or the East. Said claimed that "the Orient" was a European invention to denote Asia as a place of exoticism, romance, and remarkable experiences, and also as a conception to contrast with Western civilization.[7]
The effects of orientalism in Western cultures include an "othering" of Asians and Asian Americans; their cultures and ways of life are seen as being "exotic" and novel, in direct contrast to "normal" Western customs. While Western cultures are capable of changing and modernizing, Asian cultures are seen as being ancient,
[8]
static, and entrenched in the past. Western cultures stereotype Asian cultures as being very superstitious, spiritual and mystical, and full of ancient wisdom. This is manifested by countless fabricated supposed ancient Chinese sayings by Confucius and other ancient wise Asian men found in numerous American novels, movies, and websites, and by the widespread popularity of fortune cookies in North American Chinese restaurants catered to Western customers that supposedly predict the future or dispense sage-sounding advice. Other examples of Asian culture as novelty in Western cultures include the Chinoiserie fad during the 18th century, the trendiness of Asian motifs, and the popular choice of Chinese characters as tattoo designs despite unfamiliarity with the language. Historically, America's Chinatowns have held a place in the American imagination as a mysterious sketchy place of opium dens, gangs, and foreign speech.
In the musical comedy ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'', Mrs. Meers, a White woman pretending to be Asian claims that soy sauce is capable of magically removing stains, one of the "mysteries of the Orient." The lyricist of the musical ''Miss Saigon'' deliberately makes the Vietnamese prostitute's lines "mystical and obscure,"[9] giving her nonsensical lyrics steeped in mysticism like "paper dragons in the sky" and "You are sunlight and I moon/joined by the gods of fortune."[10]
Stereotypes of Exclusion
"Yellow Peril"
1899 editorial cartoon with caption: "The Yellow Terror in all his glory."
Main articles: Yellow Peril
Yellow Peril refers to a White American fear, peaking in the late 19th century, that hordes of unassimilable Asians would immigrate into the United States and invade the country with foreign incomprehensible culture and speech and take jobs away from Americans. During this time, numerous anti-Asian sentiments were expressed by politicians and writers, especially on the West Coast, with headlines like "The 'Yellow Peril'" (''Los Angeles Times'', 1886) and "Conference Endorses Chinese Exclusion" (''The New York Times'', 1905) and the later Japanese Exclusion Act. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of Asians because they were considered an "undesirable" race. [11]
Australia had similar fears and introduced a racist White Australia policy restricting immigration between 1830 to 1973 with some elements of the policies persisting to the 1980s.
Canada had in place a head tax on Asian immigrants to Canada in the early 20th century; a formal government apology was pending (with compensation to the surviving head tax payers as of 2006).
Perpetual foreigner
Throughout America's history, Asian Americans have been conceived, treated, and portrayed as perpetual foreigners; unassimilable and inherently foreign regardless of citizenship or duration of residence in America.[12] This is evident through numerous Supreme Court rulings, acts of legislature, and statements made in the nation's literature and periodicals. "Go back to China!" is a familiar racist expression of xenophobia against Asians. A statement made by Justice Harlan in the 1897 court case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark explicitly illustrates this stereotype of Asians in saying that Asians are "strangers in the land" who are "incapable of assimilating".[13] One of the most obvious manifestations and ramifications of this stereotype in recent history occurred during World War II, when all Japanese Americans were relegated to internment camps as per President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, because of their assumed potential loyalty to Japan.
In 2005, when visiting Sydney in Australia Prince Charles asked an Asian man: "Are you from China?" ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported the man replied in a broad Australian accent: "No, I'm from just up the road, actually." ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' further commented that the question was inappropriate to be asked by the country's future monarch in a country which had an important Chinese Australian population for more than a century.[14]
Due to the immigration of Asians, some overgeneralize that American-born Asians are just as unassimilated as immigrated Asians.
Racial triangulation theory
According to political science professor/author/scholar Claire Jean Kim, Asian Americans have been racially triangulated in American society in relation to America's preexisting deeply-rooted black-white bipolar racial dichotomy. This theory is the intersection of the model minority stereotype and the Perpetual Foreigner stereotype. In America's preexisting system of racial valorization, whites have been considered the dominant "superior" group while blacks have been considered a subordinate "inferior" group, often stereotyped as being lazy, cultureless, and primitive throughout American history. Within this spectrum of racial valorization, the dominant group has valued Asian Americans as being "superior" to blacks, and are stereotyped as being a hard-working intelligent people (model minority) having an ancient venerable culture, but still "inferior". However, in the other dimension of this theory, both whites and blacks, regardless of valorization, are considered to be "insiders" to American culture; thoroughly assimilated and native to America. Asian Americans, on the other hand, despite their "superior" valorization by the dominant group in relation to other minorities, are still considered to be unassimilable perpetual "foreigners," inherently fixed in their own exotic Asian cultures and unable to adapt to American ways.[15]
Model minority stereotype
Main articles: Model minority
Cover of ''Newsweek'' (April 1984) featuring an article about the supposed success of Asian American students, illustrating the "model minority" stereotype.
Asian Americans have been stereotyped as a "model minority": hardworking, politically inactive, studious, intelligent, productive, and inoffensive people who have elevated their social standing through merit and diligence. This label is given in contrast to other minorities who have often been accused of being criminal, welfare-dependent, demandingly rabble-rousing and problematic to American society.
Proponents of the "model minority" stereotype cite statistics of Asian American success, such as their higher-than-average financial status and overrepresentation in prestigious Ivy League universities. Statistics show that a strong plurality of Asian Americans have graduated from elite universities. In a study by Diverse Education, as of 2007, over 1 in 4 Asian American college graduates have graduated from an elite university (school in the Top 40 according to US News and World Report). [16] Including schools ranked in the Top 50, the number increases to around 44% of Asian American college graduates having graduated from a Tier 1 university. In contrast, barely 1 in 4 blacks have attended, let alone graduated from any college. Some proponents of the model minority stereotype also include Asian Americans themselves, such as noted Asian supremacist Arthur Hu, whom are proud of their supposedly genetic advantage, academic achievements and financial success and see this label as being empowering to their image.
However, other Asian Americans believe the model minority stereotype to be damaging and inaccurate, and are fighting to dispel this stereotype. [17] More recently, scholars, activists, and most major American news sources have started to oppose this stereotype calling it a misconception that exaggerates the success of Asian Americans.[18][19][20][21] According to those trying to debunk this belief, the model minority stereotype alienates Asian Americans from other minorities and covers up actual Asian American issues and needs that are still not properly addressed in America today.[22] For example, the widespread notion that Asian Americans earn higher-than-average income obscures issues such as the "glass ceiling" phenomenon, in which high-level managerial or executive positions are only seen but not reached,[23][24][25] and the fact that Asian Americans must acquire more education and work more hours than their white counterparts to earn the same amount of money.[26] The "model minority" image is also seen as being damaging to Asian American students because their assumed success makes it easy for educators to overlook Asian American students who are struggling academically.[27]
The model minority stereotypes also hurts statistically underperforming Asian groups, such as the Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian youths whose dilemma is masked by the more publicized successes of the larger middle-class East Asian population of youth descended from the wave of professionals who emigrated to America during the 1960s. For example, 25.2% of Asian Americans over age 25 hold a bachelor's degree compared to only 15.5% of the general American population, thus giving the impression of Asian American success. However, only 6.9% of Cambodians, and 6.2% of Laotians in this age group in America hold bachelor's degrees.[28]
[29] Despite this stereotype of supposed Asian American success, there is a high 80% unemployment rate among the Hmong Americans and other Asian Americans groups from refugee backgrounds. [26]
Affirmative action
Main articles: Affirmative action
Some American universities utilize affirmative action in order to promote racial diversity on campuses by encouraging admission of underrepresented populations. Since Asians are traditionally overrepresented at a number of prestigious universities, some believe that affirmative action works against Asians despite their minority status.[31] Also, the racial categories used by academic institutions often lump together a very diverse population of Asians under a single "Asian and Pacific Islanders" category. This is problematic because there are very large disparities in socioeconomic status and opportunity in the Asian American population. Asian ethnic groups with smaller populations are marginalized and rendered virtually invisible due to racial categorizations.[28]
[29]
Archetypal Asians in American fiction
Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan are arguably two of the most important and well-known fictional Asian characters in American history. Both were created by white authors, Sax Rohmer and Earl Derr Biggers respectively, in the early part of the 20th century. Fu Manchu is a sardonically evil but intelligent Chinese murderer with plots of world domination, the embodiment of America's imagination of a threatening mysterious Asian people. Charlie Chan is an apologetic submissive Chinese-Hawaiian detective who solves cases and never fights back against the many racist insults hurled at him by white American characters, and represents America's archetypal "good" Asian. Both characters found widespread popularity in numerous novels and films, and therefore have pervaded the American consciousness with stereotypes of Asians.[34]
Fu Manchu: "Evil" Asian
Main articles: Fu Manchu
Promotional poster for 1965 film ''The Face of Fu Manchu.''
Thirteen novels, three short stories, and one novelette have been written about Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, the British agent determined to stop him. Millions of copies have been sold in the United States with publication in British and American periodicals and adaptations to film, comics, radio, and television. Due to his enormous popularity, the "image of Fu Manchu has been absorbed into American consciousness as the archetypal Asian villain." In ''The Insidious Doctor Fu-Manchu'', Sax Rohmer introduces Fu Manchu as a cruel and cunning man, with a face like Satan, who is essentially the "Yellow Peril incarnate".[35]
Sax Rohmer inextricably tied the evil character of Fu Manchu to the entire Asian race as a manifestation of the yellow peril, attributing the villain's behavior to his race. Rohmer also adds an element of mysticism and exoticism to his portrayal of Fu Manchu. As Fu Manchu contrives elaborately creative and cruel methods of murdering his victims, he often uses supposedly Asian methods or elements in his murders such as silk rope. It is also important to note here that despite Fu Manchu's specifically Chinese ethnicity, these elements are pan-Asian, again reinforcing his portrayal as a representation of ''all'' Asian people. Blatantly racist statements made by white protagonists such as: "the swamping of the white world by yellow hordes might well be the price of our failure" again add to Asian stereotypes of exclusion.[36] Fu Manchu's inventively sardonic methods of murder and white protagonist Denis Nayland Smith's grudging respect for his intellect reinforce stereotypes of Asian intelligence, exoticism/mysticism, and extreme cruelty.
Charlie Chan: "Good" Asian
Screenshot of television program starring fictional Chinese-Hawaiian detective Charlie Chan.
Main articles: Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan, a fictional character created by author Earl Derr Biggers, has been the subject of 10 novels (spanning from 1925 to as late as 1981), over 40 American films, a comic strip, a board game, a card game, and a 1970s animated television series. In the films, the role of Charlie Chan has almost always been played by white actors (namely Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters) in "yellowface."[37]
In stark contrast to the Chinese villain Fu Manchu, Asian American protagonist Charlie Chan represents the American archetype of the "good" Asian. In ''The House Without a Key'', Earl Derr Biggers describes Charlie Chan in the following manner: "He was very fat indeed, yet he walked with the light dainty step of a woman. His cheeks were chubby as a baby's, his skin ivory tinted, his black hair close-cropped, his amber eyes slanting."[38] Charlie Chan speaks English with a heavy accent and flawed grammar, and is meticulously polite and apologetic. After one particular racist affront by a Bostonian woman, Chan responds with exaggerated submission, "Humbly asking pardon to mention it, I detect in your eyes slight flame of hostility. Quench it, if you will be so kind. Friendly co-operation are essential between us." Bowing deeply, he added, "Wishing you good morning."
Because of his emasculated, unassertive, and apologetic physical appearance and demeanor, Charlie Chan comes off as non-threatening to mainstream audiences despite his considerable intellect and ability as an Asian American man. He holds none of the daring, assertive, or romantic traits typically attributed of white fictional detectives of the time. Instead, Charlie Chan's successes as a detective are in the context of proving himself to his white superiors or white racists who underestimate him early on in the various plots. His character also perpetuates stereotypes of orientalism as well, as he quotes supposed ancient Chinese wisdom at the end of each novel, saying things like: "The Emperor Shi Hwang-ti, who built the Great Wall of China, once said: 'He who squanders to-day talking of yesterday's triumph, will have nothing to boast of tomorrow.'"[39]
Stereotypes of Asian men
Emasculation and effeminacy
Historically, Americans have thought of Asian men as feminine and emasculated since the mass immigration of Chinese men to the United States to build the transcontinental railroad during the mid-1800's. The primary reasons for their emasculated image included the physical appearances of these laborers, and the fact that they did what was considered to be "women's work." These workers were as a group shorter than the average Chinese man, sported long queues, and sometimes wore long silk gowns.[40] Because Chinese men were seen as an economic threat to the white workforce and laws were passed that barred the Chinese from many industries, the only jobs available to the Chinese of the time were jobs that whites deemed "women's work" (i.e., laundry, cooking, and childcare). In the press, Asian men were constantly compared to white women.
Joan Kee observes that "Asian American male sexuality has long entailed a discourse of nothingness."[41] Instead, according to Sheridan Prasso, Asian men in film have with little exception been portrayed as "small, sneaky, and threatening... spineless, emasculated wimps" with small penises, or "incompetents" who always lose when "faced with white man's superior strength or firepower." For example, in American films ''Kill Bill'', ''Payback'', and the James Bond movie ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974), entire inept Asian male fighting forces are immobilized by a white man (or white woman in the case of ''Kill Bill'').[40]
The recurring image of the Asian male as a "sexually impotent voyeur or pervert" has pervaded television and film throughout American history. Examples include Mickey Rooney in "yellowface" as the bucktoothed Japanese landlord who sneaks peeps at Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', or the pathetically asexual nerd Long Duk Dong from John Hughes's 1984 adolescent classic ''Sixteen Candles'' whose every entrance is accompanied by the clash of a gong. The stereotypes of emasculated sissy Asian men in the media have also translated to real life in the light way that Asian male leaders such as Ho Chi Minh, Kim Jong Il, and Mao Zedong are described and portrayed.
In American film, Asian men usually don't get the girl because they are either portrayed as being "Zen-like" and not having romantic feelings, or they are love-shy, or they are economically disadvantaged, or because they are easily defeated by superior white or black protagonists and are too emasculated to provide serious competition for the girl.
Even action movies like ''Kiss of the Dragon'' (2001), or ''The Replacement Killers'' (1998) that contain Asian male protagonists deny the Asian male characters romances with the white women whose lives that they save. Instead of the kiss usually granted to the white male protagonist, in these movies, the rescued white woman only gives the Asian action hero a hug or a grateful obligatory "thank you" kiss on the hand; there is almost never a relationship between the characters even if there is romantic tension.
Predators to White women
American anti-Japanese propaganda poster from World War II depicting a Japanese soldier threatening a white woman.
Asian men have been portrayed as threats to white women[43] in many aspects of American media. Racist depictions of Asian men as "lascivious and predatory" were common at the turn of the 20th century.[44] Between 1850 and 1940, both U.S. popular media and pre-war and WWII propaganda portrayed Asian men as a military and security threat to the country, and therefore a sexual danger to white women[34] since a woman's body traditionally symbolizes her "tribe's" house or country in Western cultures.[46] In the 1916 film ''Petria'', a group of fanatical Japanese individuals who invade the United States, attempt to rape a white woman.[47]
The recurring narrative involving the abduction or sexual contact of a white woman with a non-white (in this case Asian) man is called a "captivity narrative." Most Hollywood captivity narratives involving white women and Asian men either feature the threat of "white slavery," in which a white woman is forced into prostitution; or the capture of a white nurse or missionary, in which there is threatened sexual contact with an Asian warlord or military-related character (e.g. 1933 film ''The Bitter Tea of General Yen''). The "white slavery" portrayal of the threatening Asian man stereotype was mostly predominant during the era of silent films. However, more recent examples of "white slavery" narratives include television movie ''The Girls of the white Orchid'' (1983), in which a white woman answers an advertisement for American singers in Japan and gets trapped in a prostitution slavery group;[48]
Misogynists
A common stereotype of Asian men is that they are misogynistic, too insensitive and disrespecting towards women. They are commonly referred as male chauvinists. [49]
[50]
[51] This stereotype originated from Asian media that portray Asian men as sexist.
''The Joy Luck Club'' is particularly consistent with this racial cliche because it portrays Chinese culture (especially Chinese males) as being negative and restrictive to the freedoms of Chinese females. This in turn might allow for a refreshing picture of white men to somehow liberate Chinese women. About the time the movie made its debut in theatres, many Asian Americans (many of them Chinese American) were offended by the negative portrayal of Asian men in this film. Such screen portrayals are consistent with the restriction and/or absence of Asian American masculinity in the western media.
Gangster stereotype
A common Asian stereotype is that of the rowdy, uncontrollable young male. In Asian cultures parents take special care in upbringing their children to be well mannered and respectful to others. [11] While this of course depends on the conditions of the child's upbringing (such as economic stability), Asian people are renowned for being honorable and respectful. Despite this, many view Asians (particularly those who have immigrated from their homeland to a Western country) as being disrespectful, violent and untrustworthy criminals. As a result of these two contradicting views, Asians are categorized by Westerners into two groups. The studious, polite and intelligent group and the violent, destructive "gangsters". This image has been further fueled in the Western world by Asian drug hoarding circles. An example of real people contributing to the creation of such an image would be Bali Nine drug ringleader Andrew Chan.
Stereotypes of Asian women
Hypersexuality
Asian women have been portrayed as aggressive sexual beings. Western film and literature has promoted stereotypes of Asian women, such as depicting Asian women as cunning "Dragon Ladies",[53][54][55] as servile "Lotus Blossom Babies", "China dolls", "Geisha girls", war brides, or prostitutes.[56] Japanese media have also at times sensationalistically promoted the stereotype of Japanese women overseas as "yellow cabs".[57] UC Berkeley Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim has argued that the stereotype of Asian women as submissive sex objects has impeded women's economic mobility and has fostered increased demand in mail-order brides and ethnic pornography.[58] Other contributors to these stereotypes may come from the widespread proliferation of pornography, especially on the internet and the globalization of the industry. Japan, especially, has one of the largest adult video markets in the world[59] and many of these are exported overseas, which may contribute to a highly sexualized image of Asian women in general. Although, it may be argued that just as much western pornography is imported in to Asian countries.
More nuanced treatments of stereotypes come from movies like ''The World of Suzie Wong'' (1960) (also a book) where the Asian woman's appeal comes partially from her "orientalness" expressed through their clothing, language and attitudes, and from the fact they serve as cultural and gender guides for foreign men. In these movies, white men are fairy-tale knights and their love functions as a redemptive force for fallen Asian women. Staci Ford of University of Hong Kong concludes that stereotypical depictions of women in general created by sexist white men continue to haunt movies even though they now have a disguised form.[60]
The "China Doll" stereotype
According to author Sheridan Prasso, the China doll stereotype and other variations of this submissive stereotype exist in American movies: "Geisha Girl/Lotus Flower/Servant/China Doll: Submissive, docile, obedient, reverential (including Asian men as effeminate, servile); Vixen/Sex Nymph: Sexy, coquettish, manipulative; tendency toward disloyalty or opportunism; Prostitute/Victim of Sex Trade/War/Oppression: Helpless, in need of assistance or rescue; good-natured at heart."
Gwen Stefani's adoption of this component of Japanese culture drew criticism from Mihi Ahn at Salon.com, and others who feel that Stefani has stripped Japanese street fashion of its authenticity and created yet another example of the 'submissive Asian female' stereotype.[61] According to the Jan/Feb 2006 edition of ''Blender'' magazine, stand-up comic Margaret Cho has labeled the Harajuku Girls as a "minstrel show" that reinforces ethnic stereotypes of Asian women.
Stereotypes of physical attributes
The stereotypical image of East Asian and Southeast Asian people's physical appearance generally includes having straight black hair, small or slanted eyelids with an epicanthal fold, brown eyes, yellow-tinged skin, and small stature, amongst other traits. Asian men are stereotyped to have small penises who can't satisfy women, other than from their own race. Asian women are stereotyped to have flat bodies.
There is also the idea that all Asians look alike. It is considered to be a faux pas to mistake a person of one Asian ethnicity for another. For example, during a fight scene involving Chinese men in ''Rush Hour 2'', Chris Tucker accidentally punches Jackie Chan and apologizes by saying, "All y'all look alike!"
Ethnicity-specific stereotypes of physical appearance exist as well. For example, during World War II in America, efforts were made to distinguish "enemy" Japanese from "friendly" Chinese solely by physical appearance (as seen in a Life Magazine article published at this time [9]), thus leading to further stereotyping and the attribution of physical traits to each group.[62]
Asians have also been stereotyped to be poor at sports, related to stereotypes of emasculation, short stature, and nerdiness. Some of these attitudes have emerged during various Olympics, in which people accused Asian athletes of using steroids to win or expressed surprise at Asians medaling. Asians are stereotyped, however, to be quite expert at martial arts.
Stereotype of mentally unstable behavior and violence
The recent spate of violent incidents involving Asian Americans as suspects has potentially given rise to an insidious new stereotype of Asian Americans as mentally unstable, emotionally repressed, and prone to acting out in violent ways. [59] Also, Japanese women, on average, statistically have higher suicide rates and other Asian women are stereotyped to have higher rates of anorexia nervosa and suicide. [11]
Besides Seung-Hui Cho's shooting massacre at Virginia Tech which gained national and international attention, in 2007 alone, there has been a rise of violence involving Asian Americans with possible behavioral problems. Joseph Cho, a Yale University graduate and a former law student at the University of Pennsylvania has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and other related offenses after he tried to shoot two South Asian students from Drexel. [59] Some speculate whether this was an ironic racially motivated crime or a mental illness on the part of Joseph Cho. Kenneth Eng, a Chinese American writer notorious for his racist columns in Asian Week was also charged with harassment and assault after allegedly threatening to kill his neighbor and her dog. [59]
Some are trying to restrict the immigration of Asians and other non-whites. The reasons are often stereotypes of Asians.
Asians are scapegoated from the exaggeration violence committed by Asians and Asian gangs.[11]
[11]
They frequently use murderers such as Seung-Hui Cho and Chai Soua Vang, who are South Korean and Laos nationality respectively.
[11]
Some Asians criticized the media for blaming Asians by highlighting Cho Seung-Hui's national origin. [11]
[11]
[11]
Therefore, they sometimes use them as a "proof" of why immigration of non-whites is damaging to the nation.
Marginalization
Exclusion from leadership positions, lack of leadership ability
Some think that American businesses will fail when Asians own them because they are stereotyped to lack some skills such as creativity, abstraction, analytical thinking, divergent thinking, lateral thinking, critical thinking and thinking outside the box to keep businesses running.
[73]
[74]
Also there are stereotypes of Asians lacking leadership, verbal and management skills.
A survey showed attitudes of white views
of Asian CEOs: [11]
7% of Americans would not want to work for an Asian American CEO. This is in contrast to 4% for an African American, 3% for a woman and 4% for a Jew.
Of Asian Presidents 23% of Americans are uncomfortable voting for an Asian American to be President of the United States. This is in contrast to 15% compared with an African American candidate, 14% compared with a woman candidate and 11% compared with a Jewish candidate. However, it may be a result of the discrimination of atheists, not Asians, since many East Asians are atheists. [11]
Relegation to supporting roles in the media
Asians are often relegated to supporting roles in American entertainment and media. [6] Even in projects centering on Asian or Asian American subject matters, the primary protagonist is still usually a white character. For example, the internment camp movie ''Come See the Paradise'' features a white man as the protagonist, pushing its Japanese American characters into the background, while the American actor Tom Cruise portrays the main character of ''The Last Samurai''. However, ''The Last Emperor'', ''The Joy Luck Club'', and ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' are examples of popular films with Asian and Asian American actors in lead roles.
Poor English skills
In American movies, television shows, and theatre, Asian characters are often used as a source of comedy, making the audience laugh by speaking thickly accented pidgin English and acting inappropriately. These mediums also find comedy by making fun of Asian languages and the way that they sound. For example, the thick accent of the goofy Chinese exchange student in ''Sixteen Candles'' — who is given the name "Long Duk Dong" — is used for cheap laughs. He is given lines like: "Wassa happening hot stuff?" and "No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food." On ''Mad TV'', a comedy sketch series, Miss Swan, a juvenilely clueless Asian manicurist played by Alex Borstein, is a favorite recurring character. Her trademark phrase is "Okay, I tell you everything: he look-a like a man!" and she draws laughs by annoying all the other characters to madness by communicating ineffectively due to her language barrier, pidgin English, and ridiculously inappropriate actions in public settings. In the revival of musical ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'', the audience laughs at the purposely exaggerated foreign-sounding Cantonese dialogue between the Chinese villains. In the movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', Mickey Rooney in "yellowface" plays the bucktoothed Japanese neighbor who constantly yells at the protagonists in broken English for being too noisy. Even when they are not being made fun of for comedic purposes, many Asian characters (especially early on in American cinema) are made to speak in broken English.
See also
★ Orientalism
★ Angry Asian Man
★ Asian fetish
★ Chinabounder
★ Sex crimes against Asian women in the United States
★ Model minority
★ Asian pride
★ Pan-Asianism
★ Yellow Peril
★ Stereotype threat
★ Racial profiling
★ Stereotypes of Eurasians
★ Ching Chong
★ Chinaman
References
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External links
★ GoldSea Discussing Asians in entertainment and stereotypes.
★ Model Minority.com Discussing Asians in entertainment and stereotypes.
★ Asian-Nation Discussing about Anti-Asian Prejudice & Racism
★ Black Racism Article about blacks against Asians.
★ AllLookSame An educational online quiz which tests the taker's ability to differentiate persons of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean origin.
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