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GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
A New Image for Asian Men?
he original flavor stereotype of Asian men may have its inspiration in Hollywood mockery of the first wave of Chinese immigrants in the Old West. Bonanza's gimpy Hop Sing was the only recurring image of Asian men for most of TV's formative decades. For variety's sake, Hollywood racked its brain and added the coolie, the waiter and the bucktoothed enemy soldier.
Corean soccer star Ahn Jung-hwan
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Fortunately, Hollywood is no longer a one-stop outlet for depictions of Asian men.
Pro sports's $30 billion estimated annual U.S. rake rivals the $35 billion pocketed by Hollywood. Driven by athletic excellence, pro sports allow no room for image jiggering to satisfy racial biases. The exploits of dashing Ahn Jung-hwan in the World Cup wasn't scripted for white American mass audiences. The straight-sets drubbing that a tall young Thai named Paradorn Srichaphan gave Andre Agassi at Wimbledon can't be left on the cutting-room floor. Ichiro's leadoff-hitting and base-stealing can't be imitated with wires and special effects.
Hi-tech and bio-tech -- whose estimated $400 billion annual revenues dwarf the media -- have spawned another set of images that clash with Hollywood's. How do Americans reconcile premiere AIDS researcher David Ho or Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang with Hollywood's Hop Sings and Long Duck Dongs?
Questions arise. Doubts are engendered.
Even modern culture -- commonly tarred by association -- isn't entirely subject to Hollywood's reflexive Asian-male undercutting. Classical music lovers are nourished by Yo-Yo Ma's gourmet cello notes and thrill to the daring rifts of Japan's iron chefs. Younger Americans surrender racial identities to a no-holds-barred universe created by manga artists. Linguists and speed readers frequently abandon Hollywood's relentless quest for the lowest common denominator in favor of films made for Asian sensibilities.
To the extent sports, culture and business enjoy a tighter relationship with reality than does Hollywood, they offer Asian men a fairer, more compelling stage. And these spheres too pack big audiences that take note of the yawning abyss that separates Hollywood's "original flavor" Asian men from the crispier, spicier variety in the real world.
Is America seeing the emergence of a new, improved Asian male image? If so, is it making life easier for Asian American men? Or just stimulating a more determined effort at undercutting?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 04:38:55 AM)
Umm... i would have to rebuke that last posting from happiness is relative. MIKA, i think it's great to be an optimist -- much better than being a pessimist. enjoying the best of both worlds, appreciating your strengths rather than your weaknesses, i think it's great!
and about external factors, u cant control the winds, but u can adjust your sails. so i think being mixed anywhere will have some sort of unfairness, but to ignore that & focus on the good stuff, & decide for yourself what u want.. that's really cool!
and about mixed people in general (im not, im full AF), i asked my mother once why mixed children/people were always so good-looking & she said it was because God promoted interracial mixing :)
full AF from virginia
Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at 20:29:57 (PDT)
Mika, You're much too optimistic =P Some would argue being a hapa is the worst of both worlds. That is... to be seen as white among asians, asian among whites and be treated unfairly by both. But it depends entirely on where you live and who you are surrounded by. I think if I was around other hapas and asians in a mixed environment, like hawaii, I would certainly think it's great!
And ignoring "external factors", such as how others treat me for what I cannot change, I'm purdy darn happy with what I am. A good mix indeed.
happiness is relative
Monday, July 15, 2002 at 19:20:56 (PDT)
Being half-Asian, half-white myself, I most certainly got the best of both worlds! However, after a lifetime of being told "white is right", I have come into my own and live and realize that I do have much more of an attraction to and afinity for Asian men. They seem to have so much more to them, I love them, cherish them and simply can not WAIT for my own Prince to live happily ever after with.
Always love,
-Mika-
Mika
Friday, July 12, 2002 at 19:43:55 (PDT)
Yonsei, MLK,
I think for a WF married to an AM to take on his last name is a wonderful and brave thing to do. Brave because you'll have to put up with questioning looks, confusion, for the rest of your life. Someone once mentioned on the AM/WF forum (I think it was SOG) that taking on your husband's last name would show that you fully align yourself with him and love him and his Asian-ness.
Also the post from Pari was actually copied from a New York Times article from about a month ago.
curious girl
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 at 10:55:47 (PDT)
Pari,
I thoroughly enjoyed your post. You ought to submit it for publication.
My wife-- who is as Western New England, Yankee Congregationalist Puritan, blonde/blue-eyed, "Norman Rockwell portrait" as it gets --goes through the same thing. As a benefits consultant at a prestigious New England university, she gets a few raised eyebrows when people sit to meet with her. There is no one less Asian-looking than she is, yet "Beth Takamori" is her name.
She realizes with amusement that people expect her to be Japanese. For her, it's a kick, and she absolutely doesn't care if people somehow think badly of it. Unless it's really blatant, she's probably oblivious to any weird reaction. (Me, I sometimes enviously think her confidence stems from an absolute, unquestioned confidence of a Yankee Puritan in her element. Then again, it's probably because she's simply not insecure about such things).
My in-laws, too, have benignly narrow assumptions about people and things Asian. Clearly benign, I'll repeat, because I agree with what you say-- like your dad, they sometimes ask questions, and attempt to reach out and to understand more about Asian-American culture. (When people don't ask questions but simply state assumptions, that can be more problematic).
Making a "connection beneath the impropriety" is what my nisei grandmother does to Beth, too. Of course, Beth loves it, thinks it's a hoot-- especially when my grandmother asks her whether she and her family only bathe once a week, etc. Of course, Beth is her favorite (and only Caucasian) granddaughter-in-law.
Our families love each other and get along well whenever they congregate. (Mine are in Honolulu, hers in Western MA). WASPS and AJAs aren't necessarily irreconcilable, I've noticed.
Funny you should mention the parallels between Jewish and Chinese cultures. In Hawaii-- where Asian-Americans are the cultural majority --this is a fairly common assessment. In Hawaii, we are much more savvy to the subtle differences among Asians but not so much among whites. Nonetheless, Chinese are regarded as the "Jews of Asia" for some reason or other. (Statistically, Chinese are the wealthiest ethnic group per capita in Hawaii-- higher than whites or Japanese).
Our 8-year-old son has light brown hair, fair skin like his mom, long lashes with almond eyes-- but his eyes are deep green in color.
Many people think that the half-Asian, half-white mix is a particularly good-looking one. I'd have to agree.
Your children will have the best of both worlds. The Jewish-Chinese mix, let's face it, is a pretty formidable combination. (Good looks and extremely high SAT scores are not exactly a bummer).
Yonsei
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 at 08:15:43 (PDT)
to Lynne
I enjoyed your post. It was very...eloquent. I am glad to see that you can look at an Asian man and value the Asianess in him. It's been a big secret of mine for the longest time, and I'm glad that you, a WF, actually cracked the code for AM desirability when so many AFs still have yet to comprehend this.
Taking your husband's name is a very caucasian thing to do (Asian women usually keep their maiden names), but, like you, I feel that it is only fair. After all, they owe us a title!
Enjoy your life with your AM.
MLK
Tuesday, July 09, 2002 at 22:47:11 (PDT)
i think this site needs more pari changs
God of Asia
Tuesday, July 09, 2002 at 17:00:13 (PDT)
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