About Asian American Men | Asian American Poll

ASIAN AMERICAN MEN
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:12:34 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which of the following is the most attractive quality about Asian American men?
Good Looks | 60%
Attractive Build | 7%
Attitude & Personality | 17%
Education/Culture | 16%

Which of the following is the least attractive aspect of Asian American men?
Looks | 4%
Build | 5%
Personality | 10%
Success Fixation | 17%
Insensitivity | 64%

Which factor contributes most to the negative image of AA men?
Large proportion of recent immigrants in the AA population | 22%
White American men seeing Asian men as a threat | 26%
The media catering to existing prejudices | 32%
Asia's relatively recent emergence from poverty | 20%

Which would most dramatically help the image of AA men?
Asian male achieving sports stardom on par with Michael Jordan | 6%
AA male becoming elected President of the United States | 13%
East Asia attaining living standards on par with the U.S. | 24%
Asian male achieving movie stardom on par with Tom Cruise | 57%

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WHAT YOU SAY

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The Thinker,

I hate to break it to you but the concpet of Aryan has been around for 3000 years. Guess what Iran means. Its original pronunciation was Iryan or "land of Aryans". The hero of the Mahabaratat was named Arjuna pronounced in the Sankrit as Aryuna. The idea was an attempt to explain the linguistic relationship between certain language groups that suggested a common cultural link in the distant past. The Germanic, Romantic, Slavic, Sanskrit Greek and Hittite languages all had common links. The arguement against it was that certain words could be ralted due to chance or throught the idea of "baby talk" that could link many unrealted languages because of common developement issues in babies speech. But their are words that are outside of these exceptions. Words, for gods and deities, weather and extended familiy realtions. for example teh word daughter-in-law in the same in every language group mention above. The word God teh father. Zeus Pater, Deus Pater, Dyus Piter,Deu Pateer etc. The words for summer, spring and winter are also similar. the counting of numbers to ten same. All of these commonalities point to a common cultural ancestor that probably exited around 5000 B.C. The Nazis however twisted the term to mean blonde haired and blue eyed. While many Aryans were blue eyed the vast majority were fair-to tawny skinned with dark hair and brown eyes.

Makadu Monday, November 26, 2001 at 14:53:23 (PST)

I read through the posts and I think some of you make interesting observations. I am proud to say that I am an Indian....and belong to a rich and varied culture that has had continuous civilization for the last 5000 or so years. Not many people can claim that...least of the "civilized" westerners.... the savages of the west that started out late and since butchered millions and swindled untold wealth mainly from the east.
I am so appalled by the concept of "ARYAN" which has no historical basis and started singlehandedly by the german "scholar" Max-Muller which then was carried forth by the hideous gobbels.
Also I am curious as to why western features, golden hair and blue eyes have come to mean key characteristics to what defines the human beauty. Is the continuous drumming by the western media or is it something intrinsic to human concept of beauty? I am more inclined to believe in the former.
Keep the discussion going.
The Thinker dmarla@hotmail.com Sunday, November 25, 2001 at 22:10:31 (PST)

You know what?
Its a pity we have to continue to use conventions that are clearly ill-suited for our times at this day-and-age.
I think Indians,Sri-Lankans,Pakistanis etc. (although are included as being from Asian regions) seem to be excluded from the "ASIAN" category.
Instead this word seems to typify the Asians that are more either of the fair complexion('yellow' I hate to use it) or who are from nations influenced or exposed to confucianism.
Even then if asians who have none of these fore-mentioned atrributes still look 'yellow' they are then classified as being 'Asian'.
Shouldn't the non-yellow Asians be given another category or does abolition need to take place?
Personally I think we need to do some re-defining.
Anon Tuesday, November 06, 2001 at 08:33:56 (PST)

Hindi,

You bring up several points which need a large explanation. Each point is like a stream that feeds into a larger river of perception and self identity. The majority of people in this world attempt to glorify their own culture and heritage above those of other men. This is as true for Indians as it is for the rest of mankind.
First of all I would say that I am an American born to Pakistani nationals who migrated to America 23 years ago. I myself was born In Copenhagen, Denmark of all places. My ethnicity is from the South Asian sub-groups of Mughal and Pathan.
I am Muslim in faith and am quite knowledgable about its history and moral structure, but my own personal practice is rather poor. Beyond my abstinence from pork, I possess no visible or outward quality usually associated with Muslims in the eyes of non-Muslims.
As far as the notion that Muslims must recant or abjure themselves from their non-Muslim past is not true. The Arab tribes of Mecca were based on clans and families. These clans remained intact prior to and after thier conversion to Islam and thier internal politics shaped much of Islams early history. I think perhaps you are confusing the issue with ancestoral worship. Many religions of the world, among them Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism and Buddhism, practice this form of worship. Yet this went against the teachings of Islam to the point that the prophet of Islam himself is regarded as a chosen man but still just a man who should never be brough to the level of deity.
In my experince I know many Indian Muslims and Pakistani Muslims that have vast knowledge of thier families and history in India. I also know many Hindus that see Islam as a corruption of thier culture. I think the schism occurs when Hindu and Muslim issues and historic accounts come into conflict. One example is the Mughal dynasty. I know many Hindus that do not regard the Mughals as part of Indian culture even though they created the modern Sitar, Tabla and Taj Mahal which are among the most visible icons of Indian culture. Rather they praise minor Rajas like Shivaji who opposed Mughal rule. I have seen this in other posts such as one from Akash who insists the Turks were savage invaders that brought nothing to India in the way of science, technology or medicine. He is more then entitield to his opion. Perhpas the reasoning behind Pakistani preoccupation with their cultures is because most Islamic influence in India came via Persian, Turkish or Arabic speaking people. These people brought with them their own set of manners and etiquete. These cross cultural gernimations gave rise to certain Muslims identifying with cultures other then those of India. This is particularly true of the historic geography of Pakistan since the greatest influnce happend in this area. In Bengal and Bangladesh you have a people who are Muslim but at the same time entirely Bengali in thier culture. This again is due to geography and the historic routes that invading armies took. To this very day in Pakistan you have a tiny minority of people in Kafiristan and the Hunza valley that keep alive the religious and cultural traditions of Alexander the Great and his Greek armies. While most Muslims of India share a closer cultural relationship to other Hindu Indians, it is the violent history and perpetual animosity in that area that gives birth to a need for seperate and dissimilar identities.
In the end we are all victims of our own slanted perceptions and great self praise. Myself included. These are only my views and are based on my study and understanding. Many may disagree with me but as the famous Indian Poet Sahir Ludianvi said: " After all is said and done, all I truely have in this world are my eyes. Why then should I be forced to view and understand the world through the eyes of another."
Seaman Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at 13:29:56 (PST)

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