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GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Are AA Women the Real Victims of Prejudice?
sian women get a free ride at the expense of Asian men. That's the received wisdom here in the U.S. This belief appears premised on the suspicion that American society sees Asian women as sexy exotics in need of rescuing from the cold clutches of Asian men who don't know how to smile except evilly.
The real victim?
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Credit Hollywood for its tireless casting of Asian women as sexual accessories to white heroes while suppressing the very existence of Asian men except as unsavory paper tigers. Credit too the TV networks that uncover bevies of talking Asian women but rarely their male counterparts.
In fairness this media fantasy of the Asian race was partly inspired by recent history. Devastated and impoverished Asian nations sent tens of thousands of war brides and orphans, followed by several million desperate immigrants willing to hock their identities while toiling to build new lives.
Male-dominated societies toast new women as exotic sexual prospects while suppressing new men as an exploitable lower class or even enemy aliens. The women get all the breaks and the men get all the lumps. Even worse, the women have their heads turned and adopt a scornful attitude toward their own men. So goes the complaint of some AA men.
The women have a different take. Sexual predators bearing insulting stereotypes must be fended off while coping with women who see them as unfair competitors. Add to that the pain of being scorned as sellouts by AA men for no more reason than their apparent welcome by American society. Worst of all, complain AA women, is being begrudged the right to take simple pleasure in their own identities. How much easier just to face straightforward racial prejudice!
Do Asian women really have an easier time in America? Or do they suffer from the double-whammy of insulting stereotypes from non-Asians and unfair persecution from Asian men?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:55 AM)
be:
After yet another fun HK public bus ride home sitting behind a young couple who are all over each other, I'll have to agree with you about the US media must have some influence over Asian-Americans showing affection in public. Though in a lot of the cases here it seems to be the guy initiating all the moves. (Especially on the subway where the guy has his girlfriend pressed up against the divider right next to the door and seems to forget, it is made of plastic and the old man sitting behind it can see perfectly well where he's putting his hand).
T.H. Lien
Saturday, May 11, 2002 at 11:35:49 (PDT)
Janet Chang-Hawkins,
You raise th phenomena of many asian internet communities.
(1) The perception of certain AMs that all AFs who outmarry/date are "sellouts."
(2) The perception of certain AFs that
all AMs who criticize "sellouts" are refering to all AFs who outmarry/date.
If I may ask a question as to your life outside of GoldSea, do you often find that AMs in the real world criticize your choice of partners b/c of his race?
(I'm assuming that you are an AF and the "Chang" in Chang-Hawkins is your maiden name, but I'll apologize ahead of time if you are not-Asian and are the Hawkins part of the equation).
Or do you find the criticism by AMs to be more prevalent on the Web?
Man of Lha-sa(mancha)
Saturday, May 11, 2002 at 11:19:11 (PDT)
As an AM, I have AF friends with white boyfriends and husbands. Funny, I have no problem with them. In fact, I count these WM's as some of my closest friends. But when I see it out on the street, I feel weird. Sometimes its obviously a case of Asian fetish--but I'm not sure. It's a weird thing. I think if we actually listened to a lot of AFs and get to know them and their significant WM others, you'll actually discover that they care a lot about their Asian American identity and are very sensitive to the hurtful glares and glances AMs give them on the street. It's tough to be an AM in this society, but we should try to know people as individuals first and try not to judge them until you know them. We should proabbly be more in sympathy with each other than anything else. That's the only solution I can think of.
PBC
Saturday, May 11, 2002 at 07:06:50 (PDT)
WM with a Hot Asian Girlfriend,
Perhaps your girlfriend acts and dresses that way because that's her individual nature.
And you unfortunately are a victim of the media. Thinking that there is something wrong because she is not wearing a mini-skirt and trying to hump you in public.
Would you say the same things if you met WF blondes that were [intentionally tone down their "sexiness" (i.e. dress more conservatively) or their behavior (i.e. not kissing or being even reasonably affectionate in public with a guy) due to the "sexually available" image the media has liked to use.]
DWG (Dumb white Guy) all the way and loving it.
AC Dropout
Friday, May 10, 2002 at 14:51:22 (PDT)
TO JANET CHANG-HAWKINS
I have absolute no problem w/ asian women dating nonasian men as long as they still treat their asian men equally as other men instead of denying our existence.
to say that asian women are being persecuted by asian men is an absolute exaggeration. some suffer unfair judgement from asian men as "sell-out". its not fair for asian women. but its discrimnination not persecution.
by the way, what does asian women expect us to do when asian men are continuously rejected, dissed, and downcasted not only by the media/mainstream but also by some asian women? if you wear our shoes, u too will be frustrated.
its not right to call asian women sell-out. but maybe if people in general are more fair to us asian men, we wouldn't be this pissed.
asian women are indeed beautiful women.
Asian guy who hates lies!
Andys1123@aol.com
Friday, May 10, 2002 at 11:25:07 (PDT)
I'm a white female and I find it so interesting that there are still such stereotypes about asian males out there in other parts of the country. I live in the northeast, and I date an asian man. I've always thought that asian men were attractive, went to school/college with asian people and never thought of them as either dorks or superachievers. A lot of people I know don't hold those stereotypical images of asians at all, a lot of white women I know find asian men attractive. So just to let you know that it's not everyone.
curious girl
Friday, May 10, 2002 at 10:37:00 (PDT)
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