As a mixed-race, liberal woman I have lots of things to be angry about. In fact, you can often find me ranting about this, that or the other. Life is unfair, more so for some than others, and every now and then I get pretty frustrated with that. Feminism and racism were things that were pretty alien to me until I started university, then all of a sudden I had so much to be mad about.
The thing that has really frustrated me recently, and also previously (I wrote a blog post regarding a similar issue back in February last year), is the fetishization of my race.
Yellow fever. [Noun]. The belief by Caucasian men that East-Asian women make better sexual lovers than other women, whilst at the same time have no meaningful presence in politics and popular culture.
In other words, when Caucasian men have a strong attraction to Oriental women because they believe that they will be good in the sack, sexually submissive and 'exotic', but good for not much else.
Back in the day, when I was using dating apps like tinder, not a day went by when someone didn't mention that I looked as if I had an 'exotic' bloodline (?!), that they had not ever had sex with a Chinese girl (clearly an offer that I couldn't refuse), that I had 'big tits' for a Chinese girl, or that they only had sex with/dated Oriental girls (d'you want a medal m8?). Pretty sure my white friends don't get that kind of creepiness.
And I get it, I do. We're hot. Asian genes are great genes. No one ever believes my Mum when she tells them her age. But this is more than that.
It's not just that these guys are attracted to, I don't know... dark hair and more rounded faces. It's that they are taking the stereotype of Asian women and applying that to me, sexualising that thing, and then expecting me to be thrilled by that.
There is no way that I am a quiet, shy, obedient, coy and demure little girl, but that's who they're expecting me to be, purely because my mum's Chinese? Alright then.
It's stereotypes of Asian women, as innocent, child-like, powerless, mystical and submissive, that are perpetuated in things like anime, hentai porn, 'mail-order' brides and Japanese school girl costumes.
Unfortunately, Asian women are under represented in the west, and this means that the stereotypes are much harder to break. I can think of one film star (Lucy Liu, duh), one television programme with an Asian woman as a (non-stereotyped) main character (Fresh off the boat - it's amazing), and zero A-list celebrities that are Asian. Maybe that's because I'm not paying enough attention, but I don't think so, because I'd really love strong Asian women to look up to, but they just aren't supported by their industries or by the media.
Don't get me wrong - there are Asian women who perpetuate the stereotype too. They play up to idea that they are shy and need a sexual awakening. Some use it to help them find husbands in the west, others just want to be considered that way. I myself am guilty of it - I wore a bloody Japanese school girl costume for Halloween in 2013, along with lace stockings and a very low cut neckline. But I just wish I'd known better.
This problem is so much bigger than just the fetishizing of Asian women, that's clear to me. But that problem in particular is incredibly frustrating, and honestly, really disgusting.
[If you want to read more about 'yellow fever' click here to check out Yuan Ren's article for the telegraph].
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