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Asian fetish

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Asian fetish is the attraction or sexual preference, usually of non-Asian men or women, for Asian women or men. In colloquial usage, a non-Asian person who is exclusively interested in Asian people for sexual and/or romantic relationships is said to have "yellow fever."

Controversy rages and criticism abounds on this topic. Controversies include disputes over the definition of the term "Asian fetish", the credibility and validity of sources on this topic, and its potential relationship to racism.

Terminology

Asian Fetish is an attraction or sexual preference specifically for Asian people, their physical appearance, or stereotyped traits. The term "fetish" is used colloquially and is not a fetish as recognized by the medical or psychological community. Those who consider Asian fetish to be harmful believe it to be a fetish in the sense of "a fixation" on stereotypes of Asians.

Origin of the term

The earliest discussion of Yellow Fever in a sexual usage which later became known as the Asian fetish, seems to be in the play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang written in 1988. The play, based on a true story, is about a French diplomat who is seduced by a male Chinese spy pretending to be a female "Oriental" opera singer, by playing to the diplomat's stereotypical beliefs of how Chinese women should act. Hwang believes that Asian men have long been aware of white men being attracted to Asian women. Hwang claims that white men think Asian women make the best wives.


The first academic treatment of the fetishism of Asian Americans was by Columbia professor David L. Eng, in his dissertation work at the University of California, Berkeley.

Explanations for Asian fetish

This topic of Asian fetishes is extremely controversial with some people claiming it is a harmless sexual preference while others argue that Asia fetish is both racist and socially harmful. The distinction between these viewpoints is linked to different positions as to the underlying cause of the underlying sexual preference.

Asian fetish as a stereotyping of Asian personality traits

The term "Asian fetish" is used to address what is seen as stereotyping and objectification of Asians in Western society. According to author Sheridan Prasso, "Asian fetish" denotes a perceived sexual attraction favoring Asian women:

"...not for who they are as people, but for their race or perceptions of the culture that they come from."

Thus it has been argued that Asian fetishists are racist and sexist against Asians because the attraction or sexual preference is based either partly or wholly on race or racial stereotypes.

Vanessa Hue argues that there is a distinction between individuals who are attracted to Asians for those stereotypes and individuals who are attracted to Asian culture. However, some Asians do not accept the explanation of a generalized and gender-specific attraction toward Asian women, given the diversity of Asian cultures and different degrees of acculturation among Asians and Asian Americans, and the prevalence of non-gender-specific cultural differences between Asians and Americans. Some Asians also argue that the interest in Asian culture is limited to the most accessible aspects of the culture such as cuisine and fashion.

Phoebe Eng has argued that not all Asians feel that the current trend of "Asian fetish" is bad, since it has given new sexual visibility and liberation to an otherwise invisible and disempowered minority.

Use as a condemnation of interracial relationships

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2007)
See also: interracial marriage

Vicky Nam (editor of YELL-oh Girls!) thinks that people object to the term Asian fetish as an attempt to marginalize white-Asian relationships as a type of pathology, as the term fetish connotes an obsession with a certain practice, object, physical characteristic, ethnic type, etc, that is desired compulsively and without reason.

It is also the basis of angst for people in interracial relationships or contemplating them. Erika Kim, one author of the book YELL-oh Girls!, explains the impact this concept has had on her life:

I started to think any white guy who had a proclivity for Asian women automatically had an Asian fetish. I started to feel more pressure to associate with Asian people, and I felt guilty when I had a crush on a white guy because of the debates over the politics of interracial dating and miscegenation among Asians and Caucasians.

And it can cause non-Asian men in these relationships or contemplating them to feel persecuted by social disapproval of an "Asian fetish."

References

  1. ^ Hwang, David Henry (1988). "Afterward". M. Butterfly. New York: Plume Books. pp. p. 98. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. Eng, David L. (2001). Racial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America. Durham: Duke University Press.
  3. "Deconstructing "Asian fetish" - the appeal of physical appearance and/or cultural =traits". ColorQ World: interracial interacions between people of color. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |= ignored (help)
  4. Prasso, Sheridan (2005). "'Race-ism,' Fetish, and Fever". The Asian Mystique. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. pp. 132–164, 141. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors=, |chapterl=, and |month= (help)
  5. Vanessa Hua (February 6, 2000). "We all scream for chinoiserie". San Francisco Examiner.
  6. Eng, Phoebe (2000). "She Takes Back Desire". Warrior Lessons : An Asian American Woman's Journey into Power. New York: Atria. pp. 115–142.
  7. Nam, Vicky (2001). YELL-oh Girls!. Harper Paperbacks. pp. p. 207. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

See also

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