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Asian fetish refers to objectifying people of Asian descent, typically females, who are "objectified and valued not for who they are as people, but for their race or perceptions of their culture". The objectification is usually sexual in nature.

Asian fetish has been used in a more benign context to mean "a harmless preference for specific physical characteristics, such as narrow eyes and flatter noses, as harmless as some people's preference for dating, say, fatter partners." Asian fetish has also been cited as causes of sex crimes against Asian women in the United States.

Stereotyping of Asian personality traits

In the afterword to the 1988 play M. Butterfly, the writer, David Henry Hwang, using the term "yellow fever,", a pun on the disease yellow fever, discusses white men with a "fetish" for Asian women. Hwang argues that this phenomenon is caused by stereotyping of Asians in Western society.

In an article published in San Francisco Examiner, "Asian Women, Caucasian Men", Joan Walsh wrote that some non-Asian men pursued Asian females for "their appearance - and stereotypes about how they treat men." The article referred to a "feminist backlash" that drove Caucasian men away from Caucasian women. Some non-Asian women referred to Asian fetish as a result of "inability of men to have intimate relationships with women they see as equals."

Media studies

In 2002, Jennifer Lynn Gossett and Sarah Byrne conducted a content-analysis study of 31 pornographic Web sites that advertised scenes depicting the rape or torture of women, and found that nearly half of the sites used depictions of Asian women as the rape victim.

Association with sex crimes against Asian women

While many consider an Asian fetish as a benign phenomenon that does not need to be taken seriously, some Asian American authors and activists claim that the proclivity has dangerous implications . There are critics of the negative connotations of Asian fetish that claim that Asian fetish is a harmless behavior or preference. Although some Asian women view it as harmful, others find it empowering .

In an article in AsianWeek, author Lisa Wong writes,

Asian American women across the country are outraged and disgusted by the arrest of a Princeton student two weeks ago for harassing fellow Asian women students. Many believe the incident is symptomatic of larger problems, including stereotypes and the exotification of Asian women.

Sex tourism

Prostitution in Thailand and prostitution in the Philippines is largely supported by men with Asian fetish. Trafficking in human beings is needed to support these industries.

Adoption of Asian babies

Salon Magazine published an essay, "Identity crisis", by an adopted Korean girl. She describes being very much aware that her mother has an Asian fetish and that this was part of the reason why she was adopted.

Controversy

Bloodhound Gang, an American alternative band, wrote and performed a song entitled "Yellow Fever", which caused controversy within the Asian-American community.

OC Weekly caused a controversy after publishing an article, "Yellow Fever - They got it bad, and that ain't good." This article was also published in "The Village Voice".

Sandra Fey defines what she calls the "Asian Female Fetish Syndrome" and indicate that it can be avoided by Asian females by dating Asian men.

In 2006, Rumpus Magazine published an article entitled "Me Love You Long Time" which was panned for emasculating Asian men while portraying Asian women as promiscuous. After protests from Asian American Students Alliance at Yale University, Rumpus co-Editor in Chief Sam Heller responded, "We weren't necessarily about it, but I think that you have to have a sense of humor. You shouldn't take it so seriously. We're not trying to tear down the Asian community here."

University of Virginia students were criticized for their Facebook group "Americans for the Increased Importation of Asian Women." Initially stating that the group was intended to be a joke, the creators renamed the group to "Americans Who Value Females of Asian Descent" after pressure from the university.

Racial preferences in dating

Raymond Fisman, along with others, performed a study, "Racial Preferences in Dating," which was published in the Review of Economic Studies. Raymond also published an article on Salon that analyzed the results of this study. Raymond concluded that there was no evidence that supports the stereotype that white males' preference for East Asian women in dating. Based on the results Raymond believed that East Asian women generally prefer East Asian men, but do not discriminate against white men. However, Asian women did often discriminate against black and Hispanic men. Raymond concluded, as a result, that this was the reason why the white man-Asian woman pairing was the most common form of interracial dating found. Some found the article and study to be flawed. The credibility of the article and study was doubted based on first-hand experiences with Asian fetish.

Opinion that Asian fetish is not all bad

Phoebe Eng has argued that not all Asians feel that Asian fetish is bad, since it has given new sexual visibility and liberation to an otherwise invisible and disadvantaged minority in the media. Asian American writers such as Erika Kim and Tracy Quan have written that the term is used to condemn interracial relationships between white men and Asian women. Quan has written that terms such as "yellow fever" or "Asian fetish" are meaningless as she feels that personal attraction is a complex result of many factors "some of which are too mysterious for words."

References

1. 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)
2. Deconstructing 'Asian fetish' - the appeal of physical appearance and/or cultural traits
3. ^ Wong Macabasco, Lisa (Apr 29, 2005). "Princeton Incident Shows Extreme Case of Asian Fetish". Asian Week. pp. 115–142.
4. Hwang, David Henry (1988). "Afterward". M. Butterfly. New York: Plume Books. pp. p. 98. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
5. Walsh, Joan. San Francisco Examiner. Asian Women, Caucasian Men modelminority.com (2002-04-22)
6. Gender & Society, Vol. 16, No. 5, 689-709 (2002) DOI: 10.1177/089124302236992 © 2002 Sociologists for Women in Society
7. Kim, Sallie and Stockdale, Shannon (April 14, 2005). "For Asian Women, 'Fetish' is Less Than Benign". The Yale Daily News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Eng, Phoebe (2000). "She Takes Back Desire". Warrior Lessons : An Asian American Woman's Journey into Power. New York: Atria. pp. 115–142.
9. Princeton Incident Shows Extreme Case of Asian Fetish
10. Prasso, Sheridan (2005). "'Race-ism,' Fetish, and Fever". The Asian Mystique. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. pp. 262–295, 307–317. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors=, |chapterl=, and |month= (help)
11. Sherer, Theresa Pinto. "Identity crisisSlate magazine (2001-11-29). Retrieved on 2001-11-29.
12. Lee, Tom. AsianWeek "Bloodhound Gang Draws fans and Protesters to Fillmore" June 1, 2000
13. ^ Chang, Vickie. "Yellow Fever - They got it bad, and that ain't goodOC Weekly (2007-11-02). Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
14. Fey, Sandra. "Asian Female Fetish SyndromeAsiance Magazine (2007-09-04).
15. Macbeth, Cullen. "AASA accuses publications of racismYale Daily News (2006-04-17).
16. Rao, Mythili. "Facing Up to Facebook Racism Campusprogress.org (2005-05-24).
17. Fisman, Raymond. "An Economist Goes to a BarSlate magazine (2007-11-07). Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
18. Fisman,Raymond; Iyengar, Sheena S.; Kamenica, Emir; Simonson, Itamar. "Racial Preferences in Dating". 2007-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
19. neela. "Asian Fetish Myth: Not Debunked". 2007-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
20. MOE. "Are "Asian Fetishes" A Myth? We're Gonna Have To Go With "No" http://jezebel.com (2007-11-08). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
21. Chihara, Michelle. Boston Phoenix. There's Something About Lucy
22. Nam, Vicky (2001). YELL-oh Girls!. Harper Paperbacks. pp. p. 207. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
23. ^ Quan, Tracy. Salon.com. 2003. May 23, 2007. "Asian fetish?"

See also

• Asiaphile
• Rice queen
• Yellow cab (stereotype)
• Mail-order bride
• Sex crimes against Asian women in the United States
• Prostitution in Thailand
• Prostitution in the Philippines
• Korean adoptee
• International adoption
• Asian American contemporary issues

External links

• Asian Fetish
• "The Asian America That Can Say 'No'", Modelminority.com. (Originally published in The Daily Californian, September 9, 1991) Accessed February 17, 2006.
• "The Yellow Fever Pages", Zukazuka.com, 2002. Accessed February 17, 2006.
• "The Myth Of The Rice King", Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2004.
• "Racial preferences in the dating world", Seacoast Online, May 11, 2007. Accessed May 25, 2007.

• Articles with topics of unclear notability from October 2007
• Asian American issues
• Race
• Sexual fetishism