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:''This article is not about love and/or interracial relationships. For the latter, see ].

The term '''Asian fetish''' refers to sexual stereotypes associated with Asians, especially Asian women.
It is a ] that may appear in three contexts:
#To denote pornography, the subjects of which are Asian women, often in stereotypical costume or situations, and to describe Western men who seek this form of pornography;
#By Asian American civil rights activists and authors to describe a form of racism and sexism against Asians and based on stereotypes about Asians; and
#As an academic term in ] literary and philosophical theory, referring to the ] of Asians in the western world.

Thus the meaning and interpretation of the term vary depending on the context. An ] search for the term will yield a mix of uses by activists and references to pornography sites, though in all cases it denotes an intense or abnormal ] of a non-], typically a ], to Asian women, primarily ] (such as ], ], ], ]), or to stereotypical images of these women to the point where it may be difficult or impossible for such a man to form relationships with women of his own race, or even non-Asian women in general<ref>
{{cite book | first = Sheridan | last = Prasso | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2005 | month = |
title = The Asian Mystique | chapter = 'Race-ism,' Fetish, and Fever | chapterurl = | editor = | others = | edition =
| pages = 132-164 | publisher = Perseus Books | location = Cambridge, MA}}</ref>. Activists frequently stress the abnormal and unhealthy aspects of ] to distinguish Asian fetish from the healthy attraction to Asian women of those in regular interracial relationships.

Asian American social activists have borrowed from each use (popular fetish, ], and ]) to create their use of the term.

==Popular terminology==
Apart from academic discourse and Asian American social activism, the term ''Asian fetish'' is primarily found applied to ] and, to a lesser degree, online dating services. In this sense it is a colloquial reference to a ].

====Definition====
According to ''Webster's'' Dictionary, a "fetish" may be:
* Any object believed by superstitious people to have magical power
* Any object or activity to which one is irrationally devoted
* Any non-sexual object, such as a foot or glove, that abnormally excites erotic feelings.

====Use in pornography====
In popular usage, an Asian fetish is a form of ] in which a man is unusually or abnormally attracted to Asian women. In this sense is an obsession with Asian women or an irrational devotion to stereotypes of them, in contrast to people in normal, healthy interracial relationships. While this is a reference to ], this is normally considered an incorrect or unscientific usage, though it may be considered that the fetishist is devoted to ''stereotypes'' of Asian women (as innocent, submissive and/or promiscuous) more than Asian women themselves<ref name=Lowenstein>{{cite journal
| first=L.F. | last=Lowenstein | year=2002 | month=Summer | title= Fetishes and Their Associated Behavior
| journal=Sexuality and Disability | volume=20 | issue=2 | pages=135 – 147
}}</ref>. This is the basis for the term when used in conjunction with pornography, where it holds a comparable place to other forms of ] such as ] or ]. However, some argue that Asian facial features may simply be more desireable to the "fetishist", in the same way others might be attacted to those with freckles or blond hair.

Asian fetishists may be sexually attracted to Asians because of stereotypical qualities they believe to be true amongst the Asians, such as innocence, submissiveness, promiscuity, or sexual prowess<ref>
{{cite book | first = Sheridan | last = Prasso | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2005 | month = |
title = The Asian Mystique | chapter = 'Race-ism,' Fetish, and Fever | chapterurl = | editor = | others = | edition =
| pages = 132-164 | publisher = Perseus Books | location = Cambridge, MA}}</ref>. Some argue that there is a distinction between individuals who are attracted to Asians for those stereotypes and individuals who are attracted to ], though this does not appear to be supported by its widespread use in denoting pornography.

==Social activism terminology==
Asian American social activists have adopted the term "Asian fetish" from both popular usage and academic usage to address what they see as stereotyping and objectification of Asians in Western society<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.colorq.org/Articles/article.aspx?d=2005&x=deconstruct
| title=Deconstructing "Asian fetish" - the appeal of physical appearance and/or cultural traits
| publisher= ColorQ World: interracial interacions between people of color
| pages= | date= | accessdate=
}}</ref>. Some argue that there is a distinction between individuals who are attracted to Asians for those stereotypes and individuals who are attracted to ]. 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.<ref>{{cite news | title=We all scream for chinoiserie | author=Vanessa Hua | date=February 6, 2000 | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/e/a/2000/02/06/SPECIAL15143.dtl | publisher=San Francisco Examiner}}</ref>

===Essay on origins of use in social activism===

The term "Asian fetish" began as slang usage in Asian American subculture, before eventually being adopted by literary authors{{fact}}, but activists trace its origins to the concept of "]", a term coined in 1972 by Asian American authors ] and Jeffrey Paul Chan.

:White racism enforces ]. White supremacy is a system of order and a way of perceiving reality. Its purpose is to keep whites on top and set them free. Colored minorities in white reality are stereotypes. Each racial stereotype comes in two models, the acceptable and the unacceptable. The hostile black stud has his acceptable counterpart in the form of Stepin Fetchit. For the savage, kill-crazy ], there is ] and the Hollywood version of ]. For the mad dog ] there's the ] and Pancho. For ] and the ], there is ] and his Number One Son. The unacceptable model is unacceptable because he cannot be controlled by whites. The acceptable model is acceptable because he is tractable. There is racist hate and racist love.<ref>{{cite book
| first = Frank | last = Chin
| coauthors = Jeffery Paul Chan
| year = 1972
| title = Seeing Through Shuck
| chapter = Racist Love
| chapterurl = http://www.modelminority.com/article1026.html
| editor = Richard Kostelanetz
| pages = p. 65
| publisher = Ballantine Books
| location = New York}}</ref>

Chin and Chan conclude that the stereotypes of Asian Americans have been the only successful acceptable stereotypes, and hence the only success story of white racism, and that Asian Americans are prevented from claiming to American history or heritage of their own. While their article on ] did not deal directly with the term Asian fetish, it is still sometimes cited in discussions of Asian fetish.
For example, ] professor Gin Yong Pang writes:

:In my study, many Korean American women encountered White men who, for whatever reasons, pursued and dated exclusively or predominantly Asian/Asian American women. These men were so common and identifiable that the women had special names for them; they were called "Rice Kings" or "Asiaphiles," or men with an "Asian fetish" or "Asian fixation." Their motives were highly suspect; the women perceived these men as demonstrating what Frank Chin and Jeffrey Paul Chan (1972) once regarded as classic examples of "racist love." <ref>{{cite book
| first = Gin Yong
| last = Pang
| year = 1998
| title = Korean American Women: From Tradition to Modern Feminism
| chapter = Intraethnic, Interracial, and Interethnic Marriages among Korean American Women
| pages = p. 134
| publisher = Praeger
| location = Boston}}</ref>

The earliest printed use of the term by Asian Americans seems to be in a 1982 play (published in 1984) by Asian Canadian playwright Rick Shiomi, entitled ''Yellow Fever'' <ref>{{cite book
| first = Richard
| last = Shiomi
| year = 1984
| title = Yellow Fever
| publisher = Playwrights Canada
| location = Toronto}}</ref>,
a term which is interchangeable with Asian fetish in meaning.
Shiomi's comical play is set in ] in Vancouver, and features a private eye named Sam Shikaze, an intended play on the name ].
However, while it is clear that Shiomi knew of the sexualized sense of the term "Yellow Fever," the play does not deal with Asians specifically in sexualized terms.

The earliest discussion of that, and of fetishism specifically, seems to be in the play '']'' by ].
The play, based on a true story, is about a British diplomat who is seduced by a male Chinese spy pretending to be a female "]" opera singer, by playing to the diplomat's stereotypical beliefs of how Chinese women should act.
In the afterward Hwang writes:

:Heterosexual Asians have long been aware of "Yellow Fever" --Caucasian men with a fetish for exotic Oriental women. I have often heard it said that "Oriental women make the best wives." (Rarely is this heard from the mouths of Asian men, incidentally.) This belief is exploited by the Oriental mail-order bride trade which has flourished over the decade. American men can now send away forcatalogues of "obedient, domesticated" Asian women looking for husbands. Anyone who believes such stereotypes are a thing of the past need look no further than Manhattan cable television, which advertises call girls from "the exotic east, where men are king; obedient girls, trained in the art of pleasure."<ref>{{cite book
| first = David Henry
| last = Hwang
| year = 1988
| title = M. Butterfly
| chapter = Afterward
| pages = p. 98
| publisher = Plume Books
| location = New York}}</ref>

The first academic treatment of the fetishism of Asian Americans was by ] professor David L. Eng, in his dissertation work at ] University.<ref>{{cite book
| first = David L.
| last = Eng
| year = 2001
| title = Racial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America
| publisher = Duke University Press
| location = Durham}}</ref>


There is controversy within the Asian American community about the use of the term "Asian fetish". Authors such as Frank Chin and Jeffrey Paul Chan regard it as a form of ] <ref>{{cite book
| first = Frank | last = Chin | authorlink = | coauthors = Jeffery Paul Chan | year = 1972 | month =
| title = Seeing Through Shuck | chapter = Racist Love | chapterurl = http://www.modelminority.com/article1026.html
| editor = Richard Kostelanetz | others = | edition = | pages = 65-79 | publisher = Ballantine Books
| location = New York}}</ref>
and/or an expression of ]
<ref>{{cite journal |first=E. |last=San Juan, Jr. |authorlink= |coauthors = |year=1983 |month=Spring
|title=The Cult of Ethnicity and the Fetish of Pluralism: A Counterhegemonic Critique
|journal=Cultural Critique |volume=18 |issue= |pages=215 – 229}}
</ref>
(whether by white men attracted to Asian women or implicitly by Asian women themselves in rejecting their native culture).
Other authors, such as Phoebe Eng, argue 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
<ref>{{cite book
| first = Phoebe
| last = Eng
| year = 2000
| title = Warrior Lessons : An Asian American Woman's Journey into Power
| chapter = She Takes Back Desire
| pages = 115 – 142
| publisher = Atria
| location = New York}}</ref>.

Criticisms of polarizing authors such as Frank Chin within the academic and novelist communities have been numerous.
Author Shirley Geok-lin Lim writes that some Asian American writing<ref>'''''Aiiieeee!''''' An Anthology of Asian American Writers. ed. Frank Chin et alia. Howard University Press, 1974</ref> cited by proponents of "Asian fetish" has "valorized cultural nationalism and argued for separatist politics".<ref>{{cite | title=Transnational Asian American Literature | publisher=Temple Press | url=http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1810_reg.html}}</ref>.
Moreover, Sau-ling C. Wong and Jeffrey J. Santa Ana write:

:''Frank Chin, perhaps the best known of the androcentric cultural nationalist writers, relies on misogyny and homophobia in his attempt to delineate and construct a (hetero)normative Asian American manhood. In his critique of racist Hollywood caricatures of Asian men, for example, Chin glorifies stereotypes of aggression in black, Latino, and Native American men.''<ref>{{cite journal
| first = Sau-ling C.
| last = Wong
| coauthors = Jeffrey J. Santa Ana
| year = 1999
| title = Gender and Sexuality in Asian American literature
| pages = 171 – 226
| journal = Signs
| volume = 25
| issue = 1
| month = Autumn
}}</ref>

And Daniel Kim writes that Chin's work suggests:

:''...the moral violence we inflict on our assimilated identities is perhaps intended for the 'white man' we glimpse within the shape of our 'Americanized' selves, the 'white man' we wish to beat out of ourselves but cannot.''<ref>{{cite book
| first = Daniel | last = Kim | | year = 1998
| title = Q&A: Queer in Asian America | chapter = The Strange Love of Frank Chin
| editor = David L. Eng and Alice Y. Hom | others = | edition = | pages = 270 – 303 | publisher = Temple University Press
| location = Philadelphia}}</ref>

===Sexuality and stereotypes===
Asian Americans are the subject of numerous stereotypes, many dealing with sexuality. Asian American activists claim these stereotypes are the motive force behind a widespread Asian fetish.

Though Asians in the U.S. have the highest household income of any other racial group, and some Asians self-identify as a "model minority", and suffer from lower overall rates of crime (see below), Asian American activists such as believe the label and accompanying stereotypes have a negative impact on Asians, , .

Stereotypes include those concerning the sexual ''desirability'' of Asian women, the sexual ''undesirability'' of Asian men, or the relationships of Caucasian men with Asian women (i.e. stereotypes of ''Asian fetishists'').

====Stereotypes of Asian womanhood====
<div id=Kim>] and ] has promoted stereotypes of Asian women, such as depicting Asian women as cunning "Dragon Ladies"<ref>'']'' (1924)</ref><ref>'']'' (1931)</ref><ref>Tong, B. (1994). ''Unsubmissive women: Chinese prostitutes in nineteeth-century San Francisco'', ] Press.</ref>, as servile "Lotus Blossom Babies", "China dolls", "]", war brides, or prostitutes <ref>Tajima, R. (1989). Lotus blossoms don't bleed: Images of Asian women., Asian Women United of California's ''Making waves: An anthology of writings by and about Asian American women'', (pp 308-317), ].</ref>. ] Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim has argued that the stereotype of Asian women as ] ] has impeded women's economic mobility and has fostered increased demand in ]s and ] <ref>{{cite journal | first= Elaine |last=Kim | date=1984|title=Asian American writers: A bibliographical review|journal=American Studies International|volume=22|issue=2|pages=41-78.}}</ref>.

Activists argue that some stereotypes send the signal that Asian women are romantically attracted to white men only because they are white. In '']'', the daughter of ] lays her eyes on a British detective and instantly falls in love with him. ], '']'' and '']'' also contain scenes where ] or Asian women fall in love with white men at first sight{{citeneeded}}. The website PhilippineNews.com quotes UC Davis Filipino American student Anthony Tadina's criticism of a character in J.K. Rowling's ] books: “Rowling based Cho Chang on what she views Asian girls are -- light skinned, skinny, smart ... the stereotype.”<ref>{{cite news | first=Erin | last=Pangilinan | url= http://www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=ae7b2bf4b645a3766b265db2086aa302
| title= Harry Potter and the Asian American image in media | publisher= Philippine News Online | date= July 27, 2005 | accessdate=}}</ref>.

====Stereotypes of Asian manhood====
Some race and gender theorists, as well as Asian American activists, allege that there is a race-based disparity in how men of different races are portrayed in the ]: while white men are shown as protectors of women, and both white and black men are depicted as ], Asian men have been presented as ], and both black and Asian men have been portrayed as threats to white women <ref>Espiritu, Y. E. (1997). Ideological Racism and Cultural Resistance: Constructing Our Own Images, ''Asian American Women and Men'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.</ref>. Racist depictions of Asian men as "lascivious and predatory" were common at the turn of the 20th century <ref>Frankenberg, R. (1993). ''White women, race matters: The social construction of whiteness.'', ] Press.</ref>. However, an Asian American media watchdog group <ref></ref> has detected a shift from a "]" stereotype of Asian masculinity to "asexual" and even "homosexual," as suggested in a controversial 2004 article ''Gay or Asian'' in ].

Writing about the differences in representation between Asian men and Asian women, ] Professor of Asian American Studies Elaine Kim believes that "Asian women are only sexual for the same reason that Asian men are asexual: both exist to define the white man's virility and the white race's superiority." <ref>{{cite journal |first= Elaine |last= Kim |year=1990 |title= 'Such Opposite Creatures': Men and Women in Asian American Literature |journal=Michigan Quarterly |volume=29 |issue= 1 |pages=68 – 93}}
</ref>

Historically, between 1850 and 1940, U.S. ] as well as pre-war and ] ] portrayed Asian men as a military and security threat to the country, and a sexual danger to white women <ref>Wu, W.F. (1982). ''The Yellow Peril: Chinese Americans in American fiction 1850-1940'', Archon Press.</ref>. In the 1916 film ''Petria'', a group of fanatical Japanese who invaded the United States attempted to rape a white woman <ref> Quinsaat, J. (1976). Asians in the media, The shadows in the spotlight. ''Counterpoint: Perspectives on Asian America'' (pp 264-269). ], Asian American Studies Center.</ref>.

On the physical level, Asian men are stereotyped as being shorter and less well-built than Caucasian men. Traditionally, part of this disparity in ] had much to do with endemic malnutrition in Asia. For example, the average height of males in ] is 5'8.2", while in impoverished ], it is 5'4.9". This difference between the two Koreas, which are highly homogeneous racially, can largely be attributed to chronic famine in the North. By way of reference, the average male height in the United States is 5'9.6". A common perception is that height differences make Asian men less physically desirable when compared to their white or black counterparts. Other stereotypes regarding physical characteristics of Asian men have even less basis in widely-recognized research.

===Sexual crimes===
The discussion of sexual crimes in association with an Asian fetish is controversial. There is no statistical evidence linking crimes against Asian women to an "Asian fetish", nor is there any evidence that relationships between non-Asian men and Asian women are measurably different from any others. In general, Asians are less likely to be victims of violent crime than every other major racial group. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "In 1998, 110 American Indians, 43 blacks, 38 whites and 22 Asians were victims of violence per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in each racial group", <ref>{{cite news | first= Callie | last= Rennison | url= http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/vvr98.htm
| title= Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-98. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report
| publisher= U.S. Department of Justice | date= March 2001}}</ref> and in a report on hate crimes, "There were no significant differences
in rates of hate crime vulnerability for
racial or ethnic groups."<ref>{{cite news | first= Caroline Wolf | last= Harlow | url= http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/hcrvp.htm
| title= Hate Crimes Reported by Victims and Police. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report
| publisher= U.S. Department of Justice | date= November 2005}}</ref>.

Recently, both Asian Pacific American and feminist organizations have given increased attention to sexual crimes committed against Asian women, centered on fetishism, sexual harassment and violent crimes
<ref>{{cite news | first=Phil Tajitsu | last=Nash
| url= http://www.napawf.org/page.php?view=depravity | title=Depravity Against Women On- and Off-campus
| publisher=National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum | pages= | page= | date=Apr 29, 2005 | accessdate=}}</ref>.
Asian American women complain that Asian fetish is considered an annoying but benign phenomenon that does not need to be taken seriously <ref>{{cite news
| author= Kim, Sallie and Stockdale, Shannon | url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=29233
| title= For Asian Women, 'Fetish' is Less Than Benign | publisher=]
| date=April 14, 2005 | accessdate=}}</ref>. ] provides a short list of sexual crimes against Asian women. Since repeated sexual offenses which center around a specific object or person are sometimes considered as fetishistic behavior by some psychologists<ref name=Lowenstein />, Asian and Pacific American activists believe that the perpetrators in these crimes had an Asian fetish.

===Slang===
The activism community has a number of other terms which are considered equivalent to "Asian fetish" in the activism sense but not in the pornographic sense. Asian fetish has also been called "yellow fever". In ], a ] man who has an Asian fetish may be referred to as a "rice king", "rice lover", or "rice chaser" (a ] man, a "rice queen") <ref>{{cite journal
| first=Daniel | last=Long | year=1996 | month=Summer | title= Formation Processes of Some Japanese Gay Argot Terms | journal=American Speech | volume=71 | issue=2 | pages=215 – 224}}</ref>

== Criticisms ==
Men labelled with the term "Asian fetishist" often believe it to be a racist ] of them, claiming that the activists who use the term treat all cases of sexual attraction as objectification or fetishism, dismissing the possibility of normal interracial relationships. In such cases the activists may be accused of being "angry Asian men"<ref>{{cite news | first=Joyce | last=Tizon
| url= http://www.asianweek.com/2000_02_03/feature_asianmale.html
| title= A Threatened Manhood? Exploring the myth of the angry Asian male
| publisher= Asian Week | date= February 3, 2000 | accessdate=}}
</ref>.

Other critics contend that the ] of an Asian fetish is a means of discouraging ]s or ]. In the past, racial supremacists opposed such relationships, though today in the United States, critics of interracial dating are sometimes Asian males and African American women, which in turn may be considered "reverse" racism. Asian women may date non-Asian men because of unhappiness with certain perceived aspects of Asian culture, a scenario presented in the novel '']'', which presents Asian men as sexist and domineering.

==References==
<div style="font-size: 85%">
<references />
</div>

== See also ==
* ]

==External links==
===On Asian fetish===
*, Campusprogress.org, May 24, 2005. -- News survey of campus racial bias cases. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
* An Asian American man believes the concept called the Asian fetish does not exist and is only supported by racist Asians.
===Opinion/Editorial===
*, ], January 26, 2004. -- Op-ed piece from Harvard student newspaper. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*, ], May 27, 2005. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*, Punchandus.com, October/November 2005 issue. -- Humor. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*, Zukazuka.com, 2002. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*, Modelminority.com. (Originally published on ], April 22, 1992) ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*, Modelminority.com. (Originally published in ], September 9, 1991) ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
* ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''

===On interracial romance===
*, ], December 4, 2003. -- Sex-advice column. ''Accessed February 17, 2006.''
*
* (dedicated to Asian-males, by non-Asian females)
*


]
]

Revision as of 17:33, 2 May 2006