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

The term Asian fetish refers to the attraction and sexual preference, usually of non-Asian men, for specifically Asian women. The first known usage of the term came from Asian American author David Henry Hwang. Some believe Asian fetish to be racist and sexist against Asians and Asian Americans because the attraction or sexual preference is based either partly or wholly on race or racial stereotypes. However, others disagree with this assertion, and believe that a sexual preference for Asians is essentially harmless, and that the use of the term to describe one's sexual preference for Asian women is a racist way to indiscriminantly condemn all relationships between Asian women and non-Asian men.

According to author Sheridan Prasso, it 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." .

Controversy rages and criticism abounds on this topic. Controversies include disputes over the definition of "Asian fetish", the credibility and validity of sources on this topic who rely on anecdotal evidence, and its relationship to racism and reverse racism. Criticism analyzes the possible racist motives behind those who use the term, the statistical evidence against it, and the subjectivity of the accusations.

Terminology

In all of its usages, Asian fetish is a colloquial reference to a sexual fetish. It has not been recognized as a paraphilia or fetish 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. It is often also used more broadly to refer to a strong preference for (arguably a fixation on) Asian people themselves, their physical appearances, or personality that they are presumed to have.

The word "fetish" has various definitions, and various users of the phrase "Asian fetish" have at times used various shades of its meaning.

There is no agreement on the correct or preferred usage of "Asian fetish", and a fortiori no definition of the term is contained in any dictionary or peer-reviewed reference work. The only definition for asian fetish in a reference work occurs at the Urban dictionary. The word appears in written form most often in reporting on how it is used verbally. The types of publication involved include scholarly articles pertaining to race relations, internet zines, newspapers and college newspapers, Internet forums, blogs, the talk page for this article, advice columns, and the websites of various Asian American advocacy groups. This term is most often used informally, and when used formally, it appears as a direct quotation or in quotations to indicate its informal character. This term originated from the Asian American community, although it is now used more broadly. It is not an accepted part of the vocabulary of any academic or scientific discipline.

Fetish in this context has been used to mean sexual fetish, racial fetish, or Commodity fetishism (viewing asian people as a form of property), as well as sexual attraction, interpersonal attraction, irrational attachment, fixation, or even cultural attraction. The only uses of fetish that have not been documented are the usual definitions of fetish as an object with magical properties, or an object or body part arousing sexual feelings that cannot be reciprocated. (See paraphilia) The object of the attraction ranges from specific features of specific people, to specific groups of people, to Asian culture generally. The word "Asian", while seemingly clear, can at various times and in diverse contexts mean Asian, Asian American, East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, etc. although there is no documented usage for Turkic peoples, or Near Eastern peoples. Depending on context and audience, it can refer to more specific subgroups within these groups such as Japanese Americans or Korean Americans, to specific traits and features of specific groups which may be real or imagined, or to multiracial Asian persons. It can also refer a combination of physical and personality traits embodied by certain Asian characters in movies, TV shows, pornography, and other cultural icons.

Synonyms and associated words

Asian American slang contains a number of other terms which are considered equivalent to "Asian fetish". Asian fetish has also been called "yellow fever", "yellow plague" (from untreated yellow fever), "bamboo fever", "Asian fever", "the Asian persuasion", "jungle fever" (for Asians with browner skin tone) or having "a thing for Asians." Asian fetishists are sometimes called asiaphiles, "pinkertons" or eggs. If the attraction is specific to Japanese culture, in some instances they are called Japanophiles. If the attraction is specific to Japanese anime then they are called wapanese or "wap." "Yellow fever" is also sometimes used in connection with the phrases "hitting the slopes" or "slant drilling", which are dysphemisms for sexual relations with Asian women.

In gay slang, a homosexual man who has an Asian fetish may be referred to as a "rice queen" if he is non-Asian, or "sticky rice" if he is Asian, and a heterosexual man may be referred to as a "rice king".

Generic terms include "rice lover", and "rice chaser".

Origin of the term

Activists claim that the term has its ideological origins in the concept of "racist love", the idea that there exists racial stereotypes of minorities, such as Charlie Chan, that are "acceptable" to white people, but are just as harmful to minorities themselves as "unacceptable" racial stereotypes such as Fu Manchu.

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 British 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. In the afterward Hwang writes:

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But 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.

Sexuality and stereotypes

Asian American social activists primarily use the term "Asian fetish" to address what they see as stereotyping and objectification of Asians in Western society. This is not without controversy. Some argue 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.

See Ethnic stereotypes in American media

Use in pornography

In its use in pornography an Asian fetish is claimed to be a form of sexual fetish in which a man or woman prefers pornography with Asian actresses or actors. However, some argue that Asian facial features may simply be more desirable to the accused "fetishist", in the same way others might be attacted to those with freckles or blond hair.

Asian fetish not innocent

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 . There are Asian women who claim that it is "not as innocent as it looks"* . Yin Ling Leung, organizational director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum states:

There are those who claim that Asian fetish is the cause of sex crimes targeting Asian American woman. In an article in AsianWeek*, author Lisa Wong writes:

It is also the basis of angst for people in interracial relationships or contemplating them. Erika Kim explains the impact this concept has had on her life:

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

Many consider an Asian fetish as a benign phenomenon that does not need to be taken seriously, an attitude that some Asian American woman authors and activists disagree with and are trying to reverse . Some 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 .

See also Sex crimes against Asian women in the United States

Controversy

Who can have an Asian fetish?

There is also controversy over who can have an Asian fetish. Many people believe that if someone is Asian or hapa, that he or she should be exempt from the label, while others contend that anyone from any race can have an Asian fetish. "Would you date an Asian girl with an Asian fetish? This becomes increasingly problematic amongst non-Asian men who have spent considerable amounts of time living within Asia, or Asian men who have been raised outside of Asia by non-Asian parents. In both cases, the respective cultures in which the men were raised indicate a case going against the norm, which might exempt a non-Asian from having an Asian fetish or enabling an Asian to have one. This all depends on the criteria and motivations of the accuser.

Criticisms

Criticism of Hwang's argument

David Henry Hwang argues that the Asian fetish exists because he has heard non-Asian men say "Oriental women make the best wives", but Asian women might actually make good wives. Hwang derides the opinions of non-Asian men in his slight, "Rarely is this heard from the mouths of Asian men". He further uses these two statements as evidence for the Asian fetish he claims exists. His argument rests on the implied premise that Asian men are the actual authorities on whether or not Asian women make the best wives, so non-Asian men must be misguided, a presumed factor in the Asian fetish. Good wives are not objective, but subjective. Non-Asian men may evaluate Asian women to be "the best", because they have different qualifications for being a "good" wife. Cultural differences may be involved in non-Asian men stating "Oriental women make the best wives". Regardless, the notion that any woman would make a good wife based on her race and/or culture alone is a stereotype and as such is part of the Asian fetish.

Possible racist use of "Asian fetish" to promote racial separatism

Many people consider the term "Asian fetishist" to be racist, complaining that the people who use the term treat all cases of sexual attraction as objectification or fetishism, dismissing the possibility that Asian fetish is perfectly normal and socially healthy. Users of the term may be accused of being racists who unfairly hold up to greater scrutiny and criticism interracial relationships involving Asian people, and thus use the term to discourage these interracial relationships by stigmatizing them. In the past, racial supremacists opposed such relationships, though today in the United States, critics of interracial dating are sometimes from non-White ethnic groups*. Some critics find irony that in an attempt to fight negative stereotypes about Asians and minority Asian populations, new stereotypes about interracial couples are being created and spread.

Stereotypical media portrayals may no longer be current

Recent portrayals of Asians in the American media, in some cases, have avoided many of the stereotypes of the past (see Ethnic stereotypes in American media), and the increased availability of media directly from Asia makes the stereotypical basis that would support an Asian fetish less relevant than in the past. However, many note that Asian-Americans in every day situations are not being portrayed in these foreign media, adding to the perception that they are foreigners, even when they are not. The bulk of media directly from Asia tends to be martial arts related. Some believe that these foreign media reinforce the stereotypes that others claim that they are eliminating, or create new ones.

References

See also

External links

News reports

Editorials

Personal websites

Multimedia

Asian American issues | Race

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Asian fetish".

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