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Asian FUCKING Stereotypes

By Sabrina Sandata (from Bamboo Girl)

I wrote this article originally for Hues magazine (sans title), which is, overall, a cool magazine in content but sucks when it comes to free speech and censorship. When you give an article to somebody and they say "Go Crazy!", and then say they want you to take out parts that might be "taken the wrong way," revise you many times over, change the whole topic of your article, and have you do it all for free, you can say it is a bit of a piss-off.

So I withdrew the article and ran it in Bamboo Girl. Like it or lump it...
 

Take your average white male fantasy: "Oh, yes!! Then she'll slap my behind and tell me that if I don't suck her boots, she'll shove the end of her whip up my -- "

Fuck dat shit!...

Have you ever wondered what the Asian female stereotypes are but were afraid to ask? Well, today class, I will be extrapolating on the sickening yet very real phenomena of Asian Stereotyping. For the non-subliminal, here's the lineup -- as it is perpetuated in pop culture and common misconceptions:

1. Asian Dominatrix or Slut-Diva Extraordinaire All she has to do is walk into the room to get attention. She wears moderate makeup that accentuates her curvaceous lips or fuck-me eyes. The Slut-Diva Extraordinaire oozes sex, and every white male or lesbian will give up his/her right breast to spend the night with her.

2a. The Submissive Step-All-Over-Me-Thank-You Asian Most often than not, she will wear glasses that will cover up her almond eyes, wear no makeup, and will not care that her clothes don't match. But she will care if someone tells her that her job performance is not up to par. This Asian stereotype is very concerned with the issue of approval, and will do anything (except lick your boots clean) to have it from her boss and elders.

2b. The Submissive Beat-Me-Again Sex-Slave This variation of the Submissive Asian again deals with the popular notion that all Asian girls are natural receptacles for sperm. She is different from the Slut-Diva-Extraordinaire in that she would rather be the one to receive the end of the whip. She finds whiplash marks on her back exciting.

3. Miss Saigon Please-Save-My-Child Vietcong She is more of a look than a personality. Usually she has long straight black hair, and wears no makeup. She dresses simply and looks like she just left her country in search for the American dream. She has a lost look in her eyes, and guys who like being martyrs are naturally drawn to her.

4a. The Don't Pull My Big-Ass Earrings or Baggy Pants or They'll Fall Down Flygirl The flygirl type, with the baggy pants almost falling off the ass, Pumas, gigantic tee (preferably with the face of Tupac on it), big gold earrings that make the lobes bleed, and hair that's pulled back so tightly the hair follicles stand up. They either identify with Black culture or think they are African-American.

4b. The Don't Use My Chopsticks or I Kill You Gangsta Chick Don't mess with her! She bleaches her hair into light auburn streaks, spikes the top, and leaves the rest long. She could be the bad little sister counterpart of Lily in Vanishing Son. The guys in the gang are her posse and they protect her from other gangstas. The updated version of this stereotype may have ethnocentric tattoos on her arm and butt.

5. The Studious The-Computer-My-Life Nerd This hopeless anti-social possesses natural tendencies towards being President of the Star Trek Club or a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic. She has become unnaturally attached to her computer and caresses it at night. She doesn't care for people, but loves the Sci-Fi Channel.

6. The GOTTA SING! Asian The elegant Lea Salonga type, complete with long flowy pants, sleeveless vest (on sale from the Limited), high-heeled shoes/boots, and well kept, never-shorn hair, and, usually, a big mouth. She practices pieces from The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and believes that she will someday have her own talk show.

7. The I Am But a Lotus Blossom Girl-Child This Asian female plays up the fact that most Asians look very young -- she may/may not have breasts, but what is important is her childlike outlook on the world. She loves getting teddy bears from her boyfriend and would never think about living in the city. she plays peek-a-boo with her pets at home and sits on her bay window dreaming about Prince Charming.

8. The Sensei's Most Honorable Daughter This unfortunate Asian has the responsibility of perpetuating the Karate Kid image: she is usually the daughter of a very well-respected martial arts teacher, and falls in love with one of her father's young white male students. She teaches him 'the ways' of her country, and he teaches her how to be 'American.' Whether or not she has her father's permission does not matter, although it makes it more exciting if she doesn't. Her boyfriend then takes much pride in having her show up at martial arts tournaments to spur him on to victory. It is usually a bitter-sweet relationship.

Well, that's a crash course for ya. Just so you know, not all Asian females fit the stereotypes. On the other hand, some Asians may fit more than one at the same time.

As a Filipina mestiza who grew up in the boonies of Southwestern Pennsylvania, I deal with a lot of rednecks who were ignorant about minorities. They always assumed that I was Chinese, because Chinese people are the only Asians that existed for them.

When I came to New York, I found that people had many different perceptions of what they thought I was, and had me mixed up with other ethnicities. I guessed it was partly because of the makeup I work, or because I didn't wear typical Filipina youth gear (See above, especially 1, 2a, 4a, and 6).

Of course, I'm sounding like a cynical bitch about the whole stereotype thing -- I'll be the first to admit that I can't stand it! And that's why when I come across ads that are listed under "Pen Pals," reading "Asian ladies waiting to please you" or "Abiding Asian ladies seeking caring men to correspond with," I get ballistic. It should probably read something more like, "Asian ladies desperate to get hitched to get out of economic devastation," or "Abiding domestic violence reps seeking housing outside of the Philippines."

It's the same deal on the tube, our sistas (meaning you typical Asian representation) are shown either as sensei daughters, bar girls, exchange students with black-rimmed glasses, or more often than not, sluts...Hel-lo!!

That's what helps give life to publications like Asian Girls Are Rad, which is a zine put out be a desperately-needs-to-get-laid David who dedicates his thoughts year-in-year-out to Asian women. In a way it's kinda cute to know that people like him find us so endearing. But I'll let you in on a secret: (whisper) knockin' boots with an Asian chick is not going to lead you to a secret pathway of Oriental enlightenment like Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid, OK? I swear, sometimes that dojo/geisha complex just gets way out of hand. Can we please find some movies that are not set in Chinatown, and have us doing normal things like driving well, hitting our computer in frustration, or leading lesbian lifestyles?

There's also a zine on sex and relationships with S.E. Asian women called Asia File. Of course, the purpose of mentioning these publications is not to spur you to go out and get them, but more to educate you on the factoids. So I don't wanna see any educated fake trying to cop a look at these kind of things. Then again, if people were educated in the first place, I wouldn't be writing about it.

As I was saying, Asia File gives you the inside scoop on bars, brothels, and the entire sex industry in S.E. Asia. As it's described in the blurb, it's "forty-three pages packed full of tips on the best 'pay for play' in the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, and especially Thailand." I know that at the moment they were reading this, many repressed men were grabbing their crotches, salivating at the prospect of exercising their control complex.

Do I have to say it?...It's just NOT GOOD!

When I get annoyed at the dick-pushing people on the street who'd harass me (verbally and physically), I'd start slowly circling my arms in front of me and make Bruce Lee noises. It actually works! At that time, I knew shit about the Martial Arts, but whatever I did sure wigged out the perpetrators. I bring that whole Martial Arts thing up because most people assume that because you have pseudo-slanted eyes, you can chuck a roundkick like nothing. For once, a stereotype ended up working for me. And now I am learning the Martial Arts for real.

Much of my anger growing up stemmed from being pissed off about the stereotypes/fetishes people had of me because I had Oriental blood--strangers in the street found it easier to touch me without asking, call me names pertaining to my Asian heritage, interrupt me while I'm speaking, and step into my personal space without giving a shit. Before, I used to punch people in the street who did this. Seriously! I used to. The anger used to build inside of me until I just whacked the unassuming assholes. With much medication, true friendships, Martial Arts classes (and must I say, some lovely therapy), I've been able to use my energy more constructively. Now I channel those frustrations elsewhere, or take people up on the invitation to speak about it. Hues let me go off on this whole Asian Stereotype thang, and Ophira is quite a gal for letting me do so.

Like many other Asian chick-adees, I've turned to my roots -- initially to get a sense of identity as a mixed blood, but ultimately to see myself, the little girl everyone thought was a gawky "chink," develop into her own radical ethnic Pinay-mestiza mama self.

As much as there are numerous stereotypes of the Asian female, there are numerous blockheads out there who act on these assumptions. It would be great to separate the "chaff from the wheat" by wishing that all the ignorant chicos and chicas were wiped off the face of the earth with a gigantic spray of Bug Off; but it is more possible, and realistic, to combat those stereotypes by standing up for yourself when one of those losers attempts to lay one of them on you.

As a woman, it is even more important. It's like we have a double-whammy: we're minorities and we're women. By standing up for your culture(s), you also say something about being a chick who knows what's groin' down. Whether you write about it, talk with your closest girlfriend about it, or straight up confront the jerk on the street, it's important to let it out -- and to be loud about it. Yeah, you'll be noticed. But it's better to be noticed as an individual who sticks out instead of an unattractive mass with no voice. Stand up and be counted siestas!

Copyright © l997, Sabrina Sandata.

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