I remember talking to a friend of mine this past summer who currently goes to school in Boston. We went to high school together and she sometimes comes down to visit in Maryland where her family still lives. One time I visited my friend at her parent’s house and we watched The Wolverine. After we watched the movie we decided to go out to eat. Once we sat down at our table in the restaurant, we discussed the film. She spoke very passionately about the portrayal of Asian women/characters in the film. She complained about how the two main female characters in the film played on stereotypical Asian female roles. One of the characters in the film was a was a shy, meek, beautiful woman who needed to be saved by the stereotypical “white man.” The other Asian female character was a samurai sword wielding “bodyguard” for the lead white male character.
She went on to talk about how the city of Boston is mostly white and how the men there are “curious” about her because they look at her in a sexual way. While she believes the city is racist towards minorities, she does believe that as an Asian woman, she believes that what she experiences with the locals is somewhat different. She told me about a time when she went into a grocery store in the city with her African-American friend and while they were shopping, several white men in their 20’s were taunting him. They were whispering racial slurs towards him and they ended up having to leave because of it. While the men were hurling racial slurs, they were making comments about her physical appearance.
Throughout her many interactions with the locals in Boston, she finds it very weird how the men approach her and talk to her. She thinks that they are mostly curious about her because they are curious about her in a sexual way. To be honest my friend truly believes that the majority of white men fetishize Asian women. I’ve heard many of my own Caucasian friends and peers talk about how Asian women are more sexually open-minded than white women and that Asian women are better in the bedroom. It’s actually really commonplace for people to really believe that stereotype. It is one of the things that my friend has struggled with her whole life. Historically, Asian women in American society were sexualized because they were often viewed as the “seductress” or the “prostitute” and I think that has majorly impacted the way our society views Asian women today.
Unruly Bodies 
I totally agree with you, one day, one of my close friends who I went to the high school with and I were talking about the same issue. Its not only Asian people, but black and Hispanic people are also represented in the media through different stereotypes. In general, black women are presented as hyper sexualized, Asian men are very intelligent and Hispanic men are lazy etc. But white men also are shown as the savior for Asian women, from their customs and villains. I also believe that the way these people treat or behave with different racial groups has a lot to do with media. Media always represents certain races in certain ways, which limits the viewers’ ability to think differently.
This blog really caught my attention. I’ve known men that had a fetish for Asian women. A white I man in the military told me his mom actually said don’t bring home an Asian women when you go overseas. Its as if it was very common for white men in the armed forces to return home with an Asian women. Whenever I see an older white man with an Asian wife I always wonder if they met during the Vietnam conflict or Korean war……I know its horrible but its my first thought. Lastly, my long time high school boyfriend that we planned to marry ( glad I dodge that bullet), told me that he would love to have a baby with an Asian women so he could see how his children would look. He wanted his baby to have nice hair. Anyway, thanks for the post and the picture is awesome lol.
As an Asian female who lives in a predominantly Caucasian area, I also struggle with being fetishized. I find that the biggest problem with the stereotype that Asian women are like some kind of succubi, is that I’m not taken as seriously. One of my past relationships ended because his parents believed that I was going to steal him away from his family, by seducing him with my Asian persuasion. His mother hated me because I was Asian, and felt that I was trying to seduce all of her sons. As a cashier in my previous job, older Caucasian women treated me so rudely, as if I was inferior to them, and older Caucasian men treated me as if I’m some kind of exotic prize animal. It doesn’t help that our society rarely portrays Asian women as they really are- just like everyone else! Our race doesn’t define our sex drive or sexual interests.
Interesting blog post! When people my age or younger stare at me, I pretty much know what they’re wondering. They are just curious about my race, that’s it. When older men stare at me or begin the conversation with, “What are you? You’re so exotic”, I’m uncomfortable and irritated. But I can say some people are genuinely curious and drawn to certain features of various races and they try to be as polite as they can be. I don’t mind those people. My dad told me a story about one of his coworkers saying he visited Japan thinking all the girls would look like the anime characters. He was very disappointed they didn’t which is pretty sick and just sad. And you know what also is very irritating??? When people brag about having friends who happen to be Asian.
This stuff is RAMPANT in the Western J-Pop/K-Pop fan communities. Go into any of those tags on Tumblr and you’ll see an abundance of non-Asians talk about how badly they want an Asian boyfriend or girlfriend based on whatever narrow fantasies they’re constructed about Asian people based on CELEBRITIES. There is absolutely nothing wrong with finding someone attractive regardless of race, but if the only reason why you’d pursue someone is *because* of their race (and by proxy, what *you* believe it means to be a member of that group) then you’ve got problems, period. They are no better than those who say they wouldn’t date anybody from a particular racial group because either way you’re buying into crappy stereotypes instead of respecting individuals as unique, complex human beings.