1 Running head: RACIST STEREOTYPES & ASIAN EXCLUSION
No Curry, No Rice: Exploring the Effects of How Racist Stereotypes and the Exclusion of Asian
Representation in Western Media Impact the Identity of Gay Asian Men
Preston Ng
San Francisco State University
2 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Abstract
What is seen in Western movies, television, advertisements and pornography play a tremendous role in shaping viewers’ perceptions about ourselves and other people. This paper explores how racist stereotypes and the exclusion of Asian representation in Western media impact the—self and perceived—identity of gay Asian men (GAM). Reviewing academic literature such as scholarly, peer-reviewed journals, books, and articles from and about gay Asian men, gay male sexuality, and gender studies, proves that not only do racist stereotypes and the exclusion of
Asian representation in Western media contribute to the erosion of GAM self-esteem and self- identity but other gay men’s perceptions of GAM. This in turn perpetuates gendered hierarchies, encourages discrimination in dating and sex, and maintains power imbalances within relationships between GAM and White men. Although the Western media’s historical exclusion of Asian faces and stories helped lead to these imbalances, the new “Asian Wave” of representation in Hollywood is looking to challenge racist stereotypes and the myopic lens through which Asian men have been viewed for so long.
Keywords: Asian representation, gay Asian male, gay interracial dating, male identity, masculinity, racial discrimination, sexual racism
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“No Fats, No Fems, NO ASIANS!” is a pervasive stipulation that almost all gay men have seen in gay online dating profiles (Espe, 2019). To dig to the root of the problem, it is important to reflect back to the year 1882, during which the first federal immigration law was passed to bar an entire ethnic group from the eligibility of becoming a United States citizen, titled the Chinese Exclusion Act (Kil, 2012). Decades later, 1924 marked the passage of the
Asian Exclusion Act, another federal law preventing immigration from Asia. Both of these laws remained in place until Congress passed the Immigration Act in 1965. Elsewhere across the globe, policies such as the White Australia Policy and Canada’s Chinese Exclusion Act were widely used to prevent non-White people (primarily Chinese) from entering their countries.
With such global and historical legislation restricting Asian immigration from Western countries, Asian visibility has been scant, especially in Western visual media. Although Asian
Americans make up 18 million or 5.6% of the U.S. population, a study conducted by the
University of Southern California found that Asian Americans represented only 1% of
Hollywood's leading roles (USC Annenberg staff, 2018). Moreover, the Asian characters visible in the media are largely one-dimensional and, at most times, dehumanizing stereotypes that portray Asian men as sexless nerds, martial artists, and shady businessmen (Force, 2018).
This lack of Asian representation is directly linked to the lack of financial backing for such projects as well as an “inherent bias” in the entertainment industry (Truong, 2019). This means that, in addition to a lack of financial support for Asian-centered projects, those with the power to decide which shows and movies get made are largely uninterested in hearing about
Asian American stories (Truong, 2019). This anti-Asian media bias, however, is not limited to just the American market. One of Hollywood’s most successful Asian American filmmakers,
Justin Lin, has dealt with pushback from Asia. Lin says that he could not reach the market in 4 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Asian countries with one of his first films featuring an all Asian cast because movie agents alleged that Asians do not want to see other Asians (Dong, 2019). In a 2005 interview, he stated,
“As an Asian American, I go to Asia and I don’t belong there… they want to see White people...You’re like, ‘Hey, we’re three-dimensional!’ ‘They’re like “F*#@ you, I don’t care. We want to see White people!’” (Dong, 2019).
With rejection from both their Western home countries and ethnic roots in Asia, most
Western-born Asians are forced to question where they fit. Western-born, gay Asian men
(GAMs) face the added struggle of being caught between the intersection of homophobia and racism, essentially becoming minorities within minorities. This paper explores how racist stereotypes and the exclusion of Asian representation in Western media impact the identity of
GAMs. Such exploration is necessary as individuals must be able to see themselves reflected and represented in visual media in order to feel included and respected as equal members of society.
Inclusivity and representation are essential, as they reflect a society’s morals and values.
Furthermore, identity matters because it is a shared export onto others that serves as a deciding factor of who someone is, how they are seen, and how they feel about themselves. Finally, through their specific intersectionalities, GAMs experience dual and sometimes triple acts of discrimination: racism, homophobia, and—due to their expected gender roles in the gay community as feminine, sexually submissive/passive partners or bottoms—misogyny.
Sexually racist dating profiles in the gay community are clear examples of how historical exclusion laws, compounded by racist stereotypes, continue to impact both the everyday lives and perceptions of gay Asian men today (Benedicto, 2008). Variations on the ubiquitous “NO
FATS, NO FEMS, NO ASIANS!” dating profiles are captured by headlines like "I Block More
Asians Than The Great Wall of China," “Squinty Eye No Reply,” and the titular “No Curry No 5 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Rice" (Nguyen, 2014). This sexual racism, a term that captures how White supremacy and racial hierarchies inform what is attractive and licenses discriminatory behavior (Seitz, 2019, p. 149), is alive and well today defensively veiled as “personal preference” in online slang. Although the gay community prides itself on promoting messages of love, equality, and acceptance due to its long-standing history of oppression, marginalization, and bigotry, it, in many ways, appears to be stuck in a racially exclusionary past relying on racist stereotypes and an obsession with hegemonic masculinity.
Literature Review
Historical Racial Exclusion Laws and Racially Constructed Masculinity
From the Nationality Act of 1790—which solely granted U.S. citizenship to White men—to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1924, Asians have faced racist exclusion laws spanning the history of the United States. Asian immigrants have faced similar exclusion laws globally across other Western nations, including Canada, United Kingdom, Australia. The very masculinity of Asian American men has been undermined by long history of feminization stemming from racist immigration policies, racist labor laws, Anti-Asian propaganda, and anti- miscegenation laws (Hoang, 2014).
Portrayals of Racist, Asian Male Stereotypes and the Exclusion of Asian Men in Media:
Movies, Television, and Pornography
Despite becoming the fast-growing ethnic group in America, largely characterized by
“positive” racial stereotypes—like the “Model Minority” myth portraying all Asians as obedient, hard-workers—Asian Americans remain invisible in Western media at best and, more often than not, relegated to acting roles perpetuating racist stereotypes. From early “yellow- 6 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
face” characters to modern day examples of “White-washing,” Hollywood movies have a horrendous track record for their portrayals of Asian Americans.
These ongoing stereotypes are especially detrimental because Asians are already underrepresented in movies and television. According to the Screen Actors Guild, less than 4% of film roles were played by Asian actors in 2008 versus the nearly 73% portrayed by White actors. Due to this imbalance, Asian actors find little opportunity to combat racialized stereotypes and prove their abilities to headline movies as leading men (Nittle, 2019).
For decades, some of the only Asians represented on-screen were sexless nerd tropes typified by performances like John Hughes’s 1984, cult classic, ‘Sixteen Candles’ character
“Long Duk Dong” (an Asian foreign exchange introduced in each scene with a gong), and
2004’s cringe-worthy ‘American Idol’ singing audition by William Hung (a Chinese man who adhered to all Asian male stereotypes). Stereotypical portrayals of Asian men are often conflated as the truth, which, in turn, permits audiences to project those stereotypes, images, and exaggerated accents onto all Asian men.
Portrayals of Asian men in popular gay media products are not much different from those found in “straight” media. If featured at all, Asian men in gay media tend to be characterized as even more femme then their heterosexual counterparts. For example, a 2004 issue of Details magazine ran a “satirical” spread titled “Gay or Asian?” featuring a young, smooth Asian man sporting designer clothing and accessories. The accompanying copy contained a cacophony of racist and homophobic stereotypes that reads:
“One cruises for chicken; the other takes it General Tso-style. Whether you’re into
shrimp balls or shaved balls, entering the dragon requires imperial tastes. So [sic] choke 7 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
up on your chopsticks, and make sure your labels are showing. Study hard, Grasshopper:
A sharp eye will always take home the plumpest eel” (Huang, 2014).
Articles like these continue to reinforce the already emasculated image of the Asian male into further depths of otherness while also working to objectify gay Asian men (GAMs) as exotic, docile, and harmless.
The Proliferation of the “Model Minority” Myth
The ever-complex “Model Minority” myth has a long and twisted history. Created as a racial wedge, a 1966 article from The New York Times and other media outlets churned out a narrative that typified Japanese people as the only minority able to rise above life’s hardships, specifically their internment by the United States government. This myth was intended to showcase their ability to persevere, while disparaging other racial minorities for not matching their success, failing to acknowledge the systemic, slavery-rooted inequities that have destroyed black and brown families’ opportunities for economic survival. Articles praising the “Model
Minority” continued throughout the 1980s, dubbing Asians as “Whiz Kids” and plastering Asian children and teens on magazine covers surrounded by academic textbooks and computers. In the
1990s, media coverage in the wake of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles continued the perpetuation of this image by looping news footage of black “thugs” rioting and looting Korean- owned businesses.
The “Model Minority” stereotype is not only problematic for its lack of racial awareness and suppression of other racial minorities’ struggles, but because it implies that all Asians are one Northeast Asian monolith. Conversely, the Southeast and Western Asians who are shown in the media are portrayed as thugs, terrorists, refugees, and comic relief—such as Apu from “The
Simpsons," an Indian immigrant convenience store owner. 8 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Asian Stereotypes in Pornography and Their Effects on Young People
Following the narrative of obedience, docile behavior, and unthreatening demeanor,
Asian men and women are portrayed similarly in pornography of all sexual orientations and genres. Similar to Asian women in straight porn, Asian men cast in mainstream gay porn are overwhelming petite, smooth, young, and always topped (anally and orally penetrated) by dominant White men. Class-race hierarchies are further enforced in these films given that youth is linked to less economic power (Ono, Wiley & Sons, 2004, p. 247).
Porn undoubtedly plays a major role in many young people’s lives as they are coming to discover their own sexualities without guidance or context and, in many families, shamed to suppress and deny healthy sexual awakenings. Much like any other consumed media, both young
Asian people and their non-Asian counterparts are conditioned by what they see as well as, just as importantly, what and whom they do not see. This in turn can ultimately lead to young GAMs to internalize the singularity of the feminized bottom role as they do not see themselves cast or portrayed in any other light than the prescribed script of needing to satisfy and be satisfied by
White men.
With the rapid pervasiveness of global access to pornography streaming on mostly free internet porn sites and Twitter feeds, research has revealed that such easy access leads to unhealthy increases of porn consumption. A San Antonio-based neurosurgeon, Dr. Don Hilton claims that the sexuality of today’s youth has been hijacked by this phenomenon and that their sexual scripts rely on what they see in porn (Sherman, 2019). During adolescence, regions of the brain that form identity, like the frontal lobe—which controls cognitive skills like problem solving, critical thinking, and sexual behaviors—and limbic systems—which regulate emotions, motivation, and memory—are still developing. This critical development also takes place while 9 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
teenagers seek to explore and satisfy their new sexual desires, which is now largely done through easily accessible outlets such as online pornography. While these urges are a natural part of their development, teenagers are not yet capable of discerning between healthy and unhealthy content.
The human brain is exceptionally prone to porn’s negative effects during adolescence, because its plasticity—the ability to change and restructure —slows down in later years. The chemical structures and newly formed neuropathways in the brain triggered by dopamine-inducing activities like watching porn are likely permanent, critically altering future behavior and sexuality (Jensen, 2019).
Why Asians Are Not Seen: Whitewashing Asian Roles
Issues that impact the invisibility of Asians are both a historic and ongoing crisis in the
Asian American community, especially in media. For decades, characters that were originally written as Asian characters have been “White-washed” by Caucasian actors in “yellowface”— using makeup to colorize skin and tape or glue to pull eyelids back to create slanted eyes that mimic Asian features (Fang, 2019). Examples of male yellowface go as far back as Warner
Oland’s 1931 portrayal of Charlie Chan, Boris Karloff in 1931’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, and
Mickey Rooney in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. More contemporary examples of modern
White-washing include the 2008s movie, 21—a true story about six Asian students from M.I.T. who used their math skills in a Las Vegas heist, but featuring primarily White cast that included
Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Jacob Pitts and Kevin Spacey—Emma Stone’s starring role as
Alison Ng in 2015’s Aloha, and Scarlett Johanssen’s shameless casting as a specifically Japanese lead in 2017’s remake of Ghost in the Shell.
Asian Exclusion in TV 10 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Shows that take place in large metropolitan cities with highly visible Asian populations have limited media representation. Even in HBO’s first gay television drama, Looking, there are no recurring Asian characters although the show is set in San Francisco, a city with a population that is over a third Asian (Ramos, 2017). A contributing writer to angryhomosexual.com expressed his frustrations about the exclusion of gay Asian characters from Looking by stating,
“The fact is, gay Asians are an integral part of San Francisco’s LGBT fabric…So why don’t we deserve a main character? The world looks to American culture to lead on a number of things, and gay culture is no exception” (James, et al., 2014). The article goes on to explain how the show could have been a vehicle to unveil gay Asian men’s struggles with identity, racism, and finding belonging within the gay hierarchy. Furthermore, he claims that the show could have been inspirational to young GAMs who must not only deal with their sexualities but also balance and navigate multiple culture clashes amongst their Asian, Western-born Asian,
American, and gay identities.
Studio Executives’ Fear of Casting Minorities
Margaret Cho’s 1994 all-Asian television sitcom is a scathing case study of sorts for network executives, as it was cancelled after just one season. This led to Asians being relegated to supporting and off-camera roles for two decades due to network and studio fears of green- lighting any Asian-led productions. Director Ridley Scott provides a prime example of this type of fear in an interview defending his stance against hiring lesser known people of color by claiming, “I can’t mount a [successful] film of this budget...and say that my lead actor is
Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such. I’m just not going to get it financed...The question doesn’t even come up” (Foundas, 2014). Another example came during a 2019 interview with director Gregory Allen Howard, who revealed that a studio head insisted that a White, “A-List” 11 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
actress (Julia Roberts) should play the lead character of a historic person of color in one of his movies, claiming that nobody would know the difference since that part of history was so long ago (Karimi, 2019).
A study from the second annual Hollywood Diversity Report from UCLA found that in
2013, 94% of film studio executives were White, while people of color were still underrepresented behind and on-camera (Hunt, 2018). Jeffrey Mio, an author of multicultural psychology literature, argues that part of the reason White actors are primarily cast is because
White executives feel comfortable with each other, therefore affecting their casting decisions
(Brooke, 2015).
The Effects of Stereotypes and Exclusion on the GAM Identity: Coming out in Asian
Families Versus Coming out on Western Television
Coming out as gay in the Asian community is very different from the coming out process that is portrayed and performed in mainstream Western media—where it is portrayed as normal to be out and proud to everyone. A current example of this cultural difference in coming out experiences can be seen in Netflix’s Queer Eye: Japan, in which an American cast comprised of two White, cisgender men; one White, non-binary person; a black cisgender man; and a Pakistani cisgender man makeover the life of a gay, Japanese man in Japan. The American team enthusiastically encourages the “Western norm” process of coming out, while failing to take into consideration the cultural ramifications of coming out in a traditional Asian household
(Wakabayashi, 2019, pg. 6).
In traditional Asian households, a person is not viewed as an individual with agency, but as a representative of the family unit as a whole. The obligation to save “face”—the family heritage, dignity, persona or reputation—is a non-negotiable contract to which all family 12 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
members must adhere. Losing “face” therefore reflects poorly on the person’s entire family and community, not just the person coming out (Ngo, 2012, pg. 4). For many GAMs, love and acceptance may come at the cost of separating their gayness from their familial and cultural identities, as being gay and being Asian are mutually exclusive for most conservative Asian families (Wat & Hong-Kingston, 1994).
In research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, GAMs were rated by their peers as more “American” than their straight Asian male counterparts, since American culture is seen as more tolerant of gay culture than most Asian cultures. To further expand upon these findings, researchers found that in two studies of college students, Asians who self- identified as gay were seen as more American than those in the study whose sexual orientations were undisclosed. According to one associate professor of psychology at the University of
Washington, GAMs are less prone to being questioned about their American identities than straight Asian American men are (Dolan, 2019).
Without cultural reference points in the media that reflect their unique, intersectional coming out stories to serve as inspiration and guidance, many GAMs do not know how to even begin the process of coming out. Although Asian families have been traditionally conservative about gays issues, excluding GAM coming-out narratives serves to perpetuate assumptions that all Asian families are the same. This framing of Asian conservativeness denies audiences the opportunity to see and learn about the diversity, love, and acceptance that does exist within some
Asian families, excluding potential stories from reaching closeted GAMs could who could relate and find inspiration for their own coming out experience.
GAM Invisibility and Racialized Sexuality in the Media 13 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
The impact of racist stereotypes and the lack of Asian representation are not exclusive to
North America. Luke Allan, a professor of Education at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, details his experiences of growing up gay and Asian in Australia without seeing Asian men on screen:
“Looking in the mirror, we [Asian men] find ourselves without any of the defining
characteristics of dominant masculinity – white skin, hairy chests, beards and big
muscles…. In this kind of sexual environment, we are invisible – not present, without a
place or “name” in the discourses and practices of white male sexuality.”
Allan continues by expressing how Asian men are made invisible in that real, sexualized representations are not shown in mainstream media, on the sports fields, or in fashion. (Luke,
1997, pg. 2). Racialized sexuality has been suited to reinforce White men as the global default for acceptable beauty. The cultural norms that define desirable gay men by certain features
(White, wealthy, tanned, and sculpted) and activities (clubbing and cruising) reinforce hegemonic ideas of masculinity through preferences for “str8-acting” and “masc4masc only” seen in online dating profiles (Benedicto, 2008, pg. 281).
The media serves to further complicate and convolute the Asian male stereotypes: as gay men, they are portrayed as hypersexual deviants, but as Asian men, they are emasculated by sexless nerd tropes. With Asians in the media depicted solely as straight or asexual and all gays portrayed solely as White (Wat, 1994, p.79), GAMs are trapped in a paradox, represented neither on nor off the screen.
GAM Self-Worth and Self-Esteem
Racist images and stereotypes have a negative impact on GAM’s self-worth and self- esteem, especially in modern gay culture where masculinity, aggressiveness, and whiteness reign 14 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
supreme over femininity, submissiveness, and color. GAMs who do not fit the rigid criteria of being thin, short, and young considered attractive to “Rice Queens”— men who fetishize and exclusively prefer Asian men, also known as having “Yellow-” or “Asian Fever” (Han, 2008, pg.6)—are often left feeling like the outcasts of outcasts (Poon, 2008, pg. 255). However, some
GAMs are actively aware of their expected feminine roles and reject their masculinity to better align themselves with the norms of hegemonic masculinity in order to find “real men.” Although they may not identify as drag queens or part of the trans community, they maintain the feminine behavior and mentality considered attractive to “Rice Queens.”(Phua, 2007, pg. 6).
Due to a combination of the exclusion of Asian images, racist stereotypes, and the exaltation of White male images, many GAMs often suffer from depression, low-esteem, and feelings of inadequacy. In addition to having been raised in the West or having a Western mentality, GAMs often feel invisible, distance themselves from or completely reject all aspects of “Asian-ness,” and obsess over “Whiteness” in order to find some semblance of acceptance in mainstream gay culture (Wakabayashi, 2019).
Interpellation Theory and the Internalization of the “Global Gay” Stereotype
Bobby Benedicto, author of “Desiring Sameness,” states that by internalizing stereotypes, homosexuality becomes an outlet of privilege noted by masculinity, beauty, youth, wealth, and
Whiteness. He expands upon this by referencing French philosopher Louis Althusser’s theory of
“interpellation," which describes the process of being “hailed” over—or a call and response to action in a social interaction. For example, if a cop shouts, “Hey, you!” and an individual turns around, they effectively “answer” the call and become subject to the ideology of democracy and the law (Benedicto, 2008, pg. 276). Benedicto claims that, through the interpellation process, 15 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
when GAMs are “called to” by images that define the perfect gay male, by turning around to
“answer,” they become the winners of privilege by mere association of that call.
Moreover, by internalizing the perfect “global gay” stereotype, a GAM may have access to privilege and simultaneously traps himself in an impossible fantasy of delusion (Benedicto,
2008, pg. 292). Identifying with the “global gay” stereotype also creates both an admiration and obsession to replicate these traits—he not only desires strictly White men (also known within the gay community as a “Potato Queen”), he wants to become the same White men he desires. These oppressive structures are maintained and perpetuated by GAMs’ active participation in the interpellation process. Akin to “building the walls of his own prison,” GAM exclusion is perpetuated by internalized racism and his attempts at “whitewashed-ness” to gain acceptance into the “perfect White gay” world (Benedicto, 2008, pg. 281).
Racism and Objectification in Sex and Dating
According to the Western world, Asia is considered a place to be conquered and possessed, while its people are considered an exotic “other.” This “othering” leads to
“orientalism” that paints the East as backwards and not human; things that are not human are inherently objectified (“ What is Orientalism, and how is it also racism?,” 2014). This is reflected in the experience of GAMs in modern dating scene, who are commonly objectified and fetishized. GAMs are rarely labeled as “hot” or “sexy,” but are rather seen as “cute.” This
“cutification” is merely another form of the objectification that keeps power structures in place by maintaining GAM submissiveness. Ali Na, an assistant professor at Queens University, argues that, “cuteness is a power dynamic into the social relationships by projecting malleability.
Therefore, cuteness functions as a minoritarian position to be dominated, shaped, and protected” 16 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
(Na, 2019, p.14). The cutified GAM is objectified and mutable not only to a Rice Queen’s desire, but also to mounting objecthood (Na, 2019, p. 15).
Rice and Potatoes: GAM4GWM
Supply and Demand
Because gay White men (GWMs) are conditioned by the White-glorified images and marketing of gay media in the same way GAMs and other gay men are, they also choose White men as sexual partners over non-Whites. Studies have shown that GWMs, in addition to only dating other Whites, actively exclude or block people of color as potential sexual partners (Han,
2018, p. 1). As such, the ratio of White men interested in Asians (GWM4GAM) is far less than the ratio of Asians for Whites (GAM4GWM). When the dating market is so skewed in favor of
GWMs, relationships in GAM/GWM couples highlight the discrepancies of power that is normally seen in gendered, heteronormative relationships.
By applying the basic laws of economic supply and demand, with GWMs in the highest demand and GAMs in the lowest, GWMs are able to take advantage of this imbalanced power and choose who they want as sexual partners while GAMs rarely have the power to choose and instead must wait to be chosen (Han, 2006, p. 7). Speculation around how GWMs transition into
Rice Queens suggests that as GWMs age, they are less able to find younger, attractive GWMs so they must settle down for a younger GAM who is desperate for White love and attention and more than happy to finally secure a White man (Phua, 2003, pg. 6)—a revered “prize” for gay men of color. An ad hoc study analyzing gay personal ads found that GWMs looking for GAMs fell between the ages of 39 to 58 while the average age range for GAMs seeking GWMs ranged from 18 to 38. Due to these age imbalances, GWM/GAM relationships experience differences in income, leading to additional negative impacts on GAMs’ self-worth (Han, 2006, p. 8). 17 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
Authenticity Required
Aside from externally critiquing and obsessing over GAMs for their physical features,
Rice Queens are also obsessed with objectifying and fetishizing Asian culture to the point where some Westernized GAMs will receive criticism for their lack of “authentically Asian” behaviors and actions or being “too” American (Han, 2006, p.6). For instance, if a GAM who does not speak his ethnic origin of language well enough, does not adhere to traditionally Asian cultural norms and customs, does not cook Asian food, or does not hold his chopsticks “correctly,” he is subject to chastisement for not being “Asian” enough. Conversely, bonus points are rewarded to
GAMs for having an Asian accent, performing femininity and submissiveness to fulfill Rice
Queens’ fetishized sexual desires. In this way, GAMs are socially conditioned not to question
GWM supremacy (Phua, 2006, pg.9). With no place to fit in—too Asian for White culture, yet too
“White” for Asian culture—the behaviors and expectations for GAMs parallel the struggles that many women experience in trying to adhere to cultural standards of beauty: being thin, young, effortlessly pretty, with a willingness to please men.
One of the most concerning issues for GAMs on the quest for the highly coveted White man is that, because there are so many GAMs seeking GWMs, GWMs have the privilege to discard old or undesirable GAMs to upgrade for newer, younger GAMs, much like straight men do in heterosexual, gendered hierarchies. Many GAMs will sacrifice their health in order to keep their GWM partners interested. One study found that Asian men do not use condoms with White men for fear of rejection and intimidation from White partners if they are unsuccessful in convincing them to use protection. Succumbing to the fear of losing their White partner, GAMs find themselves in dangerous sexual situations that increase their risks for contracting HIV (Han, 18 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
2006, p. 9), serving as another example of the power dynamics that exist within a GAM/GWM relationship.
“Top Privilege” and “Bottom-Shaming”: Misogyny within the Gay Community
Followed by the “NO ASIANS!”, the majority of dating profiles on hook-up apps and
websites also aggressively specify: “No Fats, Fems!”, “Straight-acting only!”, “Masc4Masc
only!” Because masculine-presenting, White gay “tops” are the only acceptable standard, sexual
racism and exclusion remains a rampant problem within the gay community. Conversely, all
Asians are seen as bottoms: the lowest rung on the ladder of masculinity. Not only are gay men
becoming increasingly attracted to hypermasculine “top” men, they are becoming more hostile
toward men who fall anywhere outside the hypermasculine gay norm or exhibit any feminine
features, traits, or qualities (Han, 2018, pg. 5). Because GAMs are automatically seen feminine,
GAMs who do date each other (known as “Sticky Rice”) are labeled with feminizing terms such
as “lesbians,” “sister lovers,” and “lesbo sisters” (Phua, 2007, p. 7).
This alternate frame still falls into a gendered hierarchy. These masculine-prizing,
misogynistic attitudes are also known as “femmephobia” (Bongiovanni, 2016). Tops are not only
desired for the sexual aspect of penetration, but because they are seen as “real men,”
synonymous with the ideal masculine identity. This identity lends credence to the idea of “top
privilege”: inherent privileges that tops enjoy in the world because they are seen as “real men”—
not having to worry as much about contracting diseases and being able to eat whatever he wants
(due to not having worry about digestive issues that bottoms face preparing for anal receptive
sex) while many bottoms admit to preemptively skipping means and starving themselves prior to
dates or sexual hookups (Duran, 2019). Top privilege can be seen as the sexual equivalent of the
White privilege of the gay world (Stafford, 2016). 19 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
A study by the University of California San Francisco found that tops only have a 1 in
500 chance of contracting HIV from an HIV-positive bottom compared to an HIV-negative bottom’s 1 in 50 chance of contraction the deadly virus from an HIV-positive top. Although
PrEP has a 99% success rate of blocking HIV if a bottom is consistently taking it the pill daily, due to the stigma that receptive anal sex carries, many bottoms fear even asking their doctors for prescriptions for fear of being judged (TheAdvocateMag, 2014). Furthermore, because homosexuality and sodomy are still seen as sins in many religions, cultures, and states, procuring this life-saving medicine has been politicized by insurance companies’ refusal to cover it and inflated pricing (Ocamb, 2017), much like debates surrounding the morality of birth control for women (Lee, 2017).
Conclusion
With Western media shaping cultural perceptions, the erasure caused by the lack of Asian representation serves to maintain dehumanizing stereotypes while supporting power dynamics that favor Whiteness and masculinity. Historical images of Asian men as obedient, asexual, and feminine, typified by the “Model Minority” myth and nerd tropes in pop culture, contribute to the projected and internalized racism that limit the identities available to GAMs in order to be considered desirable. These norms and social constructs are largely behind what gay men label as their “preference” for categorically rejecting all Asian men while refusing to acknowledge the racism that shapes these choices.
Although Hollywood and other visual media is still rife with Asian male stereotypes, the journey of humanizing and flushing out Asian male characters is slowly beginning to pick up steam to chip away at the barriers that have kept Asian men in their place for decades. Audiences are finally demanding more authenticity in movies and television as inauthentic portrayals are 20 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
increasingly being rejected (Brooke, 2015). There is a new crop of rising Asian stars on the scene—now colloquially branded as “The Asian Wave” (Hanson, 2019)—that are gaining much attention in Hollywood.
The Asian Wave has brought fresh new faces and storylines that make sense in today’s modern culture of omnichannel media. Tropes and roles that have traditionally casted only White males have now expanded to a broad range of Asian males. In movies, Henry Golding of Crazy
Rich Asians (2018) and John Cho as the protagonist of 2018’s movie Searching and Sulu on the latest Star Trek have solidified themselves as profitable leading men. In television, Alex Landi of
ABC’s longest-running TV drama, Grey’s Anatomy (2004) plays an openly gay, Asian doctor, while audiences tuned in every week to AMC’s The Walking Dead to see Steven Yuen as “Glenn
Rhee.” Randall Park plays the family man in ABC’s only All-Asian sitcom Fresh Off The as the leading love interest in Netflix’s original movie Always Be My Maybe (2019). Netflix, U.S.’s most popular streaming service, features comedian, Hassan Minhaj humorously tackling current events on his own show titled Patriot Act, Tan France of the rebooted Queer Eye as a fashion expert, and Joshua De La Cruz as the newest host for one of Nickelodeon’s most popular children’s shows: Blue’s Clues. De La Cruz is particularly significant as the show’s target audience is children whose minds are still developing and are now able to see a humanized
Filipino man hosting their favorite TV show (Yam, 2018).
One of social media’s most viewed YouTube stars is an out and gay Asian man, Eugene
Lee, who started in the BuzzFeed’s most watched series The Try Guys and now is part owner of his own production company, 2nd Try LLC (Klein, 2018). South Korea’s most popular, international K-Pop Teen Music Sensation, BTS, is a Korean, seven-member boy band that has shattered record sales worldwide and continues to sell out concert arenas across the globe with 21 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
fan bases that easily rival those of The Beatles (Silva, 2019). Another important genre in which
Asian men have successfully broken through is the comedy scene, which has historically been mostly made up of White men. Even though Saturday Night Live premiered in 1975, there have been no regular Asian cast members. However, its newest cast member, Bowen Yang, is one of the newest comedic stars, breaking barriers as one of the youngest, gay Asian men in Hollywood
(Force, 2019).
Supporting new Asian talent and diversity means granting opportunities to succeed but more importantly, allows newcomers chance to try again without retaliation if they occasionally fail (Chan, 2019). The industry must also recognize that Asian shows and talent boost ratings and win awards; they are not just tokens or props, but are worthy of leading roles with complex stories and relationships (Ramos, 2017). The subliminal and psychological effects created by this new visibility of three-dimensional Asian experiences will now allow younger generations to feel more confident and less alone in their identities. New Asian stories will educate audiences to see and appreciate the different facets of Asian American heritage, characters and storylines that free from racist stereotypes. Furthermore, the inclusion of more Asian representation in Western media will aid in demystifying the veil of exoticism that so many Asians must deal with on a regular basis and decrease the odds of White people asking: “Where are you really from?” This change in perception and cultural exposure for both Asian and non-Asian audiences will ultimately benefit the self and perceived identity of younger GAMs coming into their own.
Eventually GAMs must discover a place inside themselves where they can grow, identify and embrace their voices to figure out who they really are and who they deserve to be (Wat, 1994, p.
80).
22 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION
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