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 3 RACIST STEREOTYPES AND ASIAN EXCLUSION “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.