Looking through my blog bookmarks, I have noticed a lack of Asian American women bloggers. I'm not talking about myself or other Xanga, or other casual/daily life blogs. I'm talking about blogs that a lot of people in our community read to get their daily dose of Asia America. Blog like Angry Asian Man and Secret Asian Man... etc.
Curious, I typed in a search for "Asian American woman blog" to see what would pop up on google. I found mostly blogs that are Asian American, but no prominent ones by Asian American women. It's interesting to read blogs by Asian American men such as C.N.'s blog and Phil Yu's Angry Asian Man, but at times I find myself disagreeing with Phil Yu's perspective and his lack of understanding of Asian American women's issues. The only issue that he addresses in regards to Asian/Asian American women are ones of exoticization and fetishes - mostly in reference to popular culture and the interracial relationships between Asian woman and white men. While this is definitely a good observation, I can't help being skeptical about his views and the silent claim of ownership of Asian woman by Asian men. While it is true that popular culture often pair Asian women with white men, many Asian male bloggers fail to address the issue of the silent "claiming" of Asian women by Asian men. Many times, the women themselves are ridiculed for dating or portraying to date white men. While there are some underlying causes for this (such as the demaculinization of Asian American males in American pop culture), it is often overlooked in the blaming of actresses who portray these stereotypes, who most of the times, did not grow up in the U.S., and therefore, have little understanding of what they are portraying in relevance to Asian AMERICAN women. Take characters like Gong Li and Bai Ling for example, they are both relatively new to the American media. Why are they blamed for portraying stereotypical Asian women's roles when they have little experience with being an Asian woman in the U.S.? I understand the frustrations with them (I myself have rolled my eyes multiple times on Gong Li's movie posters), but the truth is, she has little idea/understanding of how her portrayals are affecting the Asian American community.
I personally feel that this problem is dividing our community. We all know (or should know) that playing the blame game doesn't really get us anywhere. Has anyone heard of divide & conquer? My hope is that there will be an increasing awareness on the identity politics of Asian men AND women. Having an EXPLANATION of why Asian women date white men should be more in the spotlight. Of course, there are plenty of issues surrounding the initial issue, such as that not all Asian women date white men or there are Asian women who date other Asian men or APIA men and women who do not date the opposite sex...etc., but seriously, I am tired of people telling Asian men/women who to date and who not to date thing. Interracial dating cannot be reversed by blaming the choices of certain people. And maybe it shouldn't be condemned at all.
I am all about Asian/Asian American men having a voice in/about popular culture, but in conclusion, blogs by Asian American men rarely share my experiences as an Asian American woman. Anyway, I'm on my way to google more Asian American women bloggers. Drop me a line if you find any good ones.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Asian American Women Bloggers
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16 comments:
good post.
i will say, however, that interracial dating debates have been hashed out endlessly in any race-based forum space, particularly APIA ones like thefighting44s or modelminority. so while you may not have found any blogs, specifically, that deal with the issues of interracial dating, trust me, people have gone on at length in other venues. and, inevitably, it just becomes an issue that exists in uneasy stalemate, for most people refuse to allow their choices in romantic relationships to be influenced by the words of a stranger on the Internet.
pat m.
http://tokenminorities.wordpress.com
http://ninjapants.wordpress.com
Hi Cynical,
Great blog you have here!
Patrick, there needs to be ethnographic studies from the women's perspective preferably done by women ethnographers. So far, we've only heard the men's perspective. There are probably no studies done from the women's perspective yet.
What studies show it from the men's perspective?
Hi,
Let me just clear up the points of confusion here. I was referring to the lack of dialogues between APIA men and women on the issue of interracial dating. In my experience with blogs from APIA men, there is more of a blame game going on pointing the finger on APIA women (and some from APIA women as well). For example, I have read many posts on calling APIA women as "race traitors"...etc.
I wasn't referring to any studies that has been done although I think those are important as well.
Understandable.
I have come across numerous personal blogs, created by Asian men, who do nothing but hurl insults at Asian women for dating outside their race. It has become a sexist issue because I rarely see the same anger directed at Asian men who date interracially.
This leaves me with one logical conclusion: Asian men that are angry at the interracial dating situation with Asian women aren't concerned with Asian women dating other non-Asian men; they're concerned with how society views them. If the interracial dating patterns of Asian men reflected that of Asian women, I doubt this would be much of a problem. Thus, according to them, the only reasonable solution is to either decrease the amount of Asian women dating out or having Asian men dating out. They believe that the combination of high interracial dating rates of Asian women combined with low interracial dating rates of Asian men leads and perpetuates the emasculation of Asian men. It’s no different with other communities. Black women are deemed unattractive, by proxy, because their interracial marriage rates are just as skewed so this situation is not limited to the Asian community.
Asian men feel powerless against the white male dominated mass media and that leads them to the obvious conclusion to berating Asian women.
However, I'm sick and tired of two things.
1.) Oversimplifying the perspective of Asian men to belittle the issue.
2.) Asian women, while complaining that they never get heard, absolutely refuse to see it from the Asian male’s perspective.
I've repeated myself countless times across several blogs, as I'm sure "Donna Darko" can attest to, regarding this issue and so far, you're the only Asian American woman that has said it's a big issue which needs to be talked about. Most Asian females and some Asian males just want to bury it but its like covering up a fire with a paper bag. Eventually, the situation will burn out of control.
I'm not going into the topic, unless you wish to address it on your personal blog, but the statistics are undeniable. Why is there such a large gap? The gap is as low as 10% but as high as 25%. There stands to be a reason for this. There also stands to be a reason why so many famous Asian female stars, such as Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li, are dating white men. There also stands to be a reason why so many Asian men are demoralized about their own sexuality because of this issue. There also stands to be a reason why white media has an agenda to preach.
Asian men need to grow up and talk about the issue realistically. However, Asian women must also follow suit.
Frankly, this issue has gone unresolved for so long and is constantly a sore point among Asian Americans because it hasn't been addressed in a responsible fashion from either side. Both are equally childish and both sides should be ashamed of themselves.
Asian men blindly blame Asian women for being sellouts while Asian women blindly blame Asian men for being sexist and oppressive. The budding Asian American community demands that a forum be opened and discussed in a civil manner.
Thanks Rob! You made some excellent points!
I too am sick and tired of the blame game and the game of ownership. Racialicious's Carmen Van Kerckhove is offering a teleseminar on interracial relationships. You can find more info here: http://www.racialicious.com/2007/03/21/sat-mar-31-live-teleseminar-on-myths-about-interracial-relationships/
I can simplify it for the Asian community.
Once the horrid portrayals of Asian men in American media ceases, the disparity will stop. Once the disparity ceases, the criticism against Asian American women will stop.
It's simply about the have's and have not's. The problem is that Asian women have their choice of Asian or white men. Asian men only have a choice of Asian women because of America's hatred of Asian men which is perpetuated by white men. Since the prospect of being denied equal opportunity created by a malicious source, people will feel cheated. This is why I believe changing how Asian Americans are portrayed in common media kills two birds with one stone.
It will help remove the dating disparity between both Asian men and women and it will also change non-Asian peoples' perception of us. I, for the life of me, can't understand why so many Asian Americans are apathetic about how badly MSM (Mainstream Media) portrays them. It boggles the mind. I mean, companies spend billions of dollars a year on advertisements and public relations. Hell, they have whole departments dedicated to place themselves in a positive light. Is the Asian American image any less important? If the Asian American community were a gas company, we'd be showing our tankers crashing into coral reefs and destroying wildlife.
Hi all,
Just thought I'd weigh in on this discussion.
"Once the horrid portrayals of Asian men in American media ceases, the disparity will stop. Once the disparity ceases, the criticism against Asian American women will stop. "
Rob - I understand what you are trying to say, but I disagree that reversing JUST the negative images of Asian men in MSM will solve particular disparities. The racism that exists in this country has always been polarized by sexuality. In fact Western colonialism, even war have always upheld racialized and sexualized images of people of color, but more specifically Asians. The racism between both Asian American men and women in this country are intrinsically linked in the sense that they spawned from the same power structures of whiteness, colonialism, and baseless ethnocentrism. But you can't say that Asian masculinity is the cornerstone to unlocking the oppression of all Asian Americans (especially Asian American women).
Race relations in this country, and furthermore gender within communities of color cannot be essentialized by saying solving one will solve the other. In this case, I completely understand your point. Asian American men are demasculinated in the MSM. This I agree with you about. Asian American men may not have a complete "Array of choices," such as you say Asian American women have. But it is unfair to say that a) solving the marginalization of Asian American men will solve the oppression or portrayal of Asian American women or the entire Pan-Asian American community and b) it's ridiculous to view the fetishization of Asian American women as an asset in dating an relationships.
Both the marginalization of Asian American men and women have the same common oppressor, but have been oppressed in many different nuanced sexualized ways. Asian American men may have been deemed to be effeminate, undesirable sexually speaking but that is not to say that being fetishized as an Asian American woman is either an empowering asset in the dating world nor a privilege. This fetishization of Asian American women which to many Asian American men stands a true testament that the women have it so much better than men is a fallacy. The fetishization of Asian American women is an effect of the same oppressive racially-sexualized white ethnocentrism that casts Asian American men as impotent or desexualized. To think that Asian American women "want" to be fetishized not on the basis of their personality but only through skewed genderized stereotyping is ludricrous. Most do not want to be stereotyped any more than Asian American men want to be demasculinated. Though there are exceptions on both sides I will admit, there needs to be a general understanding that both Asian American men and women have been sexually oppressed in similar yet different ways. It should never become a pissing contest between who has it worse.
I just want to make one more point. Rob you said, "It's all about the have's and have not's. The problem is that Asian women have their choice of Asian or white men."
I disagree that it's all about the haves and have nots. It's an over-simplified explanation that neither confirms nor denies the complex racialized gender politics at stake.
I believe that Asian American men need to stop thinking about this supposed "sexual choice" over partners as an asset. You can not equate sexual choice with over-sexualized, exoticized, fetishization. Furthermore I think it's a bit callous to label this fetishization "equal opportunity dating."
Nate, thank you for your well articulated post. I completely agree with your thoughts. You are a true ally to us APIA sisters.
"Rob", we only know the male perspective on the internet. There aren't many women blogging about it on the internet because it's probably not their top priority. There are probably no studies from the women's perspective by women ethnographers for the same reason. They are researching the top priority to them which may be suicide, eating disorders, sweatshop labor, immigration, trafficking, domestic violence, depression, education, wages, health disparities, etc. It would be best if women researchers did in-depth, holistic interviews with women but it probably isn't their top priority. As far as studies about the male perspective, the point of Cynical's post was:
Having an EXPLANATION of why Asian women date white men should be more in the spotlight.
Thank you all so much for your input :)
Donna, thank you again for clarifying your earlier comment. I would agree that there are few studies on the topic of interracial dating from APIA women's perspectives or address such issues from our own experiences simply because academia is often only focused on numbers and statistics, rather than political and social implications of an issue on a community. In the studies I have read as a student, most research is done in sociology and they only address a small fraction of the issue. And because academia is often dominated by men (look at the disparaties between the positions and income between men and women academics), it is often that what we are taught are not from our own perspectives and therefore, do not reflect what we have experienced.
However, with all that said, I would disagree with you about putting priority on certain issues. True, there are women who blog or conduct research on those issues you have mentioned such as sweatshop labor, immigration, domestic violence...etc., which are all very relevant to our struggles. But I think the reason we are not hearing about these issues from APIA women, whether it be through a blog or through a study is that
1. people who do not identify with the issue do not care enough about it to read it or spread the information
2. it is labeled as a "women's issue" so people are not familiar with "women's issues" categorize it as something that is completely irrelevant and/or a bunch of women complaining
3. women's experiences/opinions are not as credible as men's experiences/opinions. In my personal experience, my voice is always less valuable than those of white people and men; in the classroom, in debates, in my student organizations...etc. Some people might not think that APIA women have all that much to say because of the stereotypes that they put us under. Or, they think we're just bitching about something that does not have anything to do with them when in reality, it affects our communities, whether it be the community of women or Asian Americans.
I do think there are research and blogs that address these issues. But just like real life, our voices have always been marginalized so what we say does not matter. I think if you take that into consideration, you can see why these issues aren't being heard (rather than being talked about).
I do think there are research and blogs that address these issues. But just like real life, our voices have always been marginalized so what we say does not matter. I think if you take that into consideration, you can see why these issues aren't being heard (rather than being talked about).
Exactly, Cynical. Women aren't heard in mixed gender discussions. There have been a few refreshing blog posts on women's blogs here and there from the women's perspective. I'd like to eventually see a study from the women's perspective by a woman ethnographer because it probably doesn't exist yet.
Fetishization is usually the word people apply to things that secretly arouse them, confuse them, or that they want to blame on others...things like Asian and "white" DATING.
However, when black men were being ruthlessly pursued by white women, you never heard the word "fetish",even when the feminists announced it as a social platform-- so that label kind of smacks of orientalism and in that, a huge heap of fear mongering, insecure white womens anti-asian woman propaganda. Just wait until the new white, which is black, starts down the road to asia;-)
The real reasons that this a/w match-up gets so much attention is not necessarily only that the stereotypes perpetuated largely by white women, and others in this cultureless, hueless America, is that the match works, and it works well, for many reasons. People who rely on racial basis as explanation usually have little in the way of personality, or erotic ability, and thus, can only concieve of the match as a fetish, as if it is something one can put in a closet when you are done with it--and with that, those who label these fetishes, secretly hide their own.
Good points from all and I commend "Cynical" for at least talking about it in a civil manner.
However, I do have specific disagreements with everyone's views but I wish to digest it further to make sure I didn't leave anything out.
I will post a reply when I can fully explore your reasons for believing the way you do.
Crap. Sorry about the lack of responses on this thread, Cynical.
I've been swamped with work and it just slipped my mind. Top that off with a 3 week trip through Shanghai and Taiwan, it just prolonged my ability to respond to this.
Suffice to say, while I do give you and Nate's argument some validity, there are also holes in them which I will put on my personal site.
I feel that this issue is such a big issue and the topic has been rehashed so many times that I've decided to compile every possible article, statistic, and opinion on it and put it all on one sole website so no one has to fish through the internet for them.
I feel that this topic needs to be talked about desperatly and my main goal is for it to be mindopening for all parties.
I'm going to include my own personal observations, opinions and insights from others, as well as responses from "sellouts" both real and imagined.
In order for the Asian American community to florish, this topic needs to be addressed and quickly because it has become a large barb in the side of Asian American unity. Asian women have to realize that they are joined at the hip with Asian men. If Asian men are being oppressed and denied their humanity, Asian women will shortly follow. We're each others' "ball and chain" and simply ignoring the other party is impossible.
Hey, you make some good points. There's a new but little-known forum dedicated to Asian-American Male issues called 'Ecce Homo Orientalis' (not my idea for a name) - I think that your perspective could open up knew doors for the people in that community. You can post as a guest, so why not check it out?
http://www.sentientmind.com/orientalis/forum/index.php
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