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Sister, Can You Lend an Ear?
by Julia Oh
9/9/02
Sisters know what I'm talking about. The demeaning terms and images
that are associated with Asian women: "Suzie Wong. Geisha girl.
Me so horny. Damsel in distress. China Doll. Bound feet. Fucky-sucky." We
live in a society where Asian women are forced to battle the the burdens
of both sexism and racism, where social hierarchy positions white above
Asian, man above woman. For that, there is nothing that makes me prouder
than a strong sister. There is a growing collective consciousness among
Asian women. Over the past few years, an increasing number of Asian women
have taken the initiative to speak out against oppression. Asian women
were at the forefront of protests to The Bloodhound Gang's racist lyrics
in the song "Yellow Fever", as they were at the forefront of
protests against Abercrombie & Fitch's racist caricature T-shirts.
Numerous Asian female empowerment sites have sprung up all over the internet,
including one of my favorites, bigbadchinesemama.com, an in-your-face
webpage that parodies Asian female porn sites designed for white male
jerk-off fantasies.
However inspiring it is to know that more of my Asian sisters are decrying
and defying the submissive, passive and sexually accommodating stereotype,
there is a growing uneasiness among many Asian Americans, particularly among
Asian men, that politically active Asian women are harboring unprogressive
attitudes. Through my own observations and experiences with other activist
Asian women, and through various correspondences with Asian men, I have found
that a disproportionate number of activist Asian women are exceedingly hostile
towards Asian men. Some would even go so far as to side with a white male before
giving an Asian man a fair chance, while others have the tendency to overlook
or excuse white males for chauvinistic behavior while holding Asian men to
a higher standard. Although some are more extreme than others, the hostility
seems to manifest itself in these general forms: these women's propensity to
date white or black men, a general aversion towards Asian culture on the back
of the notion that Asian culture is endemically patriarchal, and a strong allegiance
to white feminist theory.
Lend An Ear 2- What's Political? What's Personal?
