Asian Portrayal in Media
THE NEGATIVE PORTRAYAL OF ASIANS IN MEDIA
Maya Campbell and Austin Li
ASIAN REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA
It started with colonization and conquest. Asian countries were viewed as “magical” lands rich with resources and mystery. Controllable, conquerable, and exotic.
Western empires have always fixated on the “exotic” east, and this fixation extends to the people within these countries. Today, this obsession is prevalent in the depiction of Asian people in the media.
In the media, Asian men are desexualized and depicted as undesirable and inferior. On the other hand, East Asian women are fetishized and obsessed over by the west.
The Fetishization of Asian Women
Maya Campbell
The media’s objectification of Asian women is perfectly legal. However, ethically, it harms and saddens Asian women every day.
Carlmont student Celine Trinh has had negative experiences with peers and films concerning objectification.
“I just feel like I’m constantly being objectified and degraded by white people, both in real life and in movies,” Trinh said.
Objectification is a degrading practice in which one is compared to a mere object. Although a light has been shed on objectification concerning women, Asian women still feel objectified.
The Desexualization of Asian Men
Austin Li
Nerdy. Geeky. Scrawny. Unattractive. Subservient. Submissive. Gullible.
When asked to describe Asian men in American media, these were amongst the most common answers from Carlmont students.
“As an Asian American male, I have always hated the little representation and poor depictions of Asian men in American media. Like most kids growing up, I looked up to superheroes and TV show characters but rarely did they ever resemble me,” said Marcus Zhang, a junior at Carlmont High School.