Representation of Asian Men in Media

       4/22/19
          As an asian boy growing up, it was hard to find western movies or TV shows that not only had asian men in lead roles, but just generally portrayed them in a positive light.  Of course, there were the cool asian spies, such as Jackie Chan, that gave a certain image to asian people, but it was always one of the two extremes.  The asian man has always either been the sidekick, the nerd, or bad kung fu guy with nunchucks, but never a normal character or protagonist.  When I was a child seeing this, it made me believe that I had to fit into one of these extremes.  I can now see how it has changed the way me and my asian peers grew up.  Personally, I believe it played a part in me pushing my parents for me to give me karate lessons, when looking back I don't know why I wanted them.  In middle school, a few of my friends purchased fake glasses to wear to school, I'm guessing to fit the stereotype of being the smart asian kid.
          Another impact that this representation had is that it portrayed asian men as unattractive and undesirable.  The beginning of this trend is in history, where anti-asian attitudes were created by events such as the Vietnam war, World War II where Japanese people were put into internment camps, or when the fear of Mongolians immigrating became known as the "yellow peril".  Media has created a definition of beauty that is viewed through a Eurocentric lens, which is enforced by media. Specifically, the lack of minorities in romanticized roles.  Western movies never cast an Asian man as the lead role, and rarely cast asian women. Where there are dozens of movies showing white men in interracial relationships, none exist for asians.  Even in horrible, superficial shows such as the Bachelorette (which my sister told me about), out of 30 men, only two were asian and both were knocked out in the first round.  I remember watching Steve Harvey a few years ago as he made a joke about how asian men are "undateable" and "nobody is attracted to asian men."  Although they are just jokes, growing up with almost everything we see enforcing these stereotypes begins to change the perceptions of ourselves.  I know that I am white-washed, which I am fine with, but at a point in my life I thought that I was unattractive simply because I was asian.  I thought my eyes were too small or my hair wasn't curly and textured like all of the male models I saw.
Image result for bachelorette male cast           Today, I have begun to see more forms of media that portray asian men and women as people, rather than the extremes.  Movies such as Crazy Rich Asians and Youtube channels such as Nigahiga have played a huge role in building my confidence as an asian person.  There has been a massive uptick in representation of all people of color, not just asians, but African Americans as well, which points towards a positive future.

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