Asian-American men tend to out-perform all their peers in school. That means they wind up making more money. And women like guys with money. So they shouldn't have a problem with the ladies...

Thanks PT, very interesting. Welcome!

I actually found this blog really racist for multiple reasons. Are you Asian, writer?

Also, do me a favor and link the original article because your take on it is quite severe and I think the article should be allowed to speak for itself. I have a hard time believing a tenured university professor would advocate pornography as a way to mainstream acceptance. Either this is some urban hoax racist rant fodder or you're making this up. Link the article.

Your venting about lonely white nerds in high school seems cathartic.

There's no question Asian-American women have an easier time assimilating into the culture (hence the 50% intermarriage rate for Asian-American women). That's both positive and negative since our objectification of Asian-American women is problematic. There are plenty of endlessly insecure, needy white men who favor Asian women because of the myth that they are compliant and obedient. I don't know the statistics on divorce, but any marriages that begin with such a flawed premise aren't likely to work very well.

It's something we need to think about: why is it that Asian-American women, more than Latinas or black women, have become so common as acceptable mates for white men? Clearly it has something to do with our assumptions about "their culture" that aren't quite reflected in reality. Inter-racial marriage rates in general are increasing across the board, but this is a particularly interesting trend over the past 20 years.

I'd theorize that one contributing factor may have been the images of Asia and Asian women as property that were developed by soldiers and even through movies about the Vietnam and Korean Wars. The idea of "comfort women," GI wives, and pliant prostitues may have been generalized for the entire region and all women based on a limited group of women forced into compliance with humiliating conditions through poverty and war. These images of Asian sexuality and servitude may be subconsciously integrated into the way white men view Asian women. Hence the large market for Asian pornography in this country and the existence of only two types of Asian female characters in the media: either the sexually promiscuous Dragon Lady (think Lucy Liu's Ling on Ally McBeal)/kung fu girl or the submissive geisha girl.

There's no question that Hollywood is racist and a part of that is the fact that Asian-American men are virtually non-existent in media. But this is an old story that won't change anytime soon. Big movies play it safe and aim for the middle of the road. Hong Kong kung fu action star imports don't count, by the way, as Americans.

Most of your stereotypes are stupid in that list and you should really get out more and meet some real people. If you're an Asian woman, you seem to be venting and you should think carefully about how your comments will be received by less-educated, less mature readers, i.e., this whole site.

The irony is that there are several men with Asian-American heritage who are considered among the "hottest" men by white women since they downplay their ethnicity. Dean Cain is half-Japanese (and looks very Asian to me), Keanu Reeves is part Asian, Mark Paul Gosselar (yes, even All-American Boy Zack Morris) is part Thai, the lead singer of Hoobastank is Asian, etc. There's a whole big list of others like this on the web, but I don't feel like looking for it. The point is that we find men with Asian features attractive as long as we don't hear their "Asian-sounding names." Our racism has so many contradictions it's hard to know where to start.

Hmmm, if I were older and smarter, I think I'd be insulted by that last comment.

The original article can be found at www.mastersofthepillow.com. This is the Web site for James Hou's documentary. He has the full essay, "The Joy Fuck Club."

I attended the panel discussion that followed the screening of "Masters of the Pillow" and the actual porn film that Dr. Hamamoto made, "Yellocaust."

The LA Times article downplays a lot of Hamamoto's rhetoric. You can find the article easy enough since I noted the newspaper and the writer.

The film is called "Yellocaust" because he considers what the US has done to Asian nations is the greatest holocaust in the 20th century. That's his opinion not mine.

What I and other audience members found striking is how limited the view of what Asia was. His discourse in the essay limits it to East Asia (actually only China and Japan). Yet neither person in the actual porn movie was of Chinese or Japanese descent. An Asian American audience member pointed out that the girl in the movie wouldn't be considered yellow. Perhaps brown...

This emasculation isn't something that all Asian American men experience except if you limit your perception of what Asian American is. Just East Asia? Gee, what about Armenia, Pakistan and India? This is a concept that an Asian Indian man expressed. He was the one that pointed out this seemed to be something limited to East Asian men and that they obsessed upon it.

And you know what? I don't think Samoans feel emasculated. I'd have to ask Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson about that one.

Are these people even considered yellow? Not according to James Michener in his "Tales of the South Pacific." Where is the so-called Orient? Originally all of North Africa to the Pacific Islands.

After all, there is some romance to be found in Aladdin (Iran and Iraq) and sheiks (like Valentino as a Middle Eastern man). Iraq and Iran are in southwest Asia. I think Americans have the opposite stereotype of them--as barbaric and animalistic. Not unlike the one about what Americans call black men except Iranian and Iraqi men are seen as fanatical terrorists. Hmmm. That doesn't sound emasculating does it? Perhaps dehumanizing, villainizing or uglification, but not emasculating.

Either way, East Asia is only a portion of a continent and a portion of the Orient. To make sweeping broad statements about Asian American emasculation is just as ridiculous as the original racist notions that stuck all these races, cultures and ethnic groups together. For the LA Times and prof to pretend that Asia is just East Asia is, I suggest, more than a problem in geography.

Dr. Hamamoto is not actually an expert in the field of human sexuality, either. In the documentary he expressed that he thought the natural order of things was Asian man and Asian woman. Asian American man and Asian American woman.

As for the reasons I listed, I have heard of all of these. There is a hierarchy among Asian Americans and it is silly to pretend there is not. To pretend that Asian Americans aren't racist against other Asian Americans is silly.

If you want to get another Asian American to behave, tell them if they don't do X, they are a banana. But a banana in one area is not a banana in another area. That's just the same thing that happens in the Latino and black communities. That's why we have expressions like Oreos and coconuts. For the Hawaiian Japanese, there is also kotonks.

Further, be real. I was a smart girl and a geek in high school. I didn't have a date. So should I feel sorry for that guy in Oklahoma? Not really. There is no conclusive link made by the poet or the writer between his ethnicity and getting dates in high school, particularly if other white boys poets weren't getting dates. Just to say or imply there is a link doesn't mean there is. You'd have to see if all the white poets in the same city were dating and see that he was the only poet of any race in that city without a date to make that kind of conclusion. Because aren't Latinos seen as sexy? Maybe he was asking the wrong type of women...like, cheerleaders without a poetic notion in their brains? I don't know, but just to say it's so doesn't make it so.

When I got to college, I got dates. I am supposed to be more desirable as exotica, right? Gee what an honor.

My point: high school vs. college. Two different worlds. Not a good comparison even in the same region. Not logical. Don't buy it as such.

So if you think I should get out, really I am out and about. But I'm not above criticizing my own ethnic group for things they do to make marrying in less attractive or writers for lacking a cohesive argument.

How can they be stereotypes if I've experienced every single one? And so have my friends. So we should pretend these things don't happen for the good of some ethnic cause, like a positive stereotype?

So what about being exotica? That should ideally make marrying in more attractive unless you're a gold-digger. Do women really want to be treated like concubines and whores? Do they want to be treated like comfort women? Gee, let me think about that one. No, I'll pass.

BTW, a lot of mail-order brides from overseas look for an American man specifically because they are divorced--Japanese, Filipina, etc. Or perhaps they are too old by the standards of their country.

That same prejudice against divorced women carries over here. Sometimes it's just about being divorced and this prejudice drives some to the point where some Asian American men won't admit they are divorced. I don't know. Maybe some women lie about this as well. Still the same reason.

And a lot of Asian cultures don't see wife-beating as a bad thing. Or having a little honey on the side or going out with the boys for some whoring. Some of those attitudes remain in the Asian American cultures.

Does this make Asian American men more attractive to Asian American women? I think not. Does it make them more attractive to white women? I think not.

So is Hollywood media fully accountable? I think not. I am pointing out other reasons that Asian American women are marrying out and I question if having Asian American men in porn will change that.

There's just way too much fuzzy logic going on in the LA Times article and the Hamamoto project.

Hey, I even had a sweet Japanese (Issei) man warn me against Asian American men. He said to marry American (white). He told his daughter the same thing because he thought she would be treated better. Pretty funny. I was also warned against marrying the eldest son or the only son. You think these people also needed to get out? I think they were telling me to get out of the ethnic group.

And just for a historical note...that famous pair of Siamese twins found wives and settled down. But they had fame and fortune. Wonder what happened to the children?

I'm not really sure how to react to the way you write. Some of what you say is rather bizarre (the Siamese twin closer, for example) and you seem to take anecdotal experiences from your own, no-doubt unusual life as truths about entire groups of people. That's a common mistake simple people make, but try and have a little perspective.

I'll write more later perhaps, but I'll just leave you with this question to respond to:

You gloss over the idea of being exotica and seem to view it as strategic for you. Doesn't that disturb you?

You, on the one, hand reject the geisha/concubine role yet you accept being "exotica" that fits into all the stereotypes white people have of Asian women and their expected behavior.

How do you reconcile that? Why on earth are you OK with being exotica?

Don't be mistaken. They want you because you're exotica. 100%. You probably found that especially true when you met nerdier, smarter guys in college who were afraid of women.

Misogyny isn't unique to Asian men. Perhaps you've met some bad ones, but I'd argue that misogyny is one reason white men view Asian women the way they do, i.e., traditional gender roles, no feminist power struggles, etc.

Your critique of Hamamoto's bizarre work, which I have yet to read about, isn't all that damning. Sure, "Asian-American" is too broad a term. But I'm sure he'd admit your point that there are different stereotypes for different Asian groups, e.g., East Asians ("Charlie Chan") vs. South Asians (the "terrorist" stereotypes you mentioned). I would dispute that the American racial consciousness groups the Middle East together with Asia -- that's a ridiculous conjecture so your Aladdin nonsense doesn't apply (he and Jasmine were Anglicized characters amidst ugly Middle Eastern stereotypes). It's also true that the American racial imagination views East Asians and even Southeast Asians as being one aggregate culture to be stereotyped: they really don't know or care the difference between Chinese and Japanese or Thai and Vietnamese.

That is all for now.

I don't find being considered exotica a pleasant experience. That's why I said, I'd pass on that. But some Asian American women use it for money or power. White women do, too. Isn't that what the Playboy mansion is all about? In any case, a real geisha, not the American version, would be just as calculating.

Not all of what I'm talking about is anecdotal. Part of the problem with the spread of STDs in Asian and Asian American women is linked their male counterparts' behavior. In particular is HPV. This can cause cervical cancer but rarely effects men who are the carriers. I don't have time to look up the local and international stats, but it is linked not only to the number of sex partners the woman has, but that her male partner has. In cultures where it is acceptable for men to have sex outside of marriage, the chances of the women contracting it increases even if she is monogamous. Since the men do not get tested for this and safe sex doesn't guard against the contraction of HPV, a woman's best hope is a Pap smear. Not common among some communities or countries.

There are whole Web sites devoted to these discussions.

http://endabuse.org/press/releases.php3?Search=Article&ID=7

There is also a great concern about domestic violence in Asian American communities. If you have to fight an acceptance of this problem even though it clearly exists, this means there are problems within the communities and usually what is cited is an acceptance of violence against women by their husbands. The usual feeling is that the women are not acting Asian enough. That's the point about yellowness or being yellow enough. Who decides that? The guy, the in-laws and community members.

Not very attractive if a woman is looking for a potential mate. So let's not blame Hollywood for those.

I have been active in AIDS/HIV and STD education and am currently active in raising charitable donations for a domestic violence center.

Media image is one thing, but we need to look at other dirty little secrets. And again, both the LA Times article and Dr. Hamamoto are talking about East Asia. Dr. Hamamoto doesn't admit to other racial stereotypes that's why I suggested the geography lesson. He doesn't not admit that some Asians might not be yellow. He does not admit that some Asian might be black.

How can anyone combat stereotypes when we are building a stereotype of an East Asian hegemony over all of Asia? So I want to point out that Saudi Arabia is also part of Asia. Armenia is part of Asia.

There's actually a triangular relationship in this emasculation theory that Hamamoto doesn't clearly discuss: black men have large penises; white men have average size penises and yellow men have small penises. Phillipe Rushton also thought this influenced other aspects of behavior although his proofs of size stats were spurious.

This also postulates that the sexuality of a human race is solely determined by men. Not very sound biology.

Further, we cannot combat racism and stereotypes as Asian Americans or Americans unless we admit that it is multilayered. Asians and Asian Americans have plenty of prejudices and stereotypes against each other. Heck, even within the same country.

India and Japan have their own untouchables.

I'm saying there are other reasons women marry out. Oh, and Americans need a geography lesson.

"black men have large penises; white men have average size penises and yellow men have small penises."

Like all stereotypes, there is a grain of truth to this.

Height is a major factor in determining the size of the male genitalia. As a group, Asians are shorter than whites or blacks. As a group, blacks are taller than Asians and whites. (At least in the USA...)

Therefore, as a group, the black-white-Asian penile heirarchy is actually true, in general.

(I have no doubt there are Asian men sporting massive dongs, and black guys who suffer from the dread micro-penis affliction. But statistics are merely a collection of anecdotes, in other words a generalization. They may be politically incorrect, but they are also factual.)

All of this just points to the stupidity of categorizing people by hue. How's about dealing with people as individual humans and judging accordingly based on that?

ND:

I'm all for that! :-]

But people tend to self-identify. Look at a high-school lunch table. It's usually either all-white, all-black, all-Hispanic, all-female, all-male, etc.

So. Since it is a given that, in this imperfect world, people tend to identify with those who are most like themselves, there are naturally self-selecting categories of people.

Assuming this much, those who self-identify as being "black" tend to be taller than those who self-identify as being "Asian." And those "blacks" tend to be taller than those "Asians." And black men tend to be more "hip" than Asian men. And they tend to have bigger wangs.

This is all true. Look it up.

I didn't make this world. I just live in it. And I study it. And I report on it. And even if I don't like it, I deal with it.

Right now, there are murderers and rapists making millions per year playing a fucking game! But I don't cry myself to sleep every night over this fact. I deal with it.

Right now, there are people who are the offspring of the wealthy who are given second and third chances that a plebe like me could never hope to attain. But I don't bitch about it. I deal with it.

That's life. It's rough, and cold, and unfair. But I deal with it. So should everyone else.

IMHO...

Or become a recluse. Avoiding society, which is awash in its worthlessness, is much happier.

I self-identify as human. Classifying oneself on the basis of melanin -- sorry, I find it stupid, and I will not go along with it. I am all too aware of how you and "people" tend to focus on it -- you can have it. What a useless topic to study...

You do know that just because two people have the same skin color doesn't mean they have anything of importance in common, right?

And what the fuck does "hip" mean? Who gets to define that? "And black men tend to be more "hip" than Asian men." What a stupid statement.

Deal with it? I do, by speaking out against society, its classifications, and the dolts who play along.

Actually, the work of Phillipe Rushton on penis size was largely discredited. Most of his data was old, underrepresentative or likely to be suspect because it required self-report.

You don't think some men added a few inches in the self-report?

Remember, Asia covers a lot of ground. Can you honestly say that Asians (from Israel to the Pacific Islands) are smaller people than Causasians or Blacks? There are an awful lot of jockeys in the US and they aren't all Asian Americans and those are only the short guys that can ride horses and want to.

And penis size isn't known to be proportional.

In any case, this is probably the real penis envy. Not women wishing they had penises.

But if you've read the turgid prose of Dr. Hamamoto, you'll know he avoids that point--tackling the penis size myth.

But if you buy into one part of the myth, aren't you buying into the other part? That black men are oversexed and hard to control? That Asian men are undersexed and more cerebral? And like some odd version of Goldilocks and the three bears, white men are just right?

But my main point is: race and media imagery isn't the only reason women might reject Asian American men.

Bob A. Booey has some good points. What I'm seeing here is that Purple Tigress claims to be trying to combat stereotypes of Asian Americans, but yet generalizes the Asian American men she's encountered throughout her life time. Now let me ask you a question, how can anyone combat stereotypes when they are building a stereotype of Asian American men themselves?

I'm at work, so I can't respond to the latest madness until later, but here's that article she was talking about. It ran in my local paper (the Chicago Tribune) today and it addresses a lot of the stereotypes that have been thrown about in this discussion:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0405250034may25,1,4341157.story

Sex, self-image and the Asian-American man
By David Pierson
Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
Published May 25, 2004

Wanting to know what the mostly Asian-American class considered desirable, professor Darrell Hamamoto asked: What posters are on your bedroom walls? After an uncomfortable silence, Hamamoto got the names he expected -- celebrities including Brad Pitt. There wasn't an Asian among them, which reinforced what he has long believed: Cliches and stereotypes about Asian men have rendered them sexual afterthoughts.

"You aren't creating your own images," the 50-year-old Japanese-American told his class at the University of California, Davis. "Make your own movies. You have to take it into your own hands." Like Hamamoto, hundreds of Asian-American men are writing books and poems and creating Web sites in hopes of redefining themselves by combating the enduring notion that they are submasculine. Many are offended that Asian men are projected as power players when it comes to intellectual intercourse but bystanders in the world of romance.

"Racist myths and assumptions about smaller stature . . . smaller eyes -- and less sexual and erotic drive -- have stymied the development and acceptance of Asian-American men as full erotic beings," writes Russell Leong, novelist and professor at the University of California, in the foreword of "On a Bed of Rice," a collection of Asian-American erotic literature.

Internet forums for Asians are saturated with discussion groups with titles such as "Raise Your Hand if You Love Asian Men!!" A thread on www.modelminority.com titled "When the Asian Guy Tries Too Hard" discusses the difficulty some Asian-American men have attracting non-Asians -- often considered a successful sign of crossover appeal. It registered 1,689 hits in two weeks.

Phil Yu, 25, a Korean-American, was so angered by misconceptions about Asian-Americans that he created a Web site, www.angryasianman.com, which he says receives 50,000 hits a month.

A recent uproar on Yu's site erupted when Details magazine published a pictorial in its April issue titled "Asian or Gay?" Yu quickly rallied his readers by saying, "It seriously pulls out every offensive, stereotypical Asian pop culture reference imaginable, objectifying and exoticizing Asian men into a sexual stereotype."

A mid-January posting read: "Bad week for Asian men on reality TV . . . on the latest edition of 'The Bachelorette,' Andy [Chang] got eliminated right away. . . . But honestly, what did you expect? Like she was going to choose the lone, token Asian guy out of that bunch?"

Days after he was booted, Chang said he was disappointed he was the only bachelor who didn't get a one-on-one meeting with Meredith Phillips, the ABC show's bachelorette. After he was eliminated, he wondered what effect his ethnicity had.

"After the fact, I think it worked against me," said Chang, who beat out thousands of applicants to be on the series.

Chang, a Chinese-American dentist based in a Dallas suburb, says he's the antithesis of the socially inept Asian typecast.

The 5-foot-11 bachelor with the athletic build was in a fraternity and never had much problem finding dates. But since he appeared on the show, the 33-year-old said meeting women has been even easier. This, despite once being told by a new patient that she thought he would look like Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid."

"I may have a dental degree," he said. "Does that mean I have to look like a nerd?"

X-rated image

Hamamoto has taken the advice he gave his students, albeit in a more controversial manner. He financed a pornographic movie titled "Skin on Skin," starring a Korean-American actor.

"I wanted people to look at this Asian-American and say, `He's great, he's performing, he's bright, he's beautiful,"' he said. "I wanted to take the lowest road possible. Something basic. Raw."

Ultimately, Hamamoto said he wants to show the world that Asians are sexually complex and that assumptions about nerdiness are unjust. He plans to launch a porn company, which he believes will empower Asian-Americans. Criticism that he has cheapened his cause by using pornography does not bother him, he said. The risque endeavor is also a scholarly exercise, which includes the "Masters of the Pillow" documentary on the making of "Skin on Skin."

The film, with commentary from Asian-American filmmakers, academicians and playwrights, was shown at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in March and the Visual Communications Filmfest in Los Angeles on May 1.

Late last year, word of Hamamoto's project led to spoofs on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," which aired a mock news story about the dearth of Asian men in pornography, and NBC's "Tonight Show," which showed a skit featuring Godzilla with his groin blacked out breaking up an all-Asian bedroom romp.

The stereotypes have a clear emotional effect on Asian-American men, said William Liu, an assistant professor of counseling psychology at the University of Iowa.

Those who live in predominantly non-Asian communities begin to loathe their appearance and develop ideals of beauty that value blond hair and blue eyes.

Some court non-Asian women exclusively as a sign of status because "they're able to overcome stereotypes and cultural prohibitions," Liu said.

Interracial relationships

Asian-American men lack the success Asian-American women have had in interracial relationships. It's a sensitive fact complicated by the belief by many people in the community that society objectifies Asian females as hyper-sexual Suzy Wongs. The 2000 Census shows that Asian-American women are more than twice as likely to be involved in an interracial marriage as their male counterparts.

The roots of Asian male stereotypes date back 200 years, historians say, when immigrants started arriving in the United States en masse as cheap labor. For decades, they encountered a barrage of discrimination that prevented them from owning property or marrying outside their race. Some were barred from heavy industry, so men took on traditionally feminine enterprises including laundry and cooking.

By 1882, Chinese immigrants were prohibited from entering the United States, stranding those stateside without brides. Subsequently, a "bachelor society" emerged. Wars with Japan, Korea and Vietnam helped demonize Asian men further and gave Americans license to ridicule them, historians say.

Many Asian-Americans are still horrified by older images such as writer Sax Rohmer's books about the sinister Dr. Fu Manchu and Mickey Rooney's buck-toothed Mr. Yunioshi from "Breakfast at Tiffany's," perhaps the character Asian-Americans most commonly identify as a racist icon of an earlier Hollywood.

Some of a younger generation cringe at the sight of the nerdish Long Duk Dong from the 1984 teen classic "Sixteen Candles."

But Asian-American men might be acquiring more appeal.

More are out-marrying

American-born Asians are out-marrying more than older generations. Popular culture and sports have introduced basketball player Yao Ming, baseball player Kazuo Matsui and the actors from the edgy teen movie "Better Luck Tomorrow," which received mainstream distribution from MTV Films. The acclaimed Australian film "Japanese Story" centers on an affair between a white woman and a Japanese man.

Hunky Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee, 28, turns down martial-arts roles because he feels they perpetuate a passionless warrior image. He would rather be a leading man.

"When I first started out five, six years ago, a lot of auditions for Asians had to do with technical computer guys. And at some point it started switching to the villain or the Mafia guy," Lee said.

Another actor who gave Asian-American men something to cheer about was Bruce Lee, but ultimately he did little to advance their romantic value, many say.

Even today, Asian-American men complain that action heroes such as Chow Yun Fat and Jackie Chan rarely get the girl.

As Leong, the author and UCLA professor put it: "Asian men can kick butt, but they can't have a kiss."

If you really knew Russell Leong, you'd see just how ironic the whole article was. The irony was, of course, totally lost on the writer at the Los Angeles Times though.

And again, how can it be a stereotype such people really exist?

To be honest I have not read very much of Purple's writing and cannot claim to know her thoughts very well without lying, at the moment.

However this kind of whiny article is unfortunate. I can understand having a poor high school environment, and racism, but playing the who's the better victim game, and talking up some imaginary hierarchy as if it were real and proper is disgusting, laughable and pathetic.

For all people romantic experimentation and socialization should begin at puberty, and curiosity even beforehand. It is not proper to wait out high school, even college, even after college. Various misfortunes and circumstances can lead to such a situation, sure, but it's not normal and should not be justified now just because it happened to you.

Furthermore it should be realized that most people are not that great, in fact many are full of shit, and the social hierarchy delineated is purely imaginary - it doesn't have to be. It is not the preset way things are.

To finish my post more clearly, hopefully,

If you accepted that social hierarchy, it was your own fault, your own weakness to believe in the fantastic lies of others.

If you couldn't find the right person for romantic adventures, that is unfortunate but understandable. It is terrible that people should be deprived of normal development, but what can one do to change the past ? The future is what matters, and in its unfolding we should encourage what is right and not repeat what is wrong. If you are going to miserate and brood over the situation, better to do something to improve it rather than competing to see who has the worse horror story.

[edited]

Minor correction. The Rock's father is African American (Former wrestler Rocky Johnson). It's his mother who is Samoan.

This is such a dumb list to make, which mean you are dumb. Make me sick to my stomach reading it.
If you say you are not attracted to Asians, you are not attracted to yourself and have low self-esteem. Simple as that.

People like you make me sick.

typical asian female hater. She'll blast the Asian man with her long list of anti-asian male/amy tan stereotypes as reason for her low opinion of asian men. Newflash, men of all races have all those traits as well. So why do you chose to place those stereotypes upon asian men only? [edited]

All your base are belong to us!

The article smacks of someone with low-self esteem believing all the stereotypes about asian men and using that as a excuse to whine and bash them.

And is experiencing stereotypes yourself an excuse to believe and perpetuate them?

STOP DISSING ASIAN MEN! As a Proud Asian Woman I support my brothas and am therefore offended by your article. I don't know if you are a sista or not, but if you are, you're being a sellout and dissing your own MALE FAMILY MEMBERS. Support Asian Pride- Stop the Stereotypes- Asian Men and Women must unite.

Asian men have superiority complex which fails to be effective in an open society like the US.Having an ancient culture is not the same thing as having good social skills.They therefore try to compensate for their social shortcomings by appealing to their intellectual and financial achievements.Harping on physical shortcomings of asian men is counter productive because that is God given the thing that ticks people off around the world is their singular lack of manners

Jeez! Such ignorance. I know RJ is now affiliated with the 'scientific racism' blog Gene Expression, but evenso, will post a few corrections.

~Average African-Americans are not taller than white Americans. Nor are West Africans particularly tall. Masai and other tall Africans are from the East. In fact, the myth of big, strong Negroes is just that. Black Americans tend to be a rather sickly lot. (And, don't even ask about Indians.)

~There is no proof any 'racial' group has large or small penises. The person usually cited for this 'knowledge', psychologist Phillipe Rushton, is considered a crackpot. He also claims that brain size and penis size are inversely related. The man is nuts.

~Asian-Americans do not make more money than white peers. The middle class (mainly of Japanese, Chinese and Korean origin) tends to make less than whites with the same level of education. It is the discrimination differential. When higher incomes are cited for Asian-American households, that is usually because both spouses work.

I might have more to say later. Just thought I would cut through some of the nonsense for now.

Purple, I should write a blog entry about the exotica thing. Remind me if one does not turn up around here.

Gee, I'm amazed that someone else remembers Philippe Rushton. I attended one very funny, intellectual rejection and deconstruction of his theories by a psychologist (American) who was also a white male.

It's ridiculous to say that one can't diss one's own race or ethnicity. Pretending there aren't problems when there are helps no one. It's a different type of racism. Solidarity doesn't mean ignoring social problems any more than criticizing America or the current president or the military actions in the Middle East means one's un-American.

But that is the very attitude that some men too often use to cover up the problems I have cited. If we are really a family, then why can't I say what is the truth?

Please note I placed it under satire.

People who don't love themselves betray themselves in order to fit in.

People that love themselves don't fear what their brothers or sisters want them to say if it means ignoring the truth.

The LA Times article built stereotypes and hackneyed half-truths that didn't follow logical proofs.

Further, Dr. Hamamoto doesn't have much of a sense of humor and apparently doesn't realize that some Asians are actually black or at least not really yellow.

He is not an expert on sexuality. He is not an expert on Asian or Asian American literature and I don't believe that he is fluent in any Asian language.

He also very much avoids the penis envy part that is really an East Asian focus.

These last three points were brought up in a discussion about the porn movie by other audience members.

Purple, I didn't go to the pornography angle because it is just too ridiculous. It is comparable to saying women should commit more violent crimes so we won't have an image as not being aggressive enough-:).

Rushton is vary big with racists on the Internet. They also still cite Brand and Shockley, who are even more discredited. Interestingly, none of these people have expertise in genetics, or even anthropology. Off the Internet, Rushton is a joke, of course. His own university reprimanded him for harassing minority men with questions about their penises in a shopping mall. But for money from far Right sources, he would have given up his crusade by now.

There is a juvenile quality to the men who latch onto excuses for not getting the play they think they should. The childishness explains why they are willing to ignore mainstream scholarship and grasp at straws. They are looking for compensation, so facts need not intrude.

Tell me, what ethnic group doesn't have problems with domestic violence? Name me one, because I would really love to hear it. Rather than addressing the issue as being a problem with society at large it's just asian guys that are labelled with this stereotype. All along you were even saying that Hollywood has nothing to do with it. Looks like you fell for that one.

White and black men raped and abused hundreds of thousands of Asian women since WWII, yet asian guys are get the sexist and violent label. Asian men are the least likely to commit rapes and crimes for that matter, yet we're the sole group to blame all problems within the asian community.

Also, I don't blame any of critics for bashing whatever it is you think your accomplishing. I'm all for solving problems in the Asian community. I've been doing it for years. However, unlike you I actually come up with solutions rather than ranting on and on and on like a broken record. As far as I'm concerned I'd rather not have people like you in our communities, and I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. You provide nothing constructive to bring to the table just a lot of hot air. Maybe some of your critics are right, perhaps you are trying to justify something else.

Lastly, I just want to point out that when Hamamoto mentioned "Asians" as a label he was just referring to race. Yes, India, Pakistan, the entire Middle East...etc, are part of Asia. But when someone refers to "Asians" you automatically think "East Asian". Why so much emphasis on something so trivial?

Ignorance. Not from Hamamoto but from the writer of this blog...

lol Gee I wonder why you didn't get any dates in high school. Is it because your angry and bitter?

Also, I think the media affects us so in that way I agree with the professor. It happens to everyone. Anyone who thinks it doesn't is kidding themselves. If the media has no affect on anyone, why would corporations be spending billions of dollars a year marketing to people? They do it for fun? How do you know your views, attitudes, and stereotypes aren't shaped from them?

Also, I'm an asian woman and I completely disagree with the writer. You sound ridiculously angry and it's kind of embarassing. To all the asian males out there, PT doesn't even come close to what most asian women think.

Oh and I've had correspondence with Bao Phi (I assume that's who your talking about). I enjoy his work try it out, you might learn something


Peace,

Kendra

The original blog comment was steeped in racist preconceptions and stereotypes. Stripping out the generalizations leaves no content in this poorly organized "essay". Stopped reading it after the term "yellow man" was used.

Racist.

You'll have to address Dr. Hamamoto about the usage of the word yellow man. So I'm guessing you're not really that up on the subject matter and probably a poor judge of the words and word usage.

An Asian American man has a book entitled "Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America." The author's name is William Wong. I guess you'd consider him racist and wouldn't read the book having judged it by its cover.


Quoting from the Amazon.com book description:

As Darrell Hamamoto remarks in his Foreword, "'Chinaman,' Chinese American, Asian American; any way you slice it, Bill Wong is one straight-up righteous Yellow Man."

did your dad rape you when you were younger? seriously why do you hate asian men so much? obviously something must have happened

FUck Glendale, Fuck ARmenians.

Dr. Hamamoto is awesome. He made a porno with an Asian guy having sex with a white woman, and when his students watched it, all teh white women said they felt immediately attracted to asian males.

Asian male white female porn is the wave of the future. Thats how Hungary and Turkey got started. Eastern Europe too.

This whole article and the author herself is a joke. She reeks of insecuries and not only that, projects it on to others. Her disdain for Asian men is quite evident in the article.

I am surprised anyone is taking her seriously. I find it rather disgusting and pathetic that she feel the need to write a whole article denigrating her other half, which pretty much speaks volumes about her. Poor creature. Maybe someday you'll learn to love yourself. I know I did.

I had the unfortunate fate of stumbling across this blog. And I must say it never cease to amaze me the igorance of people like Purple Tigress. I've never been so disgusted nor have I seen so much contempt held by an individual towards his or her own group.

She obviously have issues that needs to be dealt with. It would explain why why she had no dates in High School. Some of us grew up with low self esteem and often blame it on others. This can be quite devasting in the long run. I hope that she as a person can learn to accept herself for who and what she is. I wonder how she can wake up everyday and look herself in the mirror.

For your own sake, please seek help. It is quite sad to see you like this. I feel nothing but pity for you.

One issue I'd like to point out is that the author has attributed negative traits to Asian men as a race rather than cultural beliefs. Apparently, an Asian man living in Asia reacts to environmental stimuli just like a 2nd or 3rd generation Asian American man would. You attempted to dispel Asian female stereotypes by substituting them with Asian male stereotypes. With Asian women like this "fighting" for Asian equality, I'm amazed the Asian American community even has a sense of cultural identity.

Bang up job, ma'am.

Let me clue you in regarding another point; Asian females will never get anywhere by stepping on Asian men. Your ability to gain equality in this country is directly tethered to Asian men, whether you like it or not.

I'm white and married to the sweetest and most thoughtful man in the world who just happens to be and American of Chinese descent. This article's horrible stereotyping just made me throw up a little in my mouth.

Sorry I'm late asking this, but why are Filipinos brown while Thais are yellow? What makes someone yellow as opposed to brown?

A propos of nothing in particular, I know a couple, a Burmese guy married to a white American woman. Their (adult) son is SOOOO good looking, I feel like I should rush to a confessional every time I look at him! I can't fathom why asian-american men would have a hard time dating, 'cause the ones I've ever known (about a dozen, all told) were the best-looking guys around ... and boy, they knew it, too. But that's a Cute Guy thing, and has nothing to do with race.

Hmmmm...let me guess. Probably none of the people who have recently written in have seen the documentary on Dr. Hamamoto. True or false?

Isn't that what the article (LA Times) is about and isn't that what I state I'm answering?

And then, isn't there that porn movie that Dr. Hamamoto made? Has anyone seen that?

So do the people who responded really feel like Dr. Hamamoto that in order for Asian American men to reclaim their manhood, they need to see a yellow penis in porn with an English speaking actor (because Asian porn has Asian men, but that's discounted by the good professor)?

And if the Asian American men really need to see a yellow penis, just why are they so interested in the penis at all? Is that closeted denial?

And is porn really good for Asian American men or Asian American women? Do we really want more porn stars from these ethnic backgrounds?

And for the LA Times article! Does anyone believe that a Latino poet is a better catch for a high school girl than a Latino football (or soccer) player? So why would an Asian American male expect to be a good catch in high school if he's not a star athlete?

Doesn't that make the whole structure of the LA Times article more than slightly laughable?

Now if they had started the first graph with a guy from Los Angeles who was the baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics or whatever star in high school who was Asian and couldn't get a date...that might mean something. Hello...high school is a different world, with a different mentality than college.

How many of the current respondents can name an Asian poet? Compared to an Asian or Asian American athlete?

And yes, the good Dr. Hamamoto had to bend the definition of yellow for his porn. Many Asian Americans and Asians do NOT consider a Thai, Vietnamese or Filipino yellow. Nor do they consider an Asian Indian yellow.

Asian Indians who are often considered "black" by the Brits, do not suffer from the penis inferiority complex as some East Asian (yellow) males do.

What makes someone brown as opposed to white or yellow or black? Labels, prejudice and the Asian hierarchy of prejudice. For some, not all Asians are equal just as not all Latinos are equal.

Purple, as someone earlier pointed out, you really need to check in to a hospital and get some psychological treatment. Your mind is totally messed up!

Wow, I am underwhelmed by your argumentation.

I think that's argumentum ad hominem.

You won't impress anyone who has a working brain with that. LOL.

Ms. Purple:

i'm a black male dating a gorgeous filipino/sri lankan girl. to most people, she looks hispanic, but when asian guys find out she's flip(i hope there's no qualms about me using that term), they go way overboard with that asian pride shit. i can identify with wanting to be with someone who shares your background, but some of that is really excessive.

it seems to me that a lot of asian people are inhibited by traditional values. one of my friends is a vietnamese girl who's rather promiscuous, but thinks that every boyfriend she ever has is going to save her from her mother's rule. and she's dated plenty of lame white guys, a few of which were only interested in nailing an asian chick. i think anyone who isn't caucasian and feeds into the idea of white superiority gets the feeling that white people are better, so they want to be romantically involved with them, 'cause it somehow gives them more self-worth(no clue how that works, though). and sometimes guys are just creepy ass fetishists. but on the other hand, white men aren't exactly sweeping up black women in record numbers. black people as a whole still aren't considered "safe." but that's a completely different set of issues that have nothing to do with this.

oh, and the inherent "hipness" that my people possess is only validated when other people start calling themselves "brothas/sistas/niggas," mimicking the neo-gangster image("gangsta") that black hip-hop artists popularized, etc. but there are plenty of black people who think that shit is lame. so everyone everywhere should just stop it.

p.s. i got to this page while looking for info on the song in the powerade commercial with the asian lady lifting 10 lb. and 50 lb. barbell, making one arm look overgrown. the internet is crazy. yours is the fifth listing under "10/50 asian lady powerade."

Dear Freddy:

The Internet is a crazy place and just what search engine were you using?

Your story about the black guy/Asian girl thing made me recall a couple of incidents with a black friend. We went to a play and this white woman couldn't stop oggling at us and the Pilipino guy sitting next to my friend got up and moved during intermission. It was clear that he didn't approve. I was aware of this air of disapproval anytime we went out to plays where the audience was predominately Asian American. Pretty sad, don't you think?

I did do an experiment online and that really put me off of dating. I put the same ad up except I changed my race. As an Asian woman, I got the most replies. As a black woman I got only five in 30 days as opposed to an overflowing box as an Asian woman in less than a week.

And yes, most of the guys answering my ad as an Asian woman didn't even bother reading the ad. They seemed on the whole to be more interested in the idea of sleeping with an Asian woman. There were some black guys who fell under that, too. Mostly these guys felt that I would worship their large penises.

It's pretty sad if the size of a guy's penis is his best attribute.

Sort of reminds me of the horse killing the guy during sex story although that's sort of a gay guy sex fantasy gone wrong story.

Somehow I stumbled across this while reasearching a bit about Dr. Hamamoto and his "project." I agree it's kind of ridiculous. But I also have to ask, as a 23 year-old Asian-American male who isn't "super chauvinist," or even chauvinist at all (I'm all for social, economical, and potical equality for women), doesn't live with his parents, and doesn't fit many of the stereotypes believed to be true about Asian men, why do feel the way you've articulated in your blog and comments? The gist your argument is that Asian men deserve the stereotypes put upon them and the dating misfortunes (if they're able to even get a date) that accompany those stereotypes. Am I wrong? To me, these stereotypes, which MANY Asian-American men do not fit, are not fair, especially when Asian women like YOU believe them to be true. The fact is, Asian-American men do feel emasculated and it not because of penis envy. The media (TV, movies, print ;) and yes, even AMERICAN porn) have done a great job of protraying us as undesireable. All this community pressure stuff you talk about seems ridiculous as I have lived my life in two cities with high Asian populations (Seattle and The Bay) and I have no clue what you're talking about. To imply that the dating scene is fair and Asian men are not at a disadvantage (without anything even being known about them) is also ridiculous. Also, your "list" as to why Asian women are marrying out is ridiculously ridiculous. I just about fell over my chair dying from laughter while reading that. As you can see, ridiculous is a word I often use to describe stupid people or things.

Also, I agree that Asian is a broad term that applies to many people in a large area, but the fact of the matter is, people, especially Americans, perceive race to be a physical construction, whether you or I like it or not. Armenians and people of Middle Eastern descent might technically be "Asian," although I personally believe they are not, but they largely have "Caucasian" physical features. Look on a map, you'll see that it's pretty close to Europe. (Turkey is applying to become part of the European Union, if you haven't been keeping up with your current events.) I know quite a few people of Armenian and Middle Eastern descent and have had specific discussions with them on race and society issues; they do not consider themselves Asian. Hell, there's plenty of Indian and Filipino people I know that don't consider themselves Asian. (This bothers me because I'm half-Japanese and half-Filipino and I tell my Filipino friends that Filipinos are Asian, but they insist on being "Pacific Islander.")

You also say that The Rock doesn't feel emasculated. He probably doesn't. What does this have to do with Asian male emasculation? He's not Asian. His dad is Black and his mom is Samoan (who are real "Pacific Islanders/Polynesians," like Tongans and not like Filipinos), two groups of people (especially on the male side) that are hyper-sexualized by American media. (If your going to ask how Samoans are hyper-sexualized, watch a football game one day, or ask some White girl in the Seattle area about her "Poly" fetish.)

Another thing, what is this "PENIS ENVY" stuff you talk about? Has the media led you to believe that Asian men actually have smaller penises than any other race of men? I don't know about others, but as a 6'2" 195 lb. Asian male that wears a size 13 shoe, I certainly don't have penis envy.

I know this is long and I usually don't respond to stuff like this on the internet, but READING your ignorance saddens me and I had to respond. I don't know you, but reading your blog and comments, I'd assume that you would never date an Asian(American) man for reasons such as the misguided stereotypes you listed above. That's sad that you've let yourself think or feel that way, if that's true. It's your loss. Unfortunately, there are hordes of Asian women like you out there.

I'm out.

Dear Tim:

I've actually interviewed Dr. Hamamoto and was surprised to read the LA Times article that came out a considerable time AFTER the discussion and documentary presentation I attended.

It isn't clear that you've read the LA Times article.

If you know Dr. Hamamoto, he doesn't see Polynesians as being non-Asian. He also doesn't see Asian Indians black as people in England do. He sees them as yellow. He saw the girl in his yellow porn as yellow while many of the Asian Americans in the audience did not.

As you noted, there is a distinction. This was brought up in the discussion at the film festival (not by me) by an Asian Indian person whom I spoke with later. He felt that this emasculation complex was really an East Asian American problem.

While this distinction of East Asian being yellow and other Asians not being yellow is clear to some people, it is not to Dr. Hamamoto. There in lies the weakness to his argumentation as Polynesians, Samoans, Asian Indians and others from Central Asia have not been emasculated in the same way and do not suffer from what you call penis envy. British literature on Asian Indians sees them as hypersexualized and to be feared.

The usage of the term Asian in the US usually refers to East Asian just as the term Black and African American usually does not refer to Northern African ethnic peoples. In England, the term Asian usually refers to Pakistani and Asian Indians. All of these usages are incorrect.

I'm actually pretty good at geography so be careful whom you're calling ignorant. Turkey might be asking to join the European Union, but the country is in Europe and Asia.

When you say Middle Eastern, I'm guessing you're referencing both North Africa (whose people would not be Asian) as well as Western Asia since Middle Eastern usually includes Egypt and Algeria.

Asia is a continent. Asians are not one culture or one race. Historically, the term Orient pertained to all of Northern Africa and as far as the Hawaiian Islands. Africa is a continent. It also had various cultures and races.

The genetic and anthropological (physical) terms would be caucasoid, mongoloid and negroid. In Asia, you will find Asians who are mixtures of these. Pacific Islanders have been found to have many of the overt physical features that were considered negroid--skin color, hair texture and facial features. This is the pivotal point in the musical "South Pacific" which is usually lost due to casting East Asians. Race is physical, but that's different than geography, culture and ethnicity.


The LA Times article used various fallacies to argue in favor of what Dr. Hamamoto said. Yet it failed to consider that perhaps men like Dr. Hamamoto actually drove Asian American women away from marrying Asian and Asian American men. It's not just the media that can be faulted. I think Asian American men like Dr. Hamamoto also drive Asian and Asian American women away.

In the LA Times article, to say that a young Asian American poet couldn't get a date in high school is to assume that poetic men of every other race in high school got dates. Please...as I recall high school was a time when athletes and cheerleaders ruled the social hierarchy. From what I see on television, not much has changed. From what I hear from my geek friends, not much has changed.

Dr. Hamamoto seems to deal with the fallacy of an appeal to emotion and he does have a slight problem with physical anthropology as well as cultural. I believe that would be the fallacy of argumentum ad hominem.


When Asian American men argue that the media is totally at fault for Asian American women marrying out and yet some of those same men date or marry outside of their ethnic group, that's a slightly biased and chauvinistic argument. That doesn't make such men attractive to any woman in her right mind.

In my original article, I don't actually talk about penis envy. As one person at the lecture pointed out, it seemed that Dr. Hamamoto was very focused on the penis and he asked if this wasn't latent homosexuality. I did discuss the three-pronged argument of sexuality put forth by Dr. Rushton. I state that his stats were spurious. You obviously missed that part. I also stated that is is not sound biology to conjecture that sexuality is totally defined by the physical characteristics of the male of the species. After all, that means you are only looking at half of the population to determine human sexuality. Pretty paternalistic. I think you missed that point.

As for buying into the penis size, shoe size, height or weight determines masculinity, that is a slippery slope. As I tell black men (Asian and African), you can't have it both ways. I might have to report you to the political group for vertically challenged people for some sensitivity training. Freud may have explained women's problems as a result of penis envy, but I find that men are usually more inclined to suffer from penis envy.

I do find you entertaining which is different from charming. My list was based on fact and I'm sure there is a reason it seems foreign to you because you haven't taken a good look in the mirror lately. Let's see, telling me about my loss and how I must think about myself probably comes under the showing me how much more yellow you are than I and also telling me how I can be more correctly Asian American. I'm not clear if you assume that I don't date Asian and Asian American men out of choice or because I don't behave properly.

And as for your assumptions, Tim, you just made an ass out of yourself. You missed some key points so polish up on your research skills and consider perhaps it is your attitude that is driving hordes of Asian and Asian American women away.

I have something called a life so I'll try to make this relatively short. (I might come back for a lengthier diatribe at some point in the future.)

1. It was not my intention to refute ALL of your points and whatever other musings have. My comment was long enough; I am not trying to write a term paper here. However, I did in fact read the LA Times article in full and, while I don't totally agree with all the writer's assertions, I do agree with his overall tone that Asian men, or as you want specify, "East" Asian men, do indeed get the short end of the stick in American and even global society as far as romance goes.

2. As far as your blabber about the girl in the yellow porn video not being yellow, although Dr. Hamamoto feels she is, I agree with you on that. After all, I am half-Filipino, and we 'sho ain't yellow. (Excuse the slang.) So, I don't know where you're going with that.

3. As far as Turkey goes, it may technically be in Europe and Asia, but can you please tell me where Europe ends and Asia starts? Also, by this theory you have on geography, does that mean Saudi Arabia is in Africa and Asia? I took geography in high school and I'm almost 24, so I don't remember everything. Also, like I said, I have a life, so i'm not going to go on Wikipedia to find out; instead, I'll let you handle that;)

4. I don't think many Asian men that complain about how Asian women are "leaving" them and are actually dating or marrying outside their race, or ethnicity, to be potically correct, would give two shits about what Asian women do. My cousin doesn't.

5. Also, where in my comment did I say the media is TOTALLY at fault for this thing? I never even implied that. I do believe, however, that the media plays a large role in shaping images and perceptions of people and things. You can't deny that, no matter what you come up with. For example, women of any race, let alone Asian, often reject a date or even a conversation with an Asian man based on the images the media feeds her. This is quite common. That is not equality. I know men of other races can be rejected, but they don't have all these unfair stereotypes levied upon them. You're not an Asian man, so you can't refute this.

6. I'm pretty sure my attitude is not driving Asian women away. I'll ask my girlfriend if it is.

7. My final point is that the sterotypes on your "list," which you believe to be "factual," are not fair, since many Asian men I know don't fit them. I'll even go as far as saying the list is utter bullshit.

8. Finally, my Sista, were mommy and daddy too hard on you? I hope YOU don't make another ASS of yourself in your response. I thought personal attacks were disallowed? Let's discuss like adults, please.

Not trying to be too childish here, but this is fun.

Check-mate.

I don't think that the thing about penis size is a myth. I am a white man with what I always thought was a normal sized penis for a white man. Almost all oriental women that I have had sex with have made a comment about how big it was when it was inside them. I have never had this comment from any white women so I took this to be that oriental women are on average smaller and this should go for the men too.

I agree with john i am of asian and european desent and i am a male.

Ouch! What kind of man in a PC world still uses the word Oriental? And what "Oriental" woman would go out with such a man?

Boys, boys, boys. You are proving that Freud was wrong about penis envy. It's not a girl thing. It's a guy thing.

First, for scientific fact finding, you'd have to get a good sampling of Oriental men. Oriental covers North Africa to the Pacific islands. You'd have to see the erect penises of at least 100 men of each culture, race or ethnicity. If you restrict yourself to Asia, then you have from Iran and other countries in West Asia to Japan and some Pacific islands to be fought over before beginning.

That's an awful lot of penises for one guy or one girl to look at. Even a prostitute wouldn't get to see enough of a sampling since her/his experience would be purely regional. I'd venture a guess that no matter how slutty you are or your sex partners, you haven't seen that many penises erect.

Most Asian women know how white men feel about their penises and most women know how to stroke their egos. The online banter I've gotten in lieu of an ordinary hello, is quite telling.

Do you really think all women tell the truth in bed? Do you really think all men tell the truth about their sexual adventures?

Well, then if the white penis myth is true without any scientific research then one can also hypothesize that the black penis myth is true with the same lack of evidence beyond anecdotal. So all women should look for black men and we can quibble over just who is black (Asian Indians? Persians? Arabs?).

This all gave me a good laugh, something I would never do if I wanted a man with an erect penis to actually keep it erect.