The "Exotic" Asian Female: Hypersexual or Submissive?

Hypersexualized Vixen/Nymph



Example: Brenda Song's character Christy Lee of The Social Network (2012)

The Asian Vixen/Nymph shares many similarities with the Dragon Lady. Like the Dragon Lady, the Vixen/Nymph is usually beautiful and seductive due to her "exotic" appearance. She is also usually depicted as manipulative and perhaps even aggressive. The role of the Vixen/Nymph characters tend to emphasize the exotic, the sexual, or the cunning" (Cheng, et al). Many Vixen/Nymph characters are clad in skimpy or tight clothing, which serve to further sexualize this archetype. Ultimately, films with the Vixen/Nymph tend to "harness the power of their sexuality" (Cheng, et al).


Shy, Demure Asian Female



Example: Phoebe from Hey, Arnold!

The shy Asian girl is a modernization of the Lotus Blossom/China Doll/Geisha Girl archetype. While the shy Asian will not be completely submissive to a man like the China Doll, she is still soft-spoken, talking very little, which almost makes her submissive in a different way. Typically, this archetype is accompanied by the character in question admiring a main character from afar.

Even in modern times, Asian women are still portrayed as "silent suffering doormats [or as] dragon ladies - cunning, deceitful, sexual provocateurs" (Hagedorn, 1994). Although the Vixen/Nymph and the shy Asian are almost "mellowed out" versions of the Dragon Lady and the China Doll, these two archetypes still categorize Asian females under two extremes - "naïve and hopeless or untrustworthy and devious" (Cheng, et al). The Dragon Lady and the China Doll were more overtly and blatantly racist depictions of Asian women while the Vixen/Nymph and the shy Asian girl more closely resemble a form of polite racism, in which the media is still displaying prejudices towards how they view Asian women.

References

Cheng, Joy, Charles Hsieh, Scott Lu, and Sarah Talgo. "Asian American Males in the Media." Media Representations of Asians. N.p.. Web. 9 Dec 2012. <http://sitemaker.umich.edu/psy457_tizzle/home>.

Hagedorn, J. (1994). Asian Women in Film: No Joy No Luck, Facing Difference: Race, Gender and Mass Media. Baigi, S. & Kern-Foxworth, M (Eds.),Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 32-37.