I think your article raises a lot of interesting points. However, it makes a critical error in doing the same thing you claim white men do to Asian women. The article lumps all white men interested in Asian women together and labels them as sleazy, stupid or creepy. As a white male I suppose my opinion is biased (then again it can't be any more than yours), but I think you should reconsider some of the points you made. The story about the guy you dated is definitely pathetic, asking trivial questions about the Art of War and all that. But the other story, the one about Lydia feels a bit off. You said his “Asiaphilia” took months to develop; you think perhaps he might have been exposed to her family and their culture and his interest took root in that? Is wanting to speak the language really that bad? Is getting along with her father that bad, too? Of course, maybe I'm assuming too much here, that Mandarin is her parents' first language and their home is a well of cultural influence for the guy to become interested in. But please look at Lydia's story from that side of things. I'm a while male, I've got an interest in Asian women and I study languages at my school. After reading your article, I'm honestly confused about what you want of me or the many other white guys who are interested in Asia and don't fit the dumb, sleazy mold. Would you rather us never talk to you again? Do you really consider all men interested in Asia to be such a joke? How would you react if a guy like me approached you: I study Japanese and I'm an aspiring diplomat. Should I just avoid talking to Asian women at bars now? I can't help but feel a little stereotyped myself. Maybe you should start hanging around in different clubs or consider moving to the East Coast. The weather isn't all that bad.
Vickie Chang has got to be one of your worst writers with the worst taste. I abhor her Trendzilla column. It has the most contrived style blurbberings I've ever read. None of them celebrate true style. Maybe that is why it's called “Trendzilla” and not “Stylezilla.” These sad entries just show how little she really understands about fashion and style. Sorry but we already have a Joan and Melissa Rivers! Also, although she has brought valid topics into discussion, such as the “Yellow Fever” article, she had many irrelevant tangents in her article. Forgive me, but I've been going to Bang for years now, and I don't remember this club being the hot spot for Rice Daddies. (Albeit, the Asian is the new arm candy for hipsters). The article was poorly written, the snide anecdote in the end should have been left out, it had too many scenester name dropping (just like her trite Trendzilla columns) and did not sympathize with the other side of the story. Many Asian girls actually would rather date white guys. It's called the “White Knight” sydrome. Overall, Vickie needs to go back to school and take a writing course if she wants to be a journalist. Kudos for trying, but her writing and musings are just horrific! Best wishes, L
To: Vickie Chang. Re: “Yellow Fever”: I guess I'm a bit late to the party, as I see you've already responded to comments in a separate article. Nevertheless, I'd like to offer some feedback and perhaps hear your thoughts on this. In your response to comments, you mention that you are not trying to make a generalized statement about white men dating Asian women. However, there was no such caveat in the original article. Let's say there was another article published in OC Weekly, this one about the writer's experience with muggings. “All three times I've been mugged, it's been by young black men.” Of course, we can hope that the writer is not racist, but it would be easy to read a subtext to the effect of “young black men are dangerous.” “Yellow Fever” seems to discuss white men/Asian women relationships, but seems to completely disregard examples that are healthy and not based on some racial stereotype or buried colonial desire. How is that different from the “black people mugged me! THRICE!!!” article of my imagination? I guess what I'm saying is, some acknowledgment of statistical relevance with the intent to prevent the perception or encouragement of racism would've been appreciated. 🙂 For some reason I have a thing against racism—perhaps because the most racist things I have ever heard have been from my parents and relatives—of course, this is not to say that all Chinese people are racist (see what I did there? Statistical relevance!). I wrote a tiny bit on this subject here. I should say that I'm an American citizen, was born in Taiwan and like to reject all cultural labels applied to myself, even as I enjoy walking both worlds and exploiting the advantages of each.
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This was the absolute best article that I have read! I've seen this hundreds of times. I am an Indian American and my sister and cousins go through the EXACT thing every day. I think that it is excellent that you've exposed this interesting and annoying phenomenon.
Size matters. Personally, I don't think it's a cultural thing, but rather a physical one. I think inter-racial attracton has more to do with just basic physical attributes. In the OC, where I live, there are three main ethnicities—Whites, Hispanics, Asians. Whites tend to be bigger and taller (more masculine traits); that's why women of all ethnicities are likely to be attracted to White men. Asians and Hispanics tend to be smaller and shorter (more feminine traits); thus men are more interested in Asian and Hispanic women. Thus white girls, although hot, tend to appear too confident and overwhelming for some men. So ignoring race or culture, big people tend to be attracted to smaller ones, and vice versa. For an example, in high school, tall (and more likely white) guys tend to be voted more often for popularity contests. As for girls, it tends to be the smaller [cuter and more ethnic] ones who win.
Vickie Chang's article “Yellow Fever” is amazing. As a south Asian woman I find her frankness refreshing and I fully support her guts to write this. Yay, Vickie!
I really enjoyed reading your article. Although I'm an African-American woman living in the deep South, I can relate to how people approach you based strictly on assumptions about race and gender. Keep writing, keep educating. Take care!
So I don't have an Asian girlfriend and never have had one; in fact, I married a European woman. You Asian women should know one thing: the men who idolize you are pedophiles in disguise because Asian women look like teenage and even pre-teen European women even when they are fully developed. That is the attraction, along Anglo men's belief that Asian women will go crazy over the larger Anglo genitalia, which I believe is what propels the Asian craze amongst white men. I guess they just hope the Asian girls haven't had any prior black boyfriends! LOL (P.S. I'm not black, either)
I would like to congratulate you on this article. I'm glad to see that this phenomenon hasn't gone unnoticed. While I agree with many points made, I also think that to be truly fair to the entire subject, a longer article would have been required. There were other aspects not thoroughly considered, like the pro-Asian movement that Western man has been experiencing in general, and not in a negative way like with Gwen Stefani but by many earnest individuals looking to better themselves. Lacking in any real culture of their own, many non-Asian Americans have been embracing the Asian culture because it truly is inspiring and awesome. I myself, who is of mixed Asian-Anglo descent and raised by an Asian father who turned his back on his culture, have embraced it in much the same manner. Although there is the submissive image of the Asian woman that attracts men, I believe men are also drawn to Asian women because we are beautiful. I know that club-hopping can turn off a woman of any ethnicity as the drunk men there are generally just horny, desperate—or drunk, and looking for an easy lay. As sheep people are influenced by the media which has gone a long way of late to play up the attractiveness of the Asian woman. It's natural for men to be drawn to us now. Fifteen to twenty years ago when I frequented clubs, such was not the case. Still, I liked your article a lot. Keep up the good work!
I found your article to be very intriguing. I think its very true that a lot of Caucasian males have fetishes with Asian women. All my white friends have Asian girlfriends, althought not all of them have Asian fetishes but they truly care/love their girlfriends for who they are and their personalities. If you look back into Asian-American history, poor Asian male immigrant workers (mostly in California) dated white women whether it be they were the only women available and also they were frequently available at the dime-a-dance halls. Filipino-Americans often dated white women as Filipino males were often sought after by white women. I think if you look far back, you will see more instances of Asiaphilia even in early Asian-American history. I think it's up to us to educate those who are ignorant and show them how rich our Asian-American heritages can be but also at the same time show others that we are truly American as well and we can learn much from one another. Very informative article. Thank you for writing this.
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Interesting article but, sadly, this kind of journalism will only inflame white people and further alienate Asian girls who buy into the image of the white man/emasculated Asian male. You can't change people with an article; it takes action. I, for one, take special care to alienate my cousin who is married to a Latino male. The other cousins take great pleasure in speaking in Chinese when he is around, and not inviting them to family events. I also do this for my male cousin married to a white Australian woman, just in case you feel I am in some way biased. I also extend this behavior to friends who date white people. You'll find that in life, only your immediate family and significant other are indispensible. Get rid of the people who perpetuate a phenomenon you dislike and your life will be much more pleasant.
As an attractive Asian American female, I can absolutely relate to Vicky Chang's experience. To those who bash her article, you've obviously missed the point. Her article pertains to white men who have a certain idea of an Asian woman BEFORE he even gets to know the woman, based on his fetished beliefs of Asian women. And as an intelligent, attractive Asian, I find these men very repulsive. As a matter of fact, when these men approach me, I ask them if they've dated Asian girls in the past, and if they've shown a pattern of dating Asian girls, I will reject them. That's a fetish! I'm so sick of seeing unattractive white guys paired with attractive Asian women. But I don't blame the white guys for trying. It's the Asian women who don't love themselves who are solely responsible for their self hatred. Now, for legitimate mixed couples, who actually have a relationship based on shared experiences and common interests, more power to ya.
I find the comments by this young Asian lady to be out of focus, and so simple, because there actually is a realy very complex interaction by two cultures. Her reducing this interaction in such a manner lowers this interaction to an unrealistic, totally illogical pretense. I am better than you think I am. I would say that this Asian woman consistently missunderstands her interaction with other cultures, lives in a vacuum (she sucks up everyone elses energy). These interactions may develop into a meaningful relationship, but are invalidated by racial stereotyping by an especially (un)liberated self absorbed young lady.
As an Asian female student atttending the University of California, I can't say I'm surprised this topic has come up yet again, but I am surprised that the OC Weekly considered it worthy of publication. A segment of Asian American youth, overwhelmingly male, has focused their bitterness about this topic in Asian American studies classes and on websites, forums, message boards and chatrooms all over the net, and the one thing they seek is validation for their beliefs about white men dating or marrying Asian women. It's sad to see the OC Weekly entertains such ridiculous non-sense. But in the spirit of fairness, will we see articles about why white women are dating black men in the near future?
When I first read this article, I wanted to write in and ask your staff to kindly push Miss Chang off the fence. It wasn't at all convincing that she is upset over what she calls “yellow fever.” She starts the article by describing her predicament in almost a taunting nature, and then later parlays [that] into why being an object of obsession bothers her. While reading the article (and thinking of all my yellow fever stricken friends), I couldn't help feeling that this was some twisted form of self promotion. It's as if she is trying to mask her content with poorly manufactured accusations. It seemed even through her responses that she wrote this article without really thinking about what she was saying. Now, I'm sure she is relishing in the fact that she wrote something “controversial.” The only thing controversial about this article was the Weekly's decision to publish it.
When will white guys here in OC and rest of America just face the facts: They are attracted to Asian women on the sole basis of race. All that crap about genuine love is pretty ridiculous; how else do you explain this social occurrence? Notice none of white male writers can even comment on fact that white imperialism and privilege exist and that's why the world revolved around them. Western media is nothing more than idolizing on how great white people are basically; I mean, look at all these responses from white guys who are writing about this story. It's like the cat is out of bag or something, and they feel the need to write about or defend their actions of being with an Asian woman. You have a white guys responding straight out saying he likes or prefers Asian women, which of course is race based and you have another writer who has a Korean girlfriend (1.5 years), has studied Korean, visited Korea and yet he stills claim he is NOT an Asian-Koreanphile. Fact is white guys or white America still doesn't or can't separate the foreigner label and Asian American culture from Asian Culture. I say white guys who go after Asian women are just plain losers, because why would a white male need to go after an Asian female if white female is epitome symbol of feminine beauty?
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I liked the article a lot. Thought it was excellent. And Gwen Stefani is wrong, and I hope people (respectively) don't let her of the hook. I disagree with the quote about whites being “colonizers” who look attractive. Firstly, Asian-Americans are not colonized and secondly Amercan whites, that is poor and working class ones, are hardly the people some UCLA student is going to date for upward mobility. So a little class analysis about class mobility would help there, minus the misuse of the word “colonizer.”
Say what you will about your article, but I have had “yellow fever” for 15 years. I'm extemely attracted to asian women especially asian american women and have dated several. I do not believe it is a submissive attraction, as the asian americans I have dated have very strong personalities. I think they are just physically more attractive to me. I have heard the same from many of my peers. Regardless, I have found that asian american women do enjoy dating caucasian men and I for one hope that doesn't change.
I personally liked the article. Me and my friends often refer to guys with “Yellow Fever” as APGs. Or “Asia-Phile Guys.” I happen to have run into more than a handful in my day and I still get people who are slight acquaintances at best ask me if I have any single Asian female friends because they “love asian women.” The flip side of the coin is the other kind of APGs. Or “Anglo-Phile Gals,” Asian women who refuse to date Asian men and only date white men. Usually for some lame excuse like they never were attracted to Asian men, or they “once dated an asian guy” in high school or maybe college, and he ended up as a jerk or some kinda ridiculous stereotype. Because CLEARLY an 18 or 19 year old Asian man is representative of all Asian men in general. Too bad ALL 18 and 19 year old men are idiots, but that's what they choose t o take away from that experience. Basically Asian men are never in the media or portrayed as “heart throbs” or the “ideal physical model,” hence it's obvious why so many Asian women want to date white men. It's sad really, because as bad as a white guy's “yellow fever” is, and how illogical it may seem. An Asian woman's “Anglo-philia” can be just as bad, sometimes … even worse.
Hey Vickie I'm just emailing you to say i agree with all the stuff you said. I'm all up for interracial relationships too, but the ones you described are the ones i hate, those relationships occur for all l the wrong reasons, and those people can go to hell. Also, for these relationships, there's so much ignorance from both sides. I'm willing to bet there are more ignorant Asian women that want to go to white guys (instead of Asian guys) for stereotypical reasons than the other way around. It's a sad state of affairs, and I'm hoping it'll blow over soon. Anyways, keep up the good work! cya around.
This email is in response to Vickie Chang's recent article “Yellow Fever”, as well as the number of email letters it seemed to generate. I forwarded the article to several Asian female friends, then asked them all how they personally felt about the whole yellow fever issue. Sadly, the majority of them admitted they were either desensitized, or even worse, indifferent towards the subject. I was particularly upset with my friend Lianna who is Chinese-Canadian, and is taking journalism in university. She seems to think that these stereotypes — the Asian female as the subservient geisha and the Asian male as the asexual, passive-aggressive type — will always exist so there's no point in trying to change them. Many of my former Asian female collegues in j-school also shared these beliefs. As a Korean-Canadian journalist, I applaud Vickie's effort to discuss these kinds of cultural stereotypes and surrounding issues. It is something I've tried to do in the past when writing for Asian magazines, and I feel it is something all Asian North American journalists should embrace in order to have our message heard. Keep up the great work.
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I would like to voice my support for Vickie Chang and her fantastic, well-written take on Asiaphilia. Working in ESL for a number of years, I have had the unique experience of watching both Japanese exchange students learn about American culture as well as American students come to know actual Japanese people (i.e., not Anime babes, yakuza, or martial arts practitioners). It's always interesting to watch American guys fall for these Japanese girls, even going so far as to declare their love for them despite a huge language barrier and despite knowing them for little more than 2 or 3 weeks. Asiaphilia is a real and definite problem. Being a caucasian American, it was a little difficult in the beginning to convince my Korean girlfriend (now my girlfriend of 1 1/2 years) that my feelings for her were genuine and not the product of a sexua l fascination with Asian women. I have since traveled to Korea, begun learning the written and spoken language, and begun learning Korean history and culture. She's a brilliant girl, majoring in International Relations. I want to thank you for further identifying this previously unnamed problem and exposing its cultural implications. Please keep up the good work!!
