Study: Overwhelming majority of AsAm men say they've been harassed

By Louis Chan
ASAM NEWS

A  SURVEY of nearly 500 mostly young Asian American men has found 85 percent of the respondents have experienced some form of harassment at school and 35 percent experienced similar harassment in the work place.

The Asian American Man Survey was conducted in October and the results were just recently released.

While not scientific, The Asian American Man Survey provides a glimpse into the lives of an often underrepresented demographic.

Jason Shen who is a product manager in New York City started the survey in 2015. East, Southeast, and South Asian men were asked 40 questions. Shen says the respondents are heavily weighted on both coasts and among those in the tech industry. The majority were between the ages of 25 and 34.

“Up through my mid-twenties, I didn’t spend much time thinking about how my race/ethnicity affected the way others perceived me or interacted with me,” Shen writes about himself. 

“I had close friends who were Asian and those who were not. But over time, through conversations with many Asian/American men, I’ve come to realize that our ethnicity cannot be ignored. And running this study is one small way I hope to add to the conversation on race in this country.”

Eighty-five percent feel they are strongly American, but just 61 percent feel others feel the same way about them.

Nearly two-thirds say they’ve encountered someone who has told them they don’t date Asian men, yet 70 percent say they’ve dated someone who’s white versus 75 percent who have dated someone Asian.

The stereotypes encountered by these men varied among the various Asian/American subgroups. East Asian men say they were stereotyped being good at math, being good with computers, having a small penis, having slanted eyes, and having kung fu / martial arts skills.

Southeast Asian men say they are stereotyped as having a small penis, being good at math, being quiet / shy, being good at computers, and having kung fu / martial arts skills.

South Asian men face stereotypes of being good with computers, being labeled a terrorist, not being a “real” American, and being undesirable as a romantic partner​.

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Haikus on Hotties: Reimagining the Asian male?

This calendar is available by clicking here.

YOU KNOW that tired old stereotype for As an males that won't go away? The sexless, nerdish, unwanted, inconsequential and laughable one? The one that keeps popping up, even today?

There are a couple of efforts to counter that stereotype and I have mixed feelings about it and would appreciate your feedback.

There is a calendar (just in time for gift-giving) featuring Asian men, the  2017 Haikus on Hotties calendar put out by Dragonlady Productions, an all woman crew. It features hunky Asian guys in various poses emphasizing their muscular physiques, rippling abs and their come-hither smoldering gazes.

Actor Yoshi Sudarso, who is featured in the calendar and in a short film called "It's Asian Men," lamented the roles that Asian actors are assigned: "There's the evil Yellow Peril stereotype, like Fu Manchu. And then there's the stoic monk-like martial arts master and the nerd, like Long Duk Dong, 'Sixteen Candles.' It's kind of the most notorious example."

Asian/American men very rarely get the romantic lead. (Tony Leung Ka-fai. in The Lover, James Shigeta in The Crimson Kimono and Steven Yeun in TV's The Walking Dead are exceptions.)

At best, they are the best friend, the helpful computer geek or the loyal chauffeur or servant. No one that matters, just characters in the background while the (usually white male) lead is the hero and gets the girl.

The success of the calendar led Dragonlady Productions' to create a short film called "It's Asian Men," that features Sudarso and three other Asian/American. It is a parody of the movie Magic Mike, that centered on male strippers.

“I just really want people to notice the talent that they have as well as their good looks, because there’s a lot of actors like that available,” Korean/American director Ahn told NPR. “They just aren’t being recognized by mainstream entertainment.”

Well, thanks! But ... and here's my dilemma.

I see what the women of Dragonlady Productions is trying to do to break that stereotyped that has dogged all Asian/American men that I know. Asian men have been so negatively portrayed in America that it might take an extreme measure in order to counteract that image.

But in doing so, and with such a strong emphasis on the physical appearance of the men - I mean, they are handsome and well-built - they don't look like your average-looking Asian male any more than the Victoria Secret models look like the average American woman? 

The infamous Long Duk Dong (Gordon Watanabe) of 'Sixteen Candles.'

Aren't the women objectifying men? They are doing what society has been condemned for doing to women by emphasizing their physical appearance to the point that they are no longer human beings that we care about but mere objects for whom we lust?

I know, I know. There are some Asian/American guys who will welcome the new image and say, "Alright! Make me a sex symbol. Objectify me all you want!"

The roots of the sexually, impotent Asian male stereotype is worthy of a book - several books - so I won't go into detail here. (I'm assuming readers of this blog are familiar with the reasons that image came to be.) In short, it came down to white males being sexually threatened by Asian males so popular media - controlled by white men - began to belittle the sexual prowess of Asian men.

Thus, the negative stereotype for Asian males has become so ingrained in American society that several studies have shown that Asian males are the least desirable on online dating sites (even among Asian women!) despite Yeun, Bruce Lee and a growing number of other good-looking men. The physically appealing Asian men have been out there all along and they just need to have attention heaped upon them to counter Sixteen Candles' Long Duk Dongs of pop culture. 

Even with Dragonlady's admirable effort, the scale is still heavily tipped towards Bonanaza's Hop Sing and Two Broke Girls' Han Lee. Certainly, a calendar of hot guys - no matter how well-intentioned - can't undo the negative stereotype but any small step to correct that can't do any harm, right?

I don't look anything like the guys in their calendar or on this short video accompanying this post. Are we replacing a negative stereotype with an impossible-to-achieve physical appearance? Is too much emphasis being placed on abductor muscles rather than on the values, intelligence, humor and personality of an individual?

Am I right? Or, am I wrong? Or am I just overreacting?

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"Make It Pop" features a trio of Asian American actresses

K-pop musical comedy makes debut in April

Make It Pop stars Louriza Tronco as Jodi, Megan Lee as Sun Hi and Erika Tham as Corki. Look hard, even in the background shots, do you see any Asian guys?

WITH ALL the attention given to Selfie and Fresh Off The Boat, gone almost unnoticed is a new TV show starring three super-duper energetic Asian American teens in the leads of Make It Pop. They're cute, squeal a lot, and they sing ... K-pop ... typical leads for a Nickelodean series.

The official synopsis: "Randomly selected to room together at boarding school, bookish Corki, fashion-forward Jodi and social media maven Sun Hi meet and bond over music. With the help of fellow boarding school classmate and DJ hopeful, Caleb, the girls grow from roommates to bandmates as they become a school-wide sensation and compete for a place in the upcoming school musical." Sounds like Glee with a K-pop beat.

The "K" in K-pop stands for "Korean," a form of music out of South Korea, - duh! - light, positive, not too heavy lyrically, musically not too complicated but with a catchy, very danceable beat.  It speaks to what some people think appeals to young girls: boyfriends, popularity standing, status, fashion. (Please note: I emphasize, "some people!") Think Psy's "Gangnam Style," which surprisingly became a worldwide hit. I'm almost certain that description will catch some heat.

The show is not without its critics. Hard core K-Pop fans (is that an oxymoron) have started an online petition to stop the airing of the show because they feel it bastardizes the genre - their music. "There are already enough people who are ignorant about Korean culture, we don't need more," reads the petition.

'Asian guys in my show, not gonna happen'

Personally, though, is that Asian guys get the shaft again. When Cannon at a press conference was asked if Asian guys would appear in the show, he jokingly responded, "Nope! Never! Asian guys in my show? Not gonna happen!" which elicited nervous laughter in response. 

C'mon now. It seems incongruous considering that half of the K-pop artists are Asian men, how could a show about a style of music that was born in Asia, is populated by Asian characters not have Asian men represented. 

Are Asian males forever relegated to comedic stereotypes and portrayed as unattractive - even to Asian women?

UPDATE: Original version of this post had comments from an Asian American producer which has been deleted.

Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon, who seems to have a knack for the pulse of the young teen set, is one of the executive producers. Nickelodeon has ordered 20 episodes. Cannon is the host for America's Got Talent and is a performer in his own right. He recently divorced from Mariah Carey. 

You would think that Cannon, an African American, would be more sensitive about racial matters, especially since the vast majority of the K-pop artists are Asian and at least half of them are guys. 

There will be original songs with every episode. The Nickelodeon talent factory has produced a plethora of young stars including Emma Roberts, Ariana Grande and Jessica Alba. Note that none of the stars are Asian American. Maybe Make It Pop's young actresses will break out.

Based on the trailer (below) and the clips online, I'm pretty sure I'm not in the target audience's age bracket) but wouldn't it be great if it caught everyone by surprise and it became the hit TV series we hoped Selfie would be. Sure - it doesn't appeal to everybody but it does show off another facet of Asian Americans that  most Americans don't normally associate with Asians.

Just like not all Asians dig rap like Eddie Huang of FOtB, not all Asians like classical music and play violin and piano, either. Our musical interests range the wide gamut of genres ... including K-pop.

And if the girls squeal too much? Well, ...  they're 12-13-14 years old, what do you expect? But, com'n Nick Cannon, give us Asian guys a break, already!

If you want to encourage Cannon to introduce some Asian male characters, here's his email contact.