Sexuality and Gender in Asian American Film

Sexuality and gender in Saving Face (2006) are represented in unique ways that are defined both by cultural and familial expectations and traditions. In the family of Wil and Gao, sexuality is viewed from a much more cultural and traditional standpoint, as GAO is literally kicked out of her home by her father for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. It is felt by Gao's father that this is a shameful condition to be in and is rooted in a conservative traditional view of sexuality (as in human sexuality is something that should be reserved for two partners who are married). Yet, at the same time, Wil represents a new, more modern view of sexuality and gender, as she responds to sexual feelings for another girl -- Viv -- and pursues a sexual relationship with her. At the same time, while Wil is under more pressure to closet her feelings (she introduces Viv to her mother as a "friend" -- and even though Gao is under no illusions about the nature of the relationship, she still refuses to admit what it is), Viv comes from a family that is much more open about sexuality and gender and does not share the same conservative, traditional values represented by Gao's father. Viv's family is more modern and open about sexuality and gender in this sense.

The meaning of sexuality is confirmed by the film in the closing scenes, when Wil and Viv display their affection for one another in public, and Gao accepts the father of her child to be her husband in spite of his social standing as a pharmacist's son. Both Wil's and Viv's mothers look knowingly at one another when Wil and Viv slow dance and kiss, indicating that they are both open to the sexuality of their daughters because it is based on the feelings of the heart. Thus, the film suggests that if the heart is the force guiding the individual, then one should not reject the sexual expression that accompanies that guidance, and vice versa.

In this way, the family of Viv is more "hyper-assimilated" (Dhingra, Rodriguez 96) into the progressive cultures of New York and Paris than is Wil's family (though she and her mother both arrive at the "assimilated" stage by the end of the film). Part of the reason for Viv's family being more progressive in terms of how it views sexuality and gender is that the family is regarded as being more highly educated and of a better economic standing (Viv's father is Wil's boss, and Viv is a dancer, which indicates an upper class status). As Dhingra and Rodriguez note, "education, rather than race or ethnicity, is increasingly important in shaping marital choices" (98). The education that Wil and Gao receive by the end of the film is the education of the heart, which teaches them to allow those who love them into their lives rather than reject them based on what others might say or how they might be perceived. Thus, the "educated" family of Viv has already learned to allow the heart to have its say, which is why they are more tolerant of their daughter's homosexualilty; Gao's family, however, places conventional/conservative traditional values over the heart and thus tries to influence Gao and Wil by judging them with disapproving looks and advice. The educated hearts of Viv's family prevail, nonetheless, and the girls' sexuality is embraced as a positive as it is based on truthful, heartfelt affection.