Sighting as I Walked Back

Sighting

As I walked back from class and observed students interacting on campus, I could not find any overt instance of racial self-segregation. Couples were often biracial; and groups of friends seemed mostly to be comprised of people from different ethnic backgrounds. Occasionally I would notice two friends of the same ethnic background talking to one another but those interactions cannot be singled out as revealing of any trend because invariably we will interact with people from our own heritage. However, when I returned to the dorm and turned on the television I received an entirely different picture of race relations in America. I flipped around to various shows and noticed in particular the stereotypical depictions of Asian men and women. Asian women were often shown to be smart and attractive but a little catty: like they were all cut from the Lucy Liu mold. Moreover, not once did an Asian woman on television have an Asian boyfriend. As I reflected on the television shows I have watched over the years I realized that I can't think of a single Asian couple: Asian men seem to have been written out of romance scripts entirely. When they are written into television shows, they always play the same roles: business-like office workers or ancillary characters without a sex life. The lack of Asian men in romantic roles on American television is astounding, considering the hyper-sexualization of Asian women in our society.

With this newfound awareness I started to think more critically about the social interactions I witness on campus every day. I knew of one mixed couple consisting of an Asian man and a Caucasian girlfriend. On the whole, the Asian females I know seem more interested in dating non-Asian men. I imagine that the media portrayal of Asians fuels this preference and tendency in the society. The phenomenon is less noticeable with first-generation Asian immigrants. First-generation Asian immigrants tend to be more traditional in their value system and would prefer to marry within their culture to keep their traditions alive and the family structure intact. Language may be another reason why first-generation Asian immigrants are more likely to date and marry people from their background than second-generation Asian-Americans who have become more acculturated.

Second- and third-generation Asian immigrants have adopted American cultural values and absorbed the stereotypes they see on TV. Although there is considerable awareness about stereotyping, younger generations of Asian-Americans cannot help but respond to the images they see of their ethnic group. If the only images of Asian men are de-sexualized then it makes sense that Asian women would cease viewing Asian men as desirable. Similarly, if the only views of Asian women on television are eroticized then it would make sense that Asian women seem more attractive to other ethnic groups.

As I reflect on the ways Asians are depicted on American television, I can now recall instance in which first-generation Asian immigrants are shown together. Usually those couples speak their native language to each other, and almost always those couples are older. Asian couples on television are also shown to be racially segregated because all their friends are Asian too. Therefore, the media suggests that only the older generations of Asian immigrants marry within their cultural group.