Monday, October 1, 2012

Just Another Asian Woman in a White Male Society

 
   I am the product of an Asian man and a White woman but in my exterior features I much more strongly present Japanese characteristics.  I have often been put into the category "that asian chick" which has always put me off because the media has honestly shaped me to believe that white is the standard, which is the culture that I most often relate to. I remember just a year ago I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time and was completely thrown off by the intense asian stereotype combined with the fact that the actor was not even of asian decent. This made me realize just how rare Asian people are in the media.  Because of this I chose to include photos of the only Asian actors I could think of off the top of my head.


(George Takei, one of the most recognized Asians in television)


     Because of all this, this week's reading struck a personal note for me.  It is hard to empathize with another group when you have never really walked in their shoes.  However, when I read about Japanese in the media, I immediately feel a connection despite my distance from the Japanese culture.  I was interested in the article about Japan because it struck a familiar note with me.  Although it has been a long time since I have traveled to Japan I recognize the stoic stereotype that comes with the culture.  I have actually felt before that this idea has caused people to quickly forget about the tragedies that have damaged the country in the past. Although I agree that this stereotype is more positive than the stereotypes assigned to many other cultures, I can see where this can still be damaging. Japan is the victim, like many other minorities, of many stereotypes in the media, especially those assigned to Asians in general.  This generality is also a fault of its own because the different countries of Asia all have distinctive cultures. I think that because Asian stereotypes tend to be more positive they become better established and less argued even though they are not OK.



 

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