In recent years, anti-racist activists have drawn attention to the term ‘Asian fever’ or ‘Yellow fever’ to denounce the sexual fetishisation of Asians. While this type of sexualised racism can manifest in various ways, it is often expressed in the exclusive pursuit of Asian women as a form of sexual conquest.
To better understand the myriad struggles Asians face in the Dutch dating scene, Asian Raisins conducted a campaign in 2023/24 to collect experiences from the Dutch Asian community. To illustrate the struggles many East, Southeast, and South Asians face regarding sexualised racism, the campaign is accompanied by a series of satirical comics by the talented Maaike from Asian Raisins. These comics highlight the absurdity of common scenarios in the Dutch dating scene, lending insight into sexualised racism in a fun but educational way. This article thus aims to dive deeper into different topics explored in the comics, and to provide more information about the phenomenon of sexualised racism.
The exoticisation of Asians takes place in the broader context of racism in Dutch society, partially stemming from its colonial legacy. In particular, attitudes that objectify Asian women originate from Orientalism, a form of White supremacist thinking that juxtaposes the ‘exotic and alluring’ Orient against the ‘rational and superior’ Occident/West. The term was first coined by Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in 1978.
From an Orientalist perspective, the East is constructed as uncivilised, casting Asian women as hypersexual and exotic. This portrayal of the Orient served as a political weapon to justify the subsequent Western colonisation and civilising mission. Although the 20th century feminist movement in the West advanced women’s emancipation, they largely focused on white women’s conditions, marginalising women of colour and excluding their grievances from mainstream feminist agendas. Faced with the changing socio-political landscape that increasingly recognised women’s autonomy, white men began to seek out Asian women, who they fetishised as embodying traditional femininity.
Although this history may seem distant, the legacies of Orientalism continue to live on as Asian women are still being framed as docile and obedient, and are hypersexualised for male sexual conquest.
One of the most common experiences shared by Asian Raisins community members is the feeling of being an expendable object or some sort of fetish. Many of our respondents shared their frustration about being pursued by white men who exclusively seek out Asian women, but often turn away when things get more serious. One woman shared, “It can be really unpleasant when certain people are purely after me to achieve these fantasies, rather than being interested in me as a person.”
These experiences echo the phenomenon where white men pursue Asian women as if they are collectables, often boasting about how many Asians they have dated. One respondent shared: “I found out that my ex-partner had a ‘fetish’ when he revealed that he had had a Korean and a Chinese girlfriend, and that I was his ‘second Vietnamese’. It sounded like I was an item on a menu.”
Treating Asian people as collectibles is incredibly dehumanising, and often rooted in stereotypes about Asian women and their sexuality. In fact, many respondents shared experiences of white men perpetuating the stereotypes that Asian women are submissive, obedient, or ‘easy to handle’. One respondent recalled a first date where the man explained that he liked Asian women because “they are caring, obedient and not as direct or harsh as Western women”. This is problematic for various reasons. Firstly, it is racist to show interest in someone solely based on reductive racial stereotypes. Secondly, the desire for women who are perceived to have no say or agency in the relationship reflects underlying misogynistic attitudes of male control.
What’s worse is how such sexualised racist views can pose a significant danger for Asian women and non-binary people, forcing them to navigate unequal power dynamics of male dominance. Many of our respondents shared experiences of sexual harassment, where white individuals made degrading comments about Asian women being sexually submissive, hypersexual, or “having a tighter pussy”. This sort of harassment and sexualised racism also impacts Asian men, who report being subjected to stereotypes about having smaller penises. These comments are not only unsolicited, but extremely racist, and can lead to damaged self-esteem for many people. As one respondent put it, “when so many people see you as an object, you almost start to believe that that is your only value”.
Racial minorities raised among white beauty standards often internalise a sense of inadequacy and feel that they are not beautiful enough. In the dating world, many respondents reported receiving back-handed compliments like “you’re pretty for an Asian”, reinforcing the racist idea that Asian people are inherently unattractive.
This phenomenon is not only limited to heterosexual relationships, but also affects Queer and Trans Asians in the Dutch Queer scene, which is predominantly white. Queer Asian people in the Netherlands face intersectional marginalisation, as the dominant image of a Queer person remains white. One respondent highlighted that “there is not much diverse Asian representation in the Dutch Queer scene, which often leads to the idea that Asian people are a monolith and all look or behave the same”.
Outside of these LGBTQ+ spaces, Asians reported facing transphobic and homophobic stereotypes, often conflated with comments about how Asians are supposedly ‘ugly’. One respondent (a cis woman) shared her experience being called ugly and labeled “trans/ladyboy” by a man after she had rejected him. Such comments not only reflect white male fragility and disrespect towards women, but also how societal narratives of Asian women are so casually co-opted by the dominant group, and manipulated to fit their objectives. For example, Asian women are pursued as feminine and desirable, yet labeled as queer and undesirable as soon as they reject romantic advances. Additionally, being transgender is not an insult, and the transgender identity should not be reduced nor weaponised as such. Conflating anti-Asian racism and Transphobia is extremely problematic and further marginalises Queer and Trans Asians.
These stories from the Dutch Asian community reflect the pervasiveness and complexity of racism within the dating scene. Especially in a country like the Netherlands that prides itself on progressive values, we must strive to understand how remnants of Orientalism continue to shape white Dutch perceptions of racialised bodies. By amplifying the voices and experiences of Dutch Asians through these comics, Asian Raisins seeks to challenge and disrupt the racist attitudes upheld by the status quo and create a more inclusive society for Asians in the Netherlands.
Author Bio:
This article is written by Natalie Tai. Natalie is a student at Amsterdam University College, currently studying social sciences with a focus on sociology and gender/sexuality studies. She has Singaporean and Taiwanese roots, but currently resides in Amsterdam for university. She spends her time outside of school volunteering for Asian Raisins and LGBTQ+ organizations.
Comments are closed