Dear Robert G. Lee,
I am a first generation American, of Korean parentage. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your book, delineating the evolution of the "Oriental" in Western eyes. However, I would like to address some of the concerns I have about the status of the Asian in America today. You traced the development of the model minority status of the Asian immigrant, but I do believe that it has changed significantly since your book has been published. As an American of Asian descent, I feel like there is an undercurrent of stereotyping of Asians that pervades American society. Why is it that it is so widely socially acceptable to make fun of Asians? For example, pop culture icon Miley Cyrus poses with a group of her friends and all of them are stretching the outer corners of their eyes. It is seemingly "validated" by the presence of an Asian in her posse. There was notable backlash against the photo, but no outrage. Why is it that the adjective "chinky" still in general American lexicon, used by stoners when they are high and also by rappers, such as Snoop Dogg in the song "Holiday Inn" when he says "My eyes chinky/I'm with Chingy at the Holiday Inn"? Why is it that "yellow fever" is an acceptable term to describe a non-East Asian male's infatuation with Asian females? Continuing on, why is it that Asian women are still objectified, albeit in a veiled sense, as "geisha girls" and "China dolls"?
Sincerely,
Mona Hadidi
(1) Discuss the similarities between yellowface and blackface.
(2) Why haven't Japanese internment camps been discussed more widely in History schoolbooks?
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