“You’re So Exotic Looking”: Analyzing Intersectional Violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander Women

By Sameena Azhar, Antonia Alvarez, Anne Farina & Susan Klumpner

Four years ago, we, four Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) female social workers, researched experiences on anti-Asian violence as demonstrated in Twitter posts using the hashtag #thisis2016. We published our findings in the feminist social work journal, Affilia, in March 2021, the same week as the Atlanta spa shootings involving the murder of six Asian American women. In our article, we applied critical race theory’s concept of intersectionality to analyze experiences of racism against AAPIs in the United States, across the identities of race, gender, and sexuality. At the time, our results were largely framed by xenophobic rhetoric preceding and following the 2016 presidential election. The themes from our research, highlighting the intersectional vulnerabilities experienced by AAPIs became even more salient in light of the tragic Atlanta deaths.

In our article, we highlighted six themes that AAPIs expressed in these tweets: (1) AAPI women are perceived to be exotic and are sexualized; (2) AAPI women are expected to be passive; (3) AAPI men are perceived to be weak and asexual; (4) Both AAPI men and women are the objects of racialized violence and sexual harassment; (5) Queer AAPIs have unique experiences of sexualized harassment and violence; (6) AAPIs are the subjects of neocolonialist attitudes. We briefly review these themes below.

“You’re so exotic looking.” AAPI women are perceived to be exotic and are overtly sexualized. Asian women are assumed to be foreign. These tweets imply a level of sexual desirability inherent to the Other-status.

"If I were to have sex with an Asian, I'd want it to be you.” “I've always wanted to be with an Asian.” -many gross men

These encounters reflect the positioning of AAPI women as a fetish that is to be consumed, an experience that is to be encountered, an adventure that is to be had.

“You’ll be taken care of.” AAPI women are expected to be passive. As a group, AAPI women are often portrayed as submissive, demure and controllable.

"Asian women are docile and quiet. What's wrong with u?" That's cause I'm a professional at work conducting business… a_hole. #thisis2016

"Is it true that you have a small d***?" AAPI men are perceived to be weak and asexual. As much as AAPI women are exoticized and sexualized, AAPI men are emasculated and asexualized.

Countless women in the bars of Los Angeles "But you're Asian. Your penis must be {makes small gesture}" #thisis2016

"Yellow c***." Both AAPI men and women are the objects of racialized violence and sexual harassment. A number of tweets reported on the escalation of fetishization of Asian women into verbal assaults, sexual harassment and violence.

When older white men see you as an object they can reach out and touch on the face or smack on the butt

“Go back to making eggrolls you f*****g f****t.” Queer AAPIs have unique experiences of sexualized harassment and violence. Social constructions of AAPI men as weak are not only reflected in heterosexual encounters, but also in queer communities.

When old gay white guys hit me up & assume I'm a bottom b/c I'm asian & are shocked to find out that I'm a top #ThisIs2016 #GrindrProblems

"ch**k shouldn't be dating a white girl." AAPIs are the subjects of neocolonialist attitudes. Several tweets made references to war and violence as a means of justifying anti-Asian racism and sexism in the United States. These passages elucidate the neocolonial ways that AAPI communities continue to be viewed and how racial and sexual domination appear as the logical consequence of war.

"so what are you gonna do? Bomb our table like you did pearl harbor?" -white guys' response to me calling out their racism

In summary, these themes involve the intersectional nature of stereotypes regarding AAPIs. We see this work to be part of a larger social conversation that challenges social work scholars and practitioners to think beyond the substantive silos by which our work, and indeed our own identities, have been categorized and defined. We seek to challenge artificial divides that exist between the roles of “scholars” and “activists,” seeking instead a working environment that allows for both the study of social problems and the application of these studies in active efforts to address solutions in our everyday lives. As AAPI social workers and educators, we aspire to see social work research engage more fully with minority communities—both racial/ethnic minorities as well as gender/sexual minorities—in meaningful, participatory and respectful ways.

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Article details

“You’re So Exotic Looking”: An Intersectional Analysis of Asian American and Pacific Islander Stereotypes

Sameena Azhar, Antonia R. G. Alvarez, Anne S. J. Farina, Susan Klumpner

First Published March 15, 2021 Research Article

Affilia

https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099211001460

About the authors

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Sameena Azhar, PhD, LCSW, MPH is an Indian, Muslim female social worker and an Assistant Professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. Her research is focused on the intersections between gender, HIV, addiction, and sex work, particularly in South Asia. Her research has been funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Education, Ford Foundation, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her practice experience includes working as a trainer for the California Department of Public Health and as a clinical social worker at Ward 86 of San Francisco General Hospital.

https://www.fordham.edu/info/24281/gss_full-time_faculty_profiles/10695/sameena_v_azhar

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Antonia R.G. Alvarez, LMSW, PhD, is a queer mestiza Pinay-American scholar and mother, and an Assistant Professor at the Portland State University School of Social Work. Through the lenses of historical trauma, critical feminisms, and queerness, Antonia is committed to liberatory research and community-engaged practice with LGBTQI/Two-Spirit/Mahu communities of color. Using arts and culture-based interventions, her work explores health disparities and inequities and seeks solutions rooted in community well-being. Antonia received her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work and is a licensed social worker in Hawai`i.

https://www.pdx.edu/profile/exists?id=antonia8

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Anne Farina, PhD, LICSW, is an Asian American clinical social worker and Assistant Professor at Seattle University in the Social Work Department. Her research interests include mental health, anti-Asian racism, impact of war related trauma on families and parenting, trauma-focused interventions, and mental health outcomes among international and transracial adoptees. She practices in the areas of trauma and attachment. Anne teaches courses with the focus of social work practice and trauma-informed social work practice.

https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/msw/faculty-and-staff/anne-farina-phd.html

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Susan Klumpner, LCSW, is a PhD Candidate at the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work. Ms. Klumpner has extensive experience as a school social worker, as well as in the design, implementation, and evaluation of after school programming for low-income students of color in urban settings. She directs The ACE Project, a nonprofit that provides free youth development programs in Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit. Additionally, she serves as a coordinator in the Field Education Office and a part-time lecturer at The University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.

https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/phd/current-students/student-profiles/current/susan-klumpner/