Customer Reviews

Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and the Myth of the Exotic Oriental

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As the Asia editor for Business Week with fifteen years of experience on that continent, author Sheridan Prasso has a wellspring of observations to contribute to Western misconceptions about Asia, most of which are routinely based on fantasy, positive or negative. As a Japanese-American myself, I am quite familiar with many of them, as even transplanted Asians experience the same stereotyping. The impact can be felt on the diplomatic and business fronts, but the most common application of these myths is the area of personal relations, in particular, the "yellow fever" that some Western men have in idealizing Asian women as feminine, attentive and seductive.

Prasso seizes on "Madame Butterfly" as the archetypal story of Western notions about the Asian mystique: a delicate Japanese woman with undying love for a dashing American naval officer. It is the loyal, self-sacrificing Asian beauty who is betrayed by a fickle Westerner. The fable continues to regenerate in various iterations such as "South Pacific" and "Miss Saigon". In fact, women are either passive and sexually obtainable geishas, or cruel, domineering "dragon ladies" like Tsu Hsi, the empress dowager of China, who was falsely rumored to be bedding men forty years her junior. Asian men don't get off any easier, as they have been branded vulnerable and emasculated when they aren't considered sneaky and inscrutable.

Prasso divides her book into two halves. The first part analyzes the mistaken notions that Westerners have about Asia and how Asians often reciprocate by catering to such stereotypes. For instance, at a nightclub in Bangkok, Prasso surveys white male customers who are greeted with the available flesh of delicate Asian bodies and drawn by a cultural dynamic akin to a candy store. She astutely sees this experience of Asia as not only fantasy-inducing but also "remasculating", i.e., engendering feelings of masculinity or dominance which these Western men may have found diminished in their own cultures. The author delves quite a bit into Hollywood images of Asians. She recounts the tribulations of Margaret Cho, a caustic, gay-friendly Korean-American comedian who was told by ABC executives to act ''more Asian" on her short-lived sitcom.

However, Prasso's more blanket statements about racist stereotyping seem rather myopic when it comes to Hollywood's historic treatment of Asians. By documenting Asian film roles through the decades, she says flatly that Hollywood has been the "incubator and firing kiln" for misreadings of Asia, but I feel she may be mistaking cause for effect as producers were more likely to capitalize on prejudices that already existed due to more pervasive influences like WWII. She makes another shaky broadstroke in the political arena when she states that US officials have underestimated the military might of Asian leaders and nations, but I don't feel it's directed to Asia as much as any developing nation with a tendency toward nuclear armament as we have witnessed the ongoing bloody insurgency in Iraq.

Perhaps because she lets her observations speak for themselves, the second half is more intriguing as it offers conversations with contemporary Asian women without mystique, whether they are housewives in Japan, bar girls in the Philippines, flight attendants on Cathay Pacific Airways or college students in China. This is where Prasso's interviewing skills shine as she gets women to talk about deeply personal issues. By the end of the book, the author reveals them as human beings, prone to the same frailties, resilience and misconceptions as people anywhere. One interesting subject is Mineko Iwasaki, who inspired Arthur Golden's wildly popular bestseller ''Memoirs of a Geisha." She talks about her life as a geisha and contrary to the subservience one associates with that profession, she also talks about the lawsuit she filed against Golden for defamation of character.

I am somewhat disappointed that Prasso separates herself so completely from her subjects, not expressing a sense of commonality with the women she interviews. Having lived in Cambodia, Hong Kong and Japan as a single white female, Prasso acknowledges being part of a group sometimes "guilty of racist sour-grapeism," of feeling overlooked and betrayed by Western men who are chasing Asian women. Yet, you are not left with an understanding of why she is so intrigued by the Asian mystique herself. Regardless, this is a fascinating book well worth the time to read and absorb. Prasso achieves her primary goal and that is to make clear the destructive nature of stereotypes about Asia and how they shape social, cultural, and political perceptions that are ultimately detrimental.

No one likes to be called out on his or her game. And this book calls all parties out on their prospective games.

Much as countless women (from a particular economic group) found a term to identify their discontent after reading Betty Friedan's 1963 book Feminine Mystique, Asian Americans will undoubtedly find in Prasso's book The Asian Mystique, a cohesive explanation of the strange behavior and perception towards Asians from the West.

Prasso does an excellent job documenting the visual etymology of the Asian Mystique in the popular imagination of the West, starting from Aphrodite, through centuries when China and Japan closed its doors to foreigners- forcing outsiders to "roll their own" and create a persona out of hearsay and thrice-removed tales - till present times, where Hollywood entertainment, mainstream media, and the Internet (including Amazon reviews) controls visual perception as fact.

Prasso points out that in the last hundred years , Asian actresses had only two roles available to them (dragon lady, or vixen prostitute (see Live Free or Die Hard for proof), but that's still one more option than what is available to the Asian actor. A chapter on the systematic emasculation of Asian men in the mainstream West deserves praise as this is something that has been discussed for many years in the Asian-American online community; actors like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Chow Yun Fat are allowed entry onto American screens and near Caucasian actresses, but are never allowed to kiss or touch any of them.

One of the most valuable items Prasso points to is the discrepancy between general Asian etiquette (that of "giving way to get your way") versus Western values (aggressive affirmation of the self as a declaration of individual need). This method of the East is often mistakenly perceived as a sign of weakness, giving rise to the sense of superiority among Westerners. (It doesn't help the Asian mystique that our culture often communicates through making a statement obliquely.) Prasso believes that the resulting false sense of complacency among Westerners will lead to dire consequences.

Throughout the book, white males with Yellow Fever (every single Asian American I have met in the US in the past thirty years have come across these men) and men who exotify and visit the lesser (economically) developed Asian countries for sex, are accurately portrayed as sad, overweight, balding, unattractive men who are well past their prime. These men, who are fed up with the strong, opinionated, materialistic women of the West find acceptance and adoration in young, attractive Asian girls who "see" them as being in a league with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt purely because of their skin color. Personally, I feel this is an important aspect of the book; there are as many exotifications of the West (in the Asian perception) as there are in the inverted scheme. What is less obvious is the subtext of what constitutes "The Western Woman" today, and why they are making "The Western Man" (who wants to return to the "good ol days" - which in itself is an exotification- when he had more power) run in the direction of the economically depressed East. If these males, stricken with Yellow Fever, were to visit cosmopolitan Asian countries, Asian women who are financially well-off, and are tenfold more materialistic than Western women, would not even grace them with a glance. Prasso does state in the opening of the book that "it is as much about us as it is about Asia."

Along the way, the book explores historical milestones that mark Asian identity in the Western consciousness; the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act; the Japanese Internment camps in the US during WWII; and the evolution of Madame Butterfly from the original Madam Chrysantheme. An interview with Mineko Iwasaki reveals as much as the real Sayuri's bio, whom Memoirs of a Geisha was partially based on. A look into war bride Nguyen Thi Hoa's bio, the notorious concept of the "Cathay Ten," Thai working girls, Okinawa Koku-jo (Okinawa girls who exotify and fetishize black men), Bangkok, and Indonesia visits follow. A strong chapter on female politicians from Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and the Philippines puts a reader in awe at life stories of individuals who have overcome odds and male oppression to attain success and visibility.

The book concludes with a somewhat misleading chapter. While I fully agree with the author in the observation that many Asians are guilty of reinforcing, utilizing, and cashing in on their mystique to get ahead, I felt mystified at the closing sentences. First, there is the sentence "some of the most successful, upstanding businesswomen of Asia know the game (utilizing mystique to their advantage) too....;You've got to use what you've got, right?' she said. Her sentiments are far from unusual." This implication indirectly diminishes the conscientious work and success stories presented in the previous chapter. Second of all, pointing out the vested interest in portraying prostitutes and sex workers as victims for the sake of funding seemed petty. Organizations created to help sex workers, regardless of what country they focus their assistance on, depends on the message of victimization for donation and sustenance. To say that organizations issue reports of victim-hood in the interest of making money is not merely defining the nature of the institution, it is negating the importance of abolishing violence and helping to regulate aid to the unfortunate sex workers in every country.

But I'll let these go. Because if I didn't, it would be like asking people to throw out a book just because a single Shogun reference was not accurate.

As a Viet Kieu, I am impressed by Sheridan's knowledge of Asian women and i read with delight and deep interest her book "Asian Mystique." It is well written, concise and deep in knowledge as well as in thought. No one in the past has dug deeper into the Asian woman psyche than she has in her book.

Asian women are far from being simple or submissive, as the tale goes. They are not only subtle and gentle, but also complex, goal oriented, calculating and can be domineering. They have been known to topple kings, emperors, and governments in the past without even holding officially a position of power. They therefore are not weak, but simply display self-controlled inner strength. In Vietnam, they are known as the Noi Tuong (Minister of the Interior: they run and control the household) compared to the Ngoai Tuong (man: Foreign Minister dealing with outside business). Their real power lies in their pulling the strings behind the scenes, in an unsuspected, unacknowledged, and at times Machavellian manner.

The author's book, which attempts to unravel the Asian woman psyche, is an important tribute to the often misjudged and underestimated Asian women. It is a work of art and labor as well as a literary achievement. In time I'm sure it will turn out to be a bestseller.

As an Asian American woman who has lived and travelled in Asia, I am so pleased that someone had the idea and courage to write a book like this!!

When the film "Memoirs of a Geisha" came out, I was living in Japan. It was so interesting because on Western English websites and movie review sites etc, people loved this film! However, even though there was a hard marketing push for this film in Japan and it played up and down the country, Japanese people largely were not only disinterested in the fim, but couldn't relate to it and couldn't care for it.

I feel that "The Asian Mystique" helps to explain massive incongruities like this that exist between the 'east and west'.

Some reviewers have said that the main points of this book were that 'stereotypes are wrong' and that 'Asians are people too'. I disagree. What has been left out of their 'analyses' of the book is Prasso's main point: that Westerners have seen, described and promoted a paradigm of Asia, including Asian men and women, that has been completely twisted, incorrect and not based in reality. And that this paradigm not only continues today but is actively confirmed and reconfirmed.

Prasso says at the end: let Asians describe themselves! This is a highly political idea, in that Westerners (I mean White Westerners) have rarely if ever, allowed other groups to explain and describe themselves in their own terms. I couldn't agree more! Everything that one hears about the East is filtered through a Western lens, whether it is books on Asia or movies (Letters from Iwo Jima, Kill Bill, Lost in Translation, etc).

Although I'm American, I find that I'm constantly confronted with DEEPLY EMBEDDED stereotypes of what people who look Asian are supposedly like. If everyone knows that 'Asians are people too' as the 1 star reviewers said, then why do Asians and Asians of the diaspora keep having to challenge Western stereotypes?

While some might find Prasso's analysis lacking somewhat, I doubt anyone can deny how spot on Prasso's description of the Asian Mystique is and how it plays out in real life, as painful, embarassing or difficult the stories might be to read about.

I hope everyone has the chance to read it and really think about how these stereotypes have served to maintain the unequal social relationships between Westerners and Asians in Asia itself as well as Western countries where Asian descendants call home.

I found this book worth the read: insightful & thought provoking. It covers a subject up to now I've only read about in obscure academic texts. Though alot of her points are based on anecdotal stories, that the people she cites tell similar stories, published accounts, and her examination of asian themed hollywood movies, and history between East and West buttresses her arguments. Personally, as an Asian Canadian, I've also felt the Asian mystique in North America and from travelling in Asia encountering expats ('for an Asian, your...are you half?'). Not dry to read, her interviews with Asian women were especially interesting as they showed economic disparity and status has more to do with the mystique than any innate cultural subservience.

The book is compelling in the fact so little in general is written on the subject. It does become repetitive and silly in places (the airline flight attendant chapter). I would argue the best flight service out there (at least in Biz class) is found on the multi-ethnic Emirates Airlines out of Dubai anyway. The same kind of service can be found on bullet trains in Japan, arguably not serving the foreign businessman...

I felt her treatment of the history and impact of the military was generally limited. She should have interviewed successful military bi-racial couples. Amazingly enough, I know some professional officers with Asian wives, beautiful kids, and doing quite well--not all the disaster stories listed in the book. 20 yr old enlisted marriages are usually disasters in the making, no matter what the racial make up. The only military she interviews are part time bouncers or some guys trying to hit on her.

All-in-all, though, interesting. A lot more could be said in certain areas (e.g. stereotypes go both ways, with negative consequences) and less probably in others (ok, we get the point with girly bars).

Overall a thumbs up and serious attempt at an area not normally discussed or written about.

As a feminist Asian-American male, I was delighted to see a book that dealt with issues of sexual stereotypes as they deal with Asians and Asian-Americans. In particular, I was pleased to see a thoughtful analysis of Asian male actors in Hollywood movies, who are lucky to get a hug from the female lead.
Contrary to what another reviewer noted, I do not believe that Prasso reinforces the stereotypes. Instead, she notes how some might be true in some cases (ie. many Asian women looking towards Western men as their ideal mates). At the same time, she shows plenty of examples of three-dimensional women who have interests, experiences, and desires which do not conform to traditional stereotypes.
The book, to me, seems to try to walk the narrow line between ignoring and accepting stereotypes. Yes, there are cultural differences between some Asian peoples and Westerners, but there are great similarities between the dreams and desires of Asian women and women elsewhere in the world. No, Asian women are not all sex-crazed prostitutes, though there are those who exploit and are exploited by that stereotype.
The solution, if there is any, seems to me to be legitimate communication between potential mates. Coming to grips with cultural miscommunications (public displays of affection are rare/frowned upon in certain areas) can result in more genuine relationships between real equals, not superficial connections between illegitimate superiors and inferiors.

As first generation Chinese raised in Hawai`i, I undoubtly find this book to be a solid establishment of recognizing the endless stereotypes of Asian women in and out of America. I do agree with most people that the second half was better than the long-winded first, considering that it almost seemed like a history book rather than a critical analysis. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her different "case studies".

However, the problem is this book is only best-suited for those that aren't concious of the horrible stereotypes of Asian...those that know nothing of distinction and political correctness when viewing Asians. This book seems more so of a college requirement-read because the problem is that she states all these problems that different types of Asians have to go through in and out of America but she leaves no pragmatic conclusions on what people are suppose to do about it! To those that have always known about the West's negative perpetual stereotypes of the East, the book may not present anything that you didn't already know.

As a woman in college, I do feel that there are a lot of cases of "yellow fever" syndrome or negative visions that are always paired when people think of Asians...but I think there's more depth to this problem than the cases and examples that she has stated in her book.

This book is a very readable and dare I say entertaining introduction to important issues that most Westerners don't think about day-to-day. Great fodder for book groups that are interested in meaningful meaty discussions, but don't want to wade through heavy academic treatises.

WOW. Everyone in our book club experienced a paradigm shift of sorts, in that we were no longer able to see our culture the same after reading the book. Prasso's aguement is clear, although a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, it's good for a bunch of well educated, well intentioned white folks to feel a bit indicted.

Where she really shines is in the second half of the book, when we get to meet a myriad of women in Asia. Great food for thought and juicy discussions...

This is a provocative book, and one that will invite a spectrum of response. No wonder there are such varied responses to her work. To write about rascism is risky. It's far from perfect, but Prasso is the first to begin this conversation on such a level. Kudos to her...