YELLOW FEVER

Being the Asian woman that I am, I have come across many men who have “Yellow fever”. And no, I am not referring to an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitos; I am talking about the derogatory term used to describe a preference towards Asian women. ‘Yellow Fever’ is commonly associated with white men who seem to only ever date Asian women.

The fact that there is a phenomenon called ‘Yellow Fever’ and the fact that it exists and is able to circulate in today’s society is extremely promblematic. There seems to be a widespread myth that Asian girls are all infatuated with white men and that it is their lifelong dream to marry and serve one. However, the real question to ask is why? Why do many white men have a preference for Asian women? Obviously the answer will vary depending on who you ask. For example, “Asian women are more submissive than caucasian women”, or “Oh, everyone has personal preferences – just like how some men prefer brunettes over blondes”.

Yes, there is a right answer, and it is sad to say neither of those two are correct. Saying that Asian women are more docile or submissive is absolute rubbish – because they’re not. Your race or ethnicity does not determine such broad attributes. It is a completely misguided perception. Western men have and continue to assume that an entire ethnicity of women has one set of personality traits. Also, when someone says their liking is based upon their ‘personal preference’, they are implying Asian women are part of a category. We are not an ice cream flavour. We are not some “type” of woman to try. In a way, this can demonstrate how Asian women are viewed more as one-dimensional objects rather than real human beings.

When someone has ‘Yellow fever’, these men don’t care about who you really are as a person. The idea of a woman being ‘Asian’ is enough. It is incredibly problematic for someone to romanticize an entire race as being submissive, weak or docile, delicate or fragile, while ignoring everything else that a person has to offer. The allure surrounding these insulting and dehumanizing stereotypes is what drives yellow fever.

Many still defend this and insist that it is harmless. When Asian women are ‘complimented’ on their ‘Asian looks’, some say we should not take it as an insult and that we should actually be flattered about the comments made. But this is not the case. Men with ‘Yellow fever’ look at you and they see only what they want to see, regardless of your race, heritage or personality.

Just like any other negative social construct, it is sad to say that these fixed perceptions of Asian women are difficult to address and eliminate. I believe this could be due to the theories tied-in with orientalism. Westerners have many opinions and strong perspectives in regards to how they feel the East is like – and with the amount of reinforcing and spread of these ideas that has taken place over the past 100 years, these degrading and extremely harsh stereotypes have been embedded and engrained into many societies.   

Now, I’m not saying that every single white man dating an Asian woman has “Yellow fever” and therefore is reinforcing stereotypes. However, when the only prerequisite for Asian women to become one’s potential partner is the colour of their skin – that’s a different story. That’s racist and offensive.