Representation of Women in East Asian Media

Academic Paper , 2023 , 14 Pages , Grade: A

Communications - Miscellaneous

The representation of East Asian women in the media has described the stereotypes and gender inequality of women in Asia. The analysis of “Slaying the Dragon” film by Deborah Dee portrays an array of stereotypes. Deborah Gee's movie "Slaying the Dragon" demonstrates the potent idea of being secretive and scary in the movie. Males in Western media frequently depict Asian women as objects of sex. In addition, Asian women are subjected to sexual harassment, as in the case of Tracy Tzu, who was physically harassed and sexually abused.

Moreover, Dee describes the gender inequality in women by citing that the representation of men in the media has significantly changed. In contrast, that of women has remained the same due to the confinement of popular culture in East Asia. The research, therefore, explores the role of East Asian women in the media and the constraints of achieving their goals in the media industry

Abstract

The representation of East Asian women in the media has described the stereotypes and gender inequality of women in Asia. The analysis of “slaying the Dragon” film by Deborah Dee portrays an array of stereotypes. Deborah Gee's movie slaying the Dragon demonstrates the potent idea of being secretive and scary in the movie. Males in Western media frequently depict Asian women as objects of sex. In addition, Asian women are subjected to sexual harassment, as in the case of Tracy Tzu, who was physically harassed and sexually abused.

Moreover, Dee describes the gender inequality in women by citing that the representation of men in the media has significantly changed. In contrast, that of women has remained the same due to the confinement of popular culture in East Asia. The research, therefore, explores the role of East Asian women in the media and the constraints of achieving their goals in the media industry.

Representation of Women in East Asian Media

There has always been a problem with how women are portrayed in East Asian media. Recently, there has been an upsurge in literature documented by various scholars on the topic. How women are portrayed in the media can influence how people think about and treat women in society. Women are often misrepresented in East Asian media, which is evident in movies on how women are portrayed as property or sexual objects and how their voices and agency are often suppressed.¹ Regarding women's presence in the profession, the country's journalism industry displays a particularly thought-provoking condition. The misrepresentation is a serious problem because it perpetuates harmful stereotypes about women and reinforces the idea that they are not equal to men.² In this paper, I argue that there is a misrepresentation of East Asian women in media in East Asian popular culture by exploring the movie “Slaying the Dragon” by Deborah Gee.

Stereotyping of women in the mainstream media

Gee's film can be seen as a cinematic variant of this criticism of Hollywood as the rhetoric of imperial power has fought with Asian women playing the role of bad or negative characters in the film. Gee uses the Dragon as a metaphor for how people are portrayed in literature and film.³ The Dragon used is linked with Asian culture portrayed in Western mainstream cinema and seen as dangerous, cunning, and evil to the society; all traits that are affiliated with the fantastical devil. Gee argues that Daughter of Fu Manchu (1931)'s portrayal of the female embodiment of the evil villain is just as cunning. She is thought to be a greater threat because she is so attractive.

Western media represent images of women from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa who are often stereotyped as conservative, masked, and existing in a distinct world from those of women from other cultures.⁴ According to Fiske, popular culture is where people create a culture. Women of Asian origin have been subjected to lesser human beings, and their role is regarded as that of sexual satisfaction.⁵ Asian women have recently been shown in pictures as the sexual servant of Asians, embodying feminine values and setting the standard of attractiveness.⁶ Because Asian women were initially portrayed as secretive, sensual, and exotic, a negative stereotype about Asian women was born. In addition, misconceptions about Asian women's sexual dominance and servitude have contributed to Westerners' fetishization, and Asian women are romanticized as the pinnacle of perfect femininity and true exoticism. Girls and women are often portrayed in negative or conventional sexual roles, such as that of the servile or foolish housewife.

Additionally, the East is shown in this collection of images as a mysterious, dark place full of animals, and the Asian woman is portrayed as the sensual object of the male's desire. These misunderstandings reinforce the perception that their diverse cultures are antiquated and essentially at war with Western civilization. Moreover, Western cultures are presented as modern, forward-thinking, and democratic, whereas non-Western civilizations are portrayed as outdated, inhuman, and patriarchal. This approach calls for a certain degree of institutional oblivion because the society tends to forget its complicated history of colonialism and enslavement, as well as the denial of human liberties to a significant portion of its population, particularly women.⁷

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¹ Michelle Cho. “Popular Abjection & Gendered Embodiment in South Korean Film Comedy,” in Abjection Incorporated: Mediating the Politics of Pleasure and Violence. Edited by Maggie Hennefeld and Nicholas Sammond. Durham: Duke University Press, 2020, pp. 45

² Prieler, Michael, Alex Ivanov, and Shigeru Hagiwara. "Gender representations in East Asian advertising: Hong Kong, Japan, and Shouth Korea."Communication & Society 28, no. 1 (2015): 32

³ Gee, Deborah (Director). “Slaying the Dragon [DVD].” San Francisco: Asian Women United of California (1988).

⁴ Rajgopal, Shoba Sharad. "“The Daughter of Fu Manchu” The Pedagogy of Deconstructing the Representation of Asian Women in Film and Fiction."Meridians 10, no. 2 (2010): 145

⁵ Fiske, John. Understanding Popular Culture. London; New York: Routledge, 2010, pp. 19-39.

⁶ Kim, Dr Youna, ed. Women and Media in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

⁷ Schules, Douglas. “Creating Community in Persona 3: Japanese Role-Playing Games as Networked Practice,” in Japanese Role-Playing Games: Genre, Representation, and Liminality in the JRPG. Edited by Rachael Hutchinson and Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2022, pp. 215-234

• Course: Media and Communications
• Grade: A
• Author: Rhoda Kariuki (Author)
• Publication Year: 2023
• Pages: 14
• Catalog Number: V1375131
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346911537
• ISBN (Book): 9783346911544
• Language: English
• Tags: asian women, media, inequality, east asia