Abstract
What explains white male animus against Asian women? We address this question by examining the murders in Atlanta, GA, which reflect a larger global pattern of violence against what are perceived as hypersexualized Asian women. Dominant discourses on these murders promote either a narrative of racial xenophobia or a stance for or against sex work. Neither discourse adequately accounts for the simultaneous racial and gendered determination of Asian women’s experiences. In this commentary, we provide a racial–gender analysis and underscore how the gendered racialization of Asian women as hypersexual can result in their perception as disposable bodies for white male rage. As we explain, hypersexualization implies immorality, which in turn threatens the social order and thereby justifies Asian women’s disposability. This commentary establishes Asian women’s hypersexualization as a century-old view in American society perpetuated in cinema and the law.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 567-576 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Gender and Society |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Gender Studies
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science
Keywords
- anti-Asian racism
- gendered racism
- gendered violence
- hypersexualization
- legal violence