On a busy Saturday night in the early-2000s, while others were hustling for lap dances from rowdy bachelor parties, I was the girl sequestered inside of the champagne room, perched on a tufted wingback chair.
For hours at a time (or the rough equivalent of six “Real World” episodes), the patron and I would take up residence at our little linen-covered table, diving into intellectual conversations about life and sipping on bottles of overpriced champagne. Sometimes dinner.
It’s too difficult to constantly dissect when I’m benefited by being Asian and when I’m thwarted for being Asian.
I suppose I was always more of the “companion” archetype in the world of exotic dancing. The managers in the Dallas, Texas strip club would often keep the club at a frigid 61 degrees, and the champagne room was also my solace away from the otherwise sub-Arctic conditions of the main floor.
At some point in the conversation, some of the club patrons would attempt to woo me with compliments mellifluously spoken in my native dialect (which my first-generation Filipino-American parents had never actually taught me) like “maganda” (beautiful), and lament how American women they had been with were never as eager to please their men as their subservient Asian counterparts.
Perhaps it was the uncensored environment of the strip club that allowed patrons the safety to share these sorts of blanketed sentiments about Asian women with me, a young Filipina stranger, as if to somehow illuminate them as advocates who were woke to my culture. These occurrences were not uncommon — nor were they limited to the confines of the club. They were never flattering. They weren’t an exemplary appreciation for my culture.
In all of my young naiveté, I knew that these were moments based on ego-pompous ideals and racially insensitive remarks about women of my same race, delivered under the guise of a compliment. As a young woman getting paid, I smiled politely.
Now at age 33, over 10 years of which have been spent in adult, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the same stereotypes held by Western society that fetishize and objectify Asian women were just as common within my very own industry. Is adult perpetuating these stigmas through its portrayals of Asian women, or is it possibly helping consumers to evolve away from them? Moreover, how are Asian females and the scope of their careers impacted by its portrayals? I turned to some of my peers for their personal insight.
Portrayals
When I was five years old, one of the first Asian female figures I recall seeing in mainstream media was Connie Chung, the news journalist. My mom watched her daily, and revered her poise, professionalism and articulation as she reported on CBS Evening News in the 90s.
See, my mom came to the U.S. from Manila when she was an adolescent. She had a very thick accent, which was a touch point for humiliation amongst the American-born kids at her school. Over the years, my mom conveyed her assimilation and adaptation to American culture through the way she presented herself and her speech. As an adult, she worked for a prominent engineering firm in San Diego where she masked her accent with the “Connie Chung voice” when interacting with her colleagues. At home, she would revert back to her muddled English accent and regularly conversed with family members in her native Tagalog.
The evolution of technology has resulted in constant bombardment of information, whether through news, entertainment, blogs or social media. Thus, the potential influence that media has on today’s consumers and how they ultimately perceive the world, people around them, and even themselves is greater than it has ever been. With that comes an even greater ethical responsibility on the shoulders of those producing the content to consider the message that they’re ultimately conveying. Although porn is largely based on images of fantasy, is it the exception to all of the political correctness of mainstream media?
With so much misinformation, or rather miseducation, that still remains about the fantasy-versus-reality aspect of porn among American consumers, how do today’s performers feel about how Asian women are portrayed in adult?
“While I haven't done too many scenes that play upon the stereotypes, they are there,” shared Ember Snow. “I see it mostly in the lower-end productions and in the independent companies. Personally, I want to see what they did with Asia Carrera and Tera Patrick happen more often. These were women who were so beautiful, they transcended the ‘Asian’ stereotype and were marketed right along with other women of other ethnic backgrounds.
“Once signing with Vivid, neither one of them did many titles with the word ‘Asian’ in it, and the characters they played could be done by anybody,” she observed. “One of my favorites from the 90s was ‘Mission Erotica,’ a spy thriller feature. Kobe Tai was the star with Asia Carrera sharing the box cover. Neither one played a character that was labeled as ‘Asian’ and it was really hot. I think that the current trend with diversity happening all around us could inspire the companies to stop labeling people by their background and start casting based on their strength as a performer.”
Saya Song concurred, sharing, “I do wish Asian women were given more variety as opposed to the same types of roles. I don’t think it’s fair that they get booked for just ‘Asian’ roles rather than for being a hot girl. Sometimes I do think it’s sexy, but there definitely needs to be more variety.”
As for Cindy Starfall, she advised that portrayals may vary based on who a performer is shooting for. “It really depends on the company … you can work for Jonni Darko, and he portrays a very sexy Asian [woman] — there's no role-playing involved. But you can also work for another company where you play a maid. So I feel like every company is different. Luckily for me, it has been diverse. I do get cast for Asian [roles], but I also shot a bunch of scenes last month that aren’t [specifically] Asian … I was a hotwife, for instance.
“So I think it also depends on how you present yourself, and how well you do the scene,” she continued. “I definitely want to see that [companies] always ask the girl if she's comfortable doing things. There are some that want me to do things that I don't want to, like with chopsticks, or say silly cliché things like ‘sucky-sucky.’ I’m proud to be Asian — I'm proud to be Vietnamese, but I don't need to say ‘me love you long time’ or ‘sucky-sucky,’ typical stuff that you think that we say.”
Then, there is crypto phenomenon and super cams, clips and shoots hybrid Brenna Sparks, who commented, “I think Asian performers need to stop being forced to portray themselves as some other thing they're not, but rather what they are: an attractive female that is cast to play a role in a story that people can relate to and enjoy. ‘Asian’ is a porn category only because there are so few performers in comparison to Caucasians. If you normalize the appearance of Asians in porn, it'll no longer even be a category. That's the level it needs to reach.”
Song agreed, “I would just like to see less emphasis on race as a whole. I'd like to see movies where it's just hot people having sex.”
Playing the Part
One of the first published references of the fetishization of Asian women can be traced back to 1887 in a novel written by French author Pierre Loti. “Madame Chrysanthème” documents a French naval officer being enamored with the ideal of the delicate and feminine Japanese woman, which ultimately compels him to purchase an intermittent bride, the titular character, whom he marries out of convenience during a tour in Nagasaki, Japan.
Ultra-feminine. Subdued. Submissive. Subservient. Innocent. Or on the other token, sex-crazed. Dragon lady. With Western society’s deep-seated ideas of Asian women come certain recurring roles depicted in porn. Typecasting, a practice that also occurs in mainstream film, is not uncommon among Asian performers in order to fulfill these roles.
“Sometimes, I get cast as an Asian massage therapist or as a student who’s come to the U.S. to study abroad,” stated Marica Hase.
“Mostly, the typecasting comes within the title of the scene itself,” informed Snow. “If I had to pick one, it would be the massage therapist — I think I have done that one five times now… I've also been cast as a Japanese character three times when I'm actually Filipina, so that becomes an issue as well.”
Song explained, “I have been a schoolgirl a couple of times and a massage therapist more than I can remember, those are just common roles for women in porn to begin with. It's more that it's hard to get a role with a company unless it's an Asian-themed movie, of which they may only shoot one or two per year.”
While some performers may be accustomed to typecasting, however, certain fantasy roles also have tendencies to portray ethnic stereotypes, which can be conflicting. Brenna Sparks revealed, “[Typecasting in porn] can feel very insulting. ‘Asian massage therapist’ is definitely a common one. They like the girls to act like they are new to the country and barely speak English. They also want you to act very submissive by giving in to all of their demands and behaving as a servant.”
Rina Ellis has likewise experienced this recurring typecasting. “I get those submissive Asian stereotype roles a lot,” she noted. “I know it can be a gray area, as people understandably don't like being fetishized for their race, but it personally never bothered me.”
Ultimately, Starfall tries to view her experiences as objectively as possible, relaying, “There is work that you don't have to be Asian, but there's also work that they require an Asian girl … to me, I have to show up and do my job as an actress. That's not necessarily what I do off-camera, but I'm an actress there to play a role.”
Ellis reasoned, “As long as it doesn't bother the performer, I don't see a problem with it. But if they don't like it, I completely get why. You want to be seen for who you are, not just because of your race”.
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Hase has worked in both the Japanese and American porn sectors. On her unique cultural perspective in both markets, she elucidated, “I feel Americans have a good understanding of Asian women, so they portray us in adult media pretty well. Yes we bow, are polite, shy and do cosplay, and wear kimonos. But, there are a few things they do get wrong.” Marica highlighted a common cultural inconsistency. “Many directors think it’s normal for Japanese women to wear kimonos, and often they ask me to wear them for shoots. However, real kimonos are very expensive and run over $10,000. Normal Japanese women don’t have that kind of money to spend on a kimono. Also, they only wear them on very special days. I wear one for cosplay, but that’s not the reality of most Japanese women.”
She continued, “There is definitely a difference between Japan and America. In America, guys and girls are both always very aggressive, whereas in Japan, the fantasy revolves around the girls not being aggressive. The aggressive guys like to fuck weak and/or shy girls, and this is viewed as more erotic. But sometimes, it still feels like too aggressive to me. Many times, Asian women in sexual fantasies appear to be more like Asian women who grew up here in the U.S. (or were born here). I grew up in Asia so I’m more shy.”
The Future
The typical career span of an adult performer in porn is projected to last anywhere from six to nine months on average. Some talent, however, is in it for the long haul, be it for their marketability, versatility, performance or professionalism.
Given the nature of some of the unique hurdles that Asian performers are faced with in today’s porn industry, let alone performers in general, what is their general outlook on how their ethnicity plays a role in the potential scope and duration of their career?
“That's still a little early to say, at least for me,” Sparks said. “Sometimes I feel like it has served to my benefit, and other times I feel like it totally hinders me. I think that being Asian does bring me certain opportunities, and I try to capitalize on them as much as possible. It's too difficult to constantly dissect when I'm benefited by being Asian and when I'm thwarted for being Asian. So, I feel it's best to just aim for being a good performer and try to refrain from using my ethnicity as the thing that gets me opportunities or keeps me from them. Ultimately, the combination of constantly refining yourself and persevering will always bring you to the top, eventually.”
Ellis exclaimed, “Yes, it’s served to my benefit for sure. There aren't many Asian girls in the industry, so I feel that this has always helped me to land unique roles.”
In a similar vein, Song observed that scarcity of her aesthetic among known talent has its upside. “It's benefited me, because there are so few Asian adult stars that it didn't seem to take much tomake a name for myself,” she said. “It's not benefited me in the way that my roles are still limited due to my ethnicity.”
Ember asserted, “To the men and women who are into Asian women, yes, I do feel like it has been a benefit. However, I do feel like I am rarely the go-to girl when the companies are casting because their first thought isn't ‘Asian.’ There are certain producers and directors who have a thing for Asian girls, and they will find an excuse to cast me or any other Asian girl in their projects, but they rarely make us the lead. But it is my goal to change their perceptions about this issue and return us to the time when they cast us because of our attractiveness. Vivid used to tell their audience who was hot. Now, they let the audience dictate who is popular.”
Starfall declared, “I definitely think it’s served to my benefit. There aren’t many Asian actresses in the business. There is a huge market out there, so my fans come to me because it's hard to find other Asian girls. Compared to Caucasian girls, there are many, and it is hard to compete. So in a way, being Asian really worked out to my advantage. I love being Asian, and not just Asian-American … that's a unique thing about me, so I think that's how it’s become a successful career for me. The typical porn career is about nine months, six to nine months that's the most. If you want to come in and treat it like a job, like a business, then it will last longer. Also, it depends on how you treat your fans, because everything comes down to your fans: I cannot be where I am without their support.”
