Asian Fetishization in Western Society: A Brief History
A small look at the history of Orientalism and the fetishization of the Orient
In a world that is beginning to see an increased collision of disparate groups and cultures, the presence of cultural trends expanding upon their host countries is becoming all too common. Physical conquests such as invasion, imperialism, and trading have all been historical ways which such cultural expansion has persisted, but this importation of cultures has changed in the 21st century as consumerism, industry, and media play a larger role in spreading influence from cultures.
Despite seeming much more peaceful, this commodification of culture is much more pervasive, leading to distorted culture shock that has only come to spark further injustice, confusion, and discord.
This article is the first of a multi-part series where I will be investigating the collision of Asian and Western societies throughout time and how this has created fetishizations of Asian culture that have shaped the West. Although this is a very narrow slice of cultural collisions, the lessons and points drawn affect everyone, not just Asians or western society. I understand that this broad topic has been covered by a wide range of people, and as such, I will be drawing upon their experiences and knowledge to supplement my own analysis.
Also, just a quick sidenote, but I’ve attached a reference list here that has all the resources I used in this article. It’ll also be at the bottom of the article.
Finding the “Marvels of the East”
Although Asia and the West have been connected ever since the formation of the Silk Road, the imperialist expansion efforts of the west in the early 1800s would spark a greater European interest in learning and understanding the cultures of the East. Orientalism would be an artistic movement sparked out of this curiosity, focusing on understanding the Oriental (Eastern) culture. Yet, even with a seemingly objective premise, this fascination would have less to do with cultural understanding, but rather the romanticized journey of uncovering the “secrets of the Orient.”
With trade routes such as the Silk Road allowing for the effective transfer of goods between Europe and the rest of the world, there had already been European efforts to replicate the cultural exports of foreign lands. Chinese porcelain, Turkish carpets, and Egyptian tables are just a few examples of goods that reached wide appeal in Europe, mainly due to their association with luxury and craftsmanship.
This initial interaction would be the first step in forging the semblance of exoticism and luxury that permeates Orientalism, but the ensuing collisions that occurred through conquest would further spark interest in Asia. In Napoleon’s invasion of countries such as Egypt and Syria, his use of scholars and scientists that would study the conquered lands would set an example of how the East would become not only a distant land of wonder, but one that could finally be studied and understood.
Although initially focused on “historical” documentation of the east, orientalist art would become widely popularized due to the pre-existing fascination with the East. As opulent buildings, vast desert dunes, and seductive dancers lined the canvases of Orientalist who journeyed to these faraway lands, the romanticized vision of the Orient came into clear view.
Influenced by the previous sense of luxury, this new neoclassical Orientalism would see the Orient (specifically the middle east) as a fantastical world of intrigue devoid of any rigid structure and order. Bustling bazaars, mystical snake charmers, and exotic garments all became common images Orientalists used to invoke senses of eccentric fascination that reduces the rich complexity of Asia to a mere fantastical concept.
Japonisme and Chinoiserie comprised a smaller portion of the Orientalist movement, focusing on portraying Eastern Asian culture. Despite being less common, Japonisme and Chinoiserie would have major influences on other European artistic movements. Intricate and ornate designs present in Chinoiserie (and Turquerie) would play a role in influencing the opulence of the Rococo movement, while the use of foreshortening and fluid details in Japonisme heavily inspiring compositions of the 19th century Impressionist movement.
However, despite not being the major focus of Orientalism, Japonisme and Chinoiserie still echoed the effective commodification and distortion of East Asian culture. Efforts to illustrate the simple beauty present in Asian culture were likewise joined with the embellished and heavily inspired fetishization of the traditions and culture as a whole.
Fantasies Lining Canvases
Being one of the most popular genres within Orientalism, harem artwork would be a deeper look into just how distorted the Orient became as servants, mistresses, and slaves all became erotically depicted through scenes of nude bathing houses and concubine chambers. Edward Said, an renowned scholar on Orientalism, succinctly encapsulates this perversion of the Orient in his book, Orientalism:
“The Orient was a place where one could look for sexual experience unobtainable in Europe” — Edward Said.
Seen as a place lacking Western morality and virtuosity, the Orient was fetishized, with seductive intrigue providing mass appeal to the wider audience at the time. Further commenting on the distortions of the East, Said comments that the West has come to view the East as a place that is effectively trapped in time, lacking any form of development and progress. Like observing the animals at a zoo, Europeans studied the East as a lesser place, immoral and stagnant.
As more “armchair Orientalists” began basing their work off of the accounts and works of others, this land of debauchery and mysticism would become fantastically fetishized and build upon its own artwork as Asians became the epitome of exoticism.
Fabrications of Terror
Even in a modern world that has become separated from the Orientalist movement, the fabricated conception of the Middle East has still stuck in the minds of many as Hollywood and modern media has carried on the Orientalist attitude of the East, especially the Middle-East. Notions of radical terrorism, religious fundamentalism, and underdeveloped morality are all derivatives of the Orientalist perspective that effectively frame a dichotomy of the enlightened and developed West against the radical and depraved East.
In regards to the United States, this stereotyping has become highly politicized as events such as 9/11 and the wars in the East have come to make a major imprint on millions of Americans regarding the state of the Middle East and Muslims as a whole.
One of the clearest examples of the pervasive effects that have come from this continuation of Orientalist culture is the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, which claimed the lives of 168 people and captured mass media attention. Despite the culprit eventually being found out to be an anti-establishment and pro-gun white male, the initial media coverage would instead pin the blame on Islam as the size of the bomb and mass destruction was a “Middle-Eastern trait.”
Even at this current time, portrayals of the Middle East in movies such as Indiana Jones, Aladdin, and other popular media have come to continue the essence of Orientalism that ultimately distort how the West has come to view the East.
Although Orientalism has primarily focused on the Middle East, Eastern Asia has been subject to similar stereotypes of underdevelopment, opulent luxury, and irrational beliefs. Yet over time, as East Asians became a part of Western Society in places such as the US and Oceania, this Orientalist stereotype would become altered as the image of the East Asian itself would become transformed.
Makings of a “Model Minority”
Developing alongside Orientalist movements in Europe, the massive influx of East Asians emigrating to North America and Oceania to find work as low-skilled laborers in agriculture and mining would create its own initial stereotypes of the East Asian.
Xenophobia regarding Asians followed the same path as it did for other minorities as it would portray Asians as being uncivilized and dirty. This yellow peril would be sparked in numerous European countries such as Germany and Russia, intensifying racial discrimination that would be justified using the scientific principles that were only recently embraced.
Similar to the rhetoric espoused by Donald Trump, the common attitude towards these Asian immigrants at the time was of hostility that resulted from both nativist sentiments and fears of job stability. Heeding to these fears, the government would pass exclusion acts that restricted the flow of Asian immigration, with the first acts being passed in the late 1800s and not being fully lifted until the end of the second World War.
Increased co-mingling of Asians and Westerners in the Americas after the second World War eventually led William Peterson to be one of the earliest people to use the term “model minority” in his New York Times article which described the Japanese as a group of people that had faced significant racism yet were still able to succeed in American society.
“The history of Japanese Americans, however, challenges every such generalization about ethnic minorities . . . Every attempt to hamper their progress resulted only in enhancing their determination to succeed” — Peterson
Eventually, this label would be applied to Asian Americans as a whole, effectively legitimizing the narrative that despite their obstacles, Asians are the only minority that are able succeed due to their discipline and hard work. Although this appears as a positive stereotype that even Asians themselves have embraced, this fabrication of the model minority spurs a host of issues.
Ephemeral Status
Since the issue of a model minority has been discussed in depth by numerous others, I will very briefly go over it (check out my resources for more in depth stuff). By establishing the pressure of being a model minority that is academically inclined through hard work and success, it effectively neutralizes any form of discourse regarding civil issues and denies the existence of any disparities to begin with. Like every stereotype, this “positive” stereotype tokenizes Asians as a whole, dismissing the individual complexities people have.
Not only does it create greater pressures on Asians themselves, but it also pressures other minority groups to emulate the success of the Asian subgroup by discounting the presence of any obstacles and injustices. Asian acceptance of this stereotype further disseminates this myth. After all, who doesn’t want to be known as hardworking, smart, and disciplined?
Despite seeming to be a compliment that uplifts the Asian community, it denies the presence of any issues faced by the Asian community (added social pressures, less dedicated resources, etc.), washes over underrepresented Asian ethnic groups that don’t fulfill the success exclaimed by the model minority tokenization (Burmese, Thai, etc.), and pits Asians against other minority groups while creating a fascination with the fabricated pan-ethnic culture that is somehow responsible for this success.
During the pandemic, this myth was on full display as Asian hate soared and the same politicians that applauded the model minorities began to unashamedly spark more Asian xenophobia. Although things have tempered down, it is clear that this label of a “model minority” is just a way to find convenient allies in the Asian American community while still viewing them as lesser. However, despite the tokenized use of the model minority still being ever present in education, politics, and media, the spread of Asian culture itself is fabricating a fresher romanticized vision of the East.
In my next article, I’ll be diving into the modern extent of Asian fetishization, looking at the wider influence of East Asian media exposure on the newer generations of the West and how that has transformed the culture of the West. I definitely recommend checking out Edward Said’s work and all the other resources that I have linked here. See you in a bit.
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