Asian American Representations in Pornography

This chapter examines the major academic discussions surrounding the representations of Asian Americans in Western-produced commercial pornography. To contextualize these discussions, the chapter begins by defining the terms “Asian,” “American,” and “pornography” as they are understood in scholarly examinations, noting that these terms primarily indicate east Asians, the United States, and hardcore commercial video pornography, respectively. The chapter argues that the development and perpetuation of Asian American representations in pornography are rooted in the dominant racial discourses of North America, a legacy of Western colonization and its colonial gaze of the Other. These representations tend to cater to the desires of White audiences, and differ based on the identities of the performers: straight Asian women are often portrayed as subservient yet hypersexual; straight Asian men are desexualized and thus rarely featured; and gay Asian men are routinely depicted as bottoms. This chapter discusses how these representations, despite their limitations, are interpreted in multiple ways, with Asian American audiences having complex relationships to these images. The chapter concludes by briefly touching on potential ways forward, particularly how the rise of DIY pornography online may allow Asian Americans to reclaim and reshape their own sexual representations.