We use the word "masculinity" as if it's something real and solid, something that we can point to, and something that we can know the meaning of. But take a moment and try to define it. I just end up with a bunch of adjectives and comparing it "femininity." It's probably much, much squishier than we think. I just read an article on COLORLINES.com called "Posters Celebrate Asian American Masculinity, From George Takei to Jeremy Lin" by Hatty Lee. An artist named Deborah Enrile Lao created a poster series called "Manhood." The images are pretty badass.
 Richard Aoki |  Bruce Lee |  Jeremy Lin |  DJ Qbert |  George Takei |
We've got one of the original members of the Blank Panthers, a movie martial arts legend, a basketball rising star, a turntablist and composer, and a TV and film icon. I think these posters are doing the work they were intended to do. For instance, one of the comments after the article reads "Isn't George Takei gay?" Indeed. He is. Why can't a gay man be "masculine"? I wouldn't exactly call George Takei "womanly." And even if I would, why couldn't he be both? It's getting people to stretch their ideas of "masculinity" and to see where they stand (even if they ultimately don't change their stance).
These posters fight against the flood of images from mainstream Western media that portray Asian men as "weak," "asexual," "cowardly," "sneaky," "sexually inept," and sadly the list goes on. I can imagine many young Asian American boys looking at these posters and owning them, identifying with them, and finding pride through them.
AND we need more. Yes, Ms. Lao, we love them and we want more!
So, I think I see this pattern: mainstream media continually "emasculates" Asian men, so some Asian men, in response to being forced into a "hypo-masculine" status, put on a "hyper-masculine" identity. And what group is most objectified in this "hyper-masculine" way? Black men. So, some Asian men take on so-called "Black masculinity" to reclaim their "manhood." It's not surprising to me that four out of the five images in the series have some tie to Black male stereotypes -- the Black Panthers, basketball, hip hop music, and even martial arts. I know that last one is a little funky, but Black people love Bruce Lee, right? Right?
We gotta ask ourselves, how far does this really move us forward -- trading one stereotype for another? How can we tear it all down, so that the Asian boy who loves to dance, or write stories, or code software or whatever it is that isn't deemed "masculine" today, doesn't have to feel on the outside of the arbitrary social lines we've drawn.
I think we can challenge not only the mainstream Western media's representations of the "Asian male," but "masculinity" and "Asian-ness" themselves. What if we had images of butch Asian dykes? South Asian men? Trans men? Southeast Asian men? Masculine straight women? Middle eastern men? (Isn't the "Middle East" on the continent of Asia?) Drag queens and kings? Actually, I would love for this poster series to be called "Masculinities." ("Manhoods" just sounds a little too weird.) We've gotta queer (i.e., challenge, jeopardize, question) our ideas of "masculinity." And adding that "s" at the end makes me think that there are many, many ways to do it "right."
These posters fight against the flood of images from mainstream Western media that portray Asian men as "weak," "asexual," "cowardly," "sneaky," "sexually inept," and sadly the list goes on. I can imagine many young Asian American boys looking at these posters and owning them, identifying with them, and finding pride through them.
AND we need more. Yes, Ms. Lao, we love them and we want more!
So, I think I see this pattern: mainstream media continually "emasculates" Asian men, so some Asian men, in response to being forced into a "hypo-masculine" status, put on a "hyper-masculine" identity. And what group is most objectified in this "hyper-masculine" way? Black men. So, some Asian men take on so-called "Black masculinity" to reclaim their "manhood." It's not surprising to me that four out of the five images in the series have some tie to Black male stereotypes -- the Black Panthers, basketball, hip hop music, and even martial arts. I know that last one is a little funky, but Black people love Bruce Lee, right? Right?
We gotta ask ourselves, how far does this really move us forward -- trading one stereotype for another? How can we tear it all down, so that the Asian boy who loves to dance, or write stories, or code software or whatever it is that isn't deemed "masculine" today, doesn't have to feel on the outside of the arbitrary social lines we've drawn.
I think we can challenge not only the mainstream Western media's representations of the "Asian male," but "masculinity" and "Asian-ness" themselves. What if we had images of butch Asian dykes? South Asian men? Trans men? Southeast Asian men? Masculine straight women? Middle eastern men? (Isn't the "Middle East" on the continent of Asia?) Drag queens and kings? Actually, I would love for this poster series to be called "Masculinities." ("Manhoods" just sounds a little too weird.) We've gotta queer (i.e., challenge, jeopardize, question) our ideas of "masculinity." And adding that "s" at the end makes me think that there are many, many ways to do it "right."
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