By Lucy Chen '24
Introduction
A white man by the name of Michael Derrick Hudson strategically wrote under the pseudonym “Yi-Fen Chou” for the 2015 edition of Best American Poetry (Kaplan). C.B Cebulski, Editor-in-Chief for Marvel Comics, published his works under the pen name “Akira Yoshida” from 2005 to 2006 (Venkatraman). Oli London made a profitable career off of getting obscene amounts of plastic surgeries in an attempt to “transition to Asian” and look like K-pop star Jimin from BTS (Brown).
The definition of Asian Fishing, as acknowledged by every user on the internet, refers to a scenario where a non-Asian individual tries to look like or become a person of Asian descent. The most common examples of this happening are when people on the internet alter their appearance using makeup or photoshop in an attempt to make their facial features appear more East-Asian. This typically happens on a purely physical level. However, there are also many instances of Asian Fishing similar to those mentioned above, whereby white people seem to be under the impression that Asian culture is merely a costume that they can put on and take off whenever it is convenient for them, disregarding the discrimination and racist remarks that many Asians deal with on a daily basis as a result of centuries of systematic racism.
The History of Anti-Asian Sentiment in America
To fully grasp the severity and immorality of Asian Fishing, we must first understand the history of Asian racism and anti-Asian propaganda in the United States.
Chinese immigrants arrived on U.S shores as early as the 1850s, desperately trying to escape the economic frenzy in China whilst testing their luck with the California Gold Rush (Chinese Immigration). At the height of the Gold Rush, it was estimated that Chinese immigrants accounted for 30% of all 67,000 immigrants, and the US Government’s response to this influx of Chinese immigrants was to implement a $4 tax for all foreign miners (Terrell).
However, the Chinese’s dreams of wealth and prosperity shattered into oblivion when they were confronted with the harsh reality that most miners at the time only found $10-$15 worth of gold dust from a day’s worth of mining (Cornford). And when the Gold Rush ended during the latter half of the 1850s due to a depletion of gold, Chinese immigrants became nothing but cheap laborers, easily finding low-paying jobs as farmhands, laundry workers, gardeners, and most famously, railroad workers (Chinese Immigation). Profit-driven employers saw that they could hire Chinese immigrants and pay them less compared to white workers (Grigg). Needless to say, this led to the loss of many jobs for white Americans.
Instead of directing their anger towards their money-hungry employers, white Americans targeted Chinese immigrants and used them as their punching bag (Kamit). Thus, hostility against the Chinese surged to an all time high and the “Chinese immigrants are stealing our jobs” sentiment began.
The American government spun the narrative, stereotyping East Asian women as promiscuous prostitutes who wanted to seduce white men, in order to push The Page Act of 1875, banning all Chinese women from entering the country and becoming citizens (Rotondi). Seven years later in 1882, this extended into the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned all Chinese immigration to the United States and was the first law in American history that restricted immigration of any kind (History.com Staff). The Chinese Exclusion Act also precedented later laws in regards to the restriction of other Asian ethnic groups such as the Japanese, Hindu, East Indians, and Middle Easterners immigrating to America (History.com Staff).
Instances of Anti-Asian Sentiment Today
Today, although the laws discriminating against Asians have been lifted, repercussions caused by decades of systematic racism settle in the wake of its absence.
Even though Asian hate crimes have been extremely prevalent in the United States since the 19th century, the rise of Covid-19 only fueled the preconceived notions of hatred and xenophobia Americans felt for Asians.
February of 2021, Noel Quintana, a Filipino American, was slashed across the face by a box cutter in NYC subway station. Quintana reported that when he plead for help after the attack, all the spectators stood and watched as he struggled (Kantor).
About a month later, a white man by the name of Robert Aaron Long walked into two spas in Atlanta and killed eight people, six of whom were of Asian descent. When interviewed about his motive, he claimed to have a “sex addiction”, and chose the two spas because he viewed them as sexual temptations (Constantino).
Even in schools, Asian American children grapple against the harsh reality of xenophobia. Abby Bogard, a 13-year-old Black Asian American, was called a virus during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year (Henry). Lou Cariello, a 17-year-old attending Bexley High School, opted to complete her senior year through online classes due to her concern about receiving racist comments from her classmates about Asians (Henry).
Examples of White People Stealing Parts of Asian Identity/Culture
In recent years, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in scenarios of white people stealing certain aspects of Asian culture and using it for their own convenience.
Celebrities such as Megan Fox, Kendall Jenner, and Bella Hadid all hopped on the “fox eye” trend that was circulating around the internet during 2020. These white celebrities were praised by their following for their sultry looks. However, what their followers failed to realize, was that the shape of the so-called “fox eye”—almond shaped eyes with the tail ends of the eyebrows shaved off the create a pointed effect—was actually a term with a negative connotation that had long been used to describe the shape of Asian eyes (Lee).
A commenter under one of the “fox eye” trend photos stated that their slanted eyes subjected them to endless discrimination and bullying during their youth, and people went as far as to call her a “chink” and “dog eater” (Lee). Sophie Wang, an Asian woman, recalled children in her elementary school taunting her by saying “ching chong eyes” as they pulled on the corners of their eyes (Lee).
Why is it that when white people imitate these features, it becomes a new, “innovative” internet trend? Why is that Asians, despite having the same traits, have to live in fear of being bullied and discriminated against for something that white people are desperately trying to copy?
Another instance of a white person cherry-picking parts of Asian culture to fit their narrative is the case of C.B Cebulski. Cebulski was an editor at Marvel Studios, but part of his contract stated that his position denied him to write scripts for Marvel or Marvel’s competitors without explicit permission (Elbein). To work around this, Cebulski published under the Japanese pseudonym Akira Yoshida (Elbein). Yoshida’s works quickly gained popularity amongst the Marvel series. When interviewed, Celbulski even had an elaborate backstory created for Yoshida, stating that his works were inspired by his love of Japanese history and by the mangas he read during his childhood in Japan (Elbein). Yet, when Marvel offered him a position to write open as an editor, Yoshida suddenly disappeared, and Cebulski was forced to come clean about his use of the pseudonym (Venkatraman).
While many authors would choose to write under a pseudonym as to more easily get their work into the public eye, Cebulski exploited an entire culture and manipulated parts of it to fit his "Asian costume”. And when it was coast was clear for him to publish his works earnestly again, he threw away Akira Yoshida without hesitation.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is still an overwhelming majority of white people who cherry-pick certain aspects of Asian culture for the sole sake of profit or 15-minute internet fame, totally ignorant to the extensive history of xenophobia and discrimination Asians have experienced through history.
We must continue to advocate for Asian rights and fight for complex Asian representation in western media. Without it, we will forever be stuck in a time loop of racism and stereotypical cliches.
Works Cited
The Asian identity theft... Produced by Ibrahim Kamit, 2021. YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOJbrTavlks. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021.
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Kantor, Wendy Grossman. "Filipino American Man Recounts Brutal Attack With Box Cutter on N.Y.C. Subway: 'Nobody Helped.'" People, 18 Feb. 2021, people.com/crime/filipino-american-man-recounts-brutal-attack-with-box-cutter-on-n-y-c-subway-nobody-helped/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2021.
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Lee, Alicia. "The 'fox eye' beauty trend continues to spread online. But critics insist it's racist." CNN, 11 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/style/article/fox-eye-trend-asian-cultural-appropriation-trnd/index.html. Accessed 3 Nov. 2021.
Luo, Michelle. "The Forgotten History of the Purging of Chinese from America." The New Yorker, Apr. 2021, www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-forgotten-history-of-the-purging-of-chinese-from-america. Accessed 7 Oct. 2021.
Rotondi, Jessica Pearce. "Before the Chinese Exclusion Act, This Anti-Immigrant Law Targeted Asian Women." History, 19 Mar. 2021, www.history.com/news/chinese-immigration-page-act-women. Accessed 3 Oct. 2021.
Venkatraman, Sakshi. "Marvel Comics' white editor pretended to be Japanese. A co-worker wants him held accountable." NBC News, 13 Oct. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/marvel-comics-white-editor-pretended-japanese-co-worker-wants-held-acc-rcna2925. Accessed 30 Oct. 2021.
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