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The "Coolie"
stereotype originated with Chinese laborers in the 1850s as a
means of preventing Chinese from entering the skilled trades. The
lowest-paying unskilled jobs were called "coolie labor" or
"nigger work." |
The "Yellow Peril" or pollutant stereotype began to take hold in
1890s California. Asians were viewed
as alien and a threat to wage-earners, and a movement began that had the
goal of making California racially pure. |
The "Deviant" stereotype was a response to the movement of
Asians from common labor to household servants, laundrymen, and operators
of opium dens, and the importation of women for prostitution. |
Asian women have often been portrayed as cunning "Dragon
Ladies" -- aggressive or opportunistic sexual beings or predatory gold diggers.
Non-threatening stereotypes include servile Lotus Blossoms, China dolls,
and Geisha girls. |
The "Gook" stereotype originated with the US Military during the Korean War as a generic term for Asians, and became more popular during the Vietnam War. A gook is an invisible and powerful enemy with superhuman endurance and ability to absorb punishment. |
The "Model Minority" stereotype originated in the 1950s as a
representation of successful assimilation of Asians that was contrasted with the less successful assimilation of Blacks and
Hispanics. |
Legal Discrimination and Violence Against Asian ImmigrantsAs a trickle turned into a flood, (between 1850 and 1930, about one million Asians from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and India came to the United States) a backlash soon developed. Yellowface on Stage"Yellowface" portrayals date to at least 1767 in the United States, when Arthur Murphy's theatrical work The Orphan of China was presented in Philadelphia. Yellowface in Film and TVWhites in Yellowface have a long history on screen, beginning with Mary Pickford's Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly (1915). Yellowface WhitewashingA phenomenon wherein white actors are cast to portray what were originally non-white characters is called "whitewashing." Instead of using yellow face makeup, the film makers change the race or origin of the characters. Yellowface in EuropeThe most blatant contemporary example of Yellowface in Western European media is a character created by Dutch TV and later adopted by Danish TV called Ushi; a caricature of a Japanese woman, but played by white women. Yellowface Caricatures in Politics
In 1997, The National Review magazine published an illustrated cover of then President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Vice President Al
Gore, in stereotypical Oriental garb and featuring caricatured features, buck teeth and slanted
eyes.
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![]() Blackface! Black Stereotypes |
![]() Yellowface! Asian Stereotypes |
![]() Brownface! Hispanic Stereotypes |
![]() Redface! Indian Stereotypes |
![]() Arabface! Arab Stereotypes |
![]() Jewface! Jewish Stereotypes |
Racial and Racist Stereotypes in Media |
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Padgett, Kenneth. Yellowface! - The History of Racist Asian Stereotypes. Web. 15 Sept. 2020. <https://www.yellow-face.com/>.