CW: Racism, Misogyny, Hate Crimes
I am posting on behalf of the team of educators that helped write this piece, as well as all of the voices who have been silenced by violence.
With a heavy heart, let us mourn and honor the lives of the victims of Tuesday’s shooting and the countless others that have been targeted in the recent surge of anti-Asian attacks.
To me, one of the most disturbing things about the murder of the eight Asian women in Atlanta, GA massage parlor on Tuesday, March 16th, was how little I was surprised by these hate crimes. The murderer, who asserted to the police that he had a sex-addiction, had previously gone to the massage parlors where he murdered these women to pay for sex work. The neighborhood where these shootings took place is only 2% Asian — a statistic eerily reminiscent of the racially motivated hate crimes against Black people in majority white neighborhoods.
The model minority myth, which argues that something about Asian Americans is different from other minorities — they are more educated, more “pure,” less impoverished — hurts Asian people, especially our most vulnerable groups including women, sex workers, and elders. Living in Cambridge, I’ve heard people complain about Asians, saying that “they’re the ones making all the money”, “they’re the ones who are rude.” This kind of attitude creates an us versus them narrative, which perpetuates a cycle of violence towards Asian people. This myth is rooted in racist immigration policies, such as the many written documents allowing only Asian immigrants of a certain economic or societal classes (“skilled labor,” if you will) and the invitation of Asian workers during westward expansion for use in building railroads and mining, only to be later cast off and attacked with propaganda and racism against them after they were no longer needed.
Talking about Asians as “other” yet oppressing others works to drive a wedge between communities that suffer from white-supremacy and misogyny. It is important to note that this tool, the separation of minorities that results in less intersectionality in their movements, is something that affects all marginalized groups. Asians, while often portrayed as all members of an elite socioeconomic class, are not a homogenous group of people: there are a plethora of different experiences/backgrounds.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes have only gotten worse. Preexisting xenophobia and racism was perpetuated by Trump calling it the “Chinese virus” or his supporters naming it the “Kung Flu.” Over the last year, anti-Asian hate crimes have increased by up to 7000%. Many Asian elders have been attacked on the streets. Asian women have seen an increase in sexual violence. Six of the women murdered on Tuesday were sex workers. The repeated and on-going violence against sex workers hurts communities and their most vulnerable.
Asian women are constantly fetishized in the media. At MIT, I’ve heard people joke about “yellow fever,” but I’d like to move away from this term because I think it detracts from what is actually happening. Asian women are seen as more submissive, less likely to speak up for themselves, easier to dominate. At the same time, the same women are seen as more pure or more innocent. Both of these stereotypes makes Asian women more vulnerable to sexual violence, because men in power believe that they are more pure/virginal, as well as easy to overtake. The history goes back hundreds of years, when they have been stolen from their families by colonizers and used as “war brides”, when they have been kidnapped and raped, when they have been seen solely as sex objects for white men’s, especially the military’s, gratification.
Now, you may pull back and say “fetishization? No, not I!” But, when I say the phrases below I am sure you will have heard them before:
“Love you long time.”
“Happy ending massage”
The statements above serve to promote violence against Asian women by stripping them of their humanity through stereotyping and sexual objectification — the same tools used by misogynistic white supremacy to oppress other groups. Anti-Asian hate is not novel: it has not been happening just in the last year, but it has been exacerbated by the language and actions of the government which continue today.
So many brave people who thought they previously overreacted are now coming forward with their stories: and many of them are within the MIT community. We need to uplift each other’s voices and work together to build a community that is accepting of all, regardless of their identity. Additionally, we want to speak out against further policing as a response to these horrors. Policing is rooted in white-supremacy and oppression, and increasing police presence in Asian communities will continue to hurt those already vulnerable.
Rest in peace, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Hyeon Jeong Park, and countless other victims whose government failed to protect them and instead upheld misogyny and white supremacy.