Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Constructing Asian/American Women On Screen, Charleen M. Wilcox

Communication Theses

Asian/American women occupy a highly circumscribed subject position in popular Western culture that entails a unique reading of our bodies. My discussion of this group will gain greater depth and scope by using Black body theory as a theoretical framework to better understand how Asian/American bodies become a site to enact a multitude of fantasies, fears, and anxieties. I will examine three case studies: the construction of the interracial “romance” featuring Asian/American women produced in classical Hollywood cinema, interracial pornography featuring Asian/American female performers, and the independent works of Asian/American feminist filmmakers. Topics interrogated include the over-determination of non-White bodies …