Secret Asian Man: Not So Secret But Often Ignored?

Jason Luong
Section A01
In response to : Secret Asian Man by Tak Toyoshima

When I first saw this in the list of readings, I felt somewhat glad. I am actually familiar with Toyoshima's work so, while reading these samples of A Secret Man, I didn't encounter any surprising turn of events in these comic strips. While the topics addressed in some of these panels may come off as sarcastic and cynical of the Asian American experience and dilemma, I found that Toyoshima is actually revealing, in a modern generalization of Asian American youth, who Asian Americans are in today's society. Sure, he is poking fun at many of the Asian stereotypes that have plagued the pan-ethnic community for decades and centuries, but, with his methods, he is disproving them. I recall this process as being coined reverse-stereotyping. This term refers to creating new, hopefully positive stereotypes that counter the old, assumedly negative stereotypes. Overall, I see A Secret Man as a presentation as to the challenges this generation of Asian Americans must face during the age of modern globalization.

Angry Mother

In Response to: Angry  Little Asian Girl

     I absolutely love Angry Little Girls. The selected comics display the relationship between her and her mother. Her mother is always angry and unsatisfied. This is a typical relationship between an Asian child and his or her parent. The Asian parent is never happy with their child. They always expect more and never compliment or praise their child. They have are not sensitive to their child's feeling and bluntly say mean things, in this comic strip the mother says, "You ugly. That why you have no friend." I honestly think Asian parents are not that mean. The Angry Little Girl's mother is always nagging saying, "Blah Blah Blah" implying Asian parents will complain about anything and everything. I do see these characteristics of the mother in many Asian parents. I cannot say I see it with my parents, but I do agree I see these qualities with my friends parents. Actually, My grandparents are very similar with this angry mother. i would like to point out that the simple drawing of the mother is very identical to the typical Asian mother look: a scowling face and short permed hair. This comic is a very simple way of describing the interaction between an Asian child and the parent.

Claudia Chang
ASA 02 Sec a01

Meaning of Being Masculine

In response to "Threatening Men: Defining Filipino American Masculinity" by Kandice Chuh.

In this article, author Kandice Chuh talks about how Filipino men had to prove that they were masculine enough or do more to receive the same amount of respect. In the military, a man had served five years of service fighting for the United States, but this was questioned because it did not seem enough to grant him U.S. citizenship.

The article also talks about a novel in which the main character is Filipino. He goes through childhood and grows up learning about what it means to be Filipino American and also the idea of Filipino American masculinity. It also talks about how a white woman is symbolic for white masculinity because a desire for white women could mean the desire for American masculinity.

It seems to me that masculinity has been racially separated as well. It’s surprising that such an abstract concept could be racially determined. There is no difference between the supposedly “Filipino American masculinity” and the “American masculinity”, which really meant “white masculinity”. However, these men are conditioned by society to believe that there is a difference. 

Xishan (Lucy) Ye

Section A02

blog #10

Kimberly Hwang
Section A01
June 2, 2013
Reading: "Secret Asian Man" by Tak Toyoshima

Asian People Humor

This comic turns Asian stereotypes into funny cartoons. It's creative how the writer satirically portrays Asian American issues. My favorite one was the one where the grandpa asks the asian boy where he is from. Although he is Asian he identifies himself as American and doesn't understand what the question really intended. I also liked the one wear Asian men are seen to be at the bottom of the food chain whereas white, African-American, or Latino men are portrayed to be more masculine and dominant. It is interesting how all the common stereotypes for Asian men are negative from their physical appearance to how they are perceived to be mentally. This is often true because Asian men are stereotyped as unattractive and super smart, overachievers. I enjoyed reading this comic because as an Asian American these issues are relatable.
Question: What are some prejudices that women of color face?

Asian Stereotypes in Comic Strips! = Funny

Andy Wang

Reading Reflection 10

In response to Secret Asian Man by Tak Toyoshima

When I first saw this article I was surprised that it was not an article but a comic strip. I love reading comic strips because I find a lot of the humor ones to be funny. In this comic strip I was entertained by all the Asian stereotype that were listed. It included Asians as martial artists and how most Asians will not get main roles in movies other than martial art movies. It even points to the A&F controversy. I know, the controversy does sound racist but it did feature an Asian as a model! Like you do not usually see Asian male models in big companies and I have never seen one in my life. The skits I find really funny are the ones about romance. Asians will never be the top of the food chain because white people, black people, and even Latinos are all above Asians since they all have something that can arouse women. While Asians are the geeks, nerds, bad drivers, shifty eye, and the small --->. That made me angry but it did point all the stereotypes in one picture. 

Christianity and Korea

A Response to "The Structure and Social Functions of Korean Immigrant Churches in the United States"

by: Jonathan "Prince" Garcia

Korean immigrants coming to America, often found themselves in a new place where they did not know the culture or the language, like many other immigrant groups. The article describes how the Korean churches throughout America provided basic services to those immigrants in need. The positive thing that came from the assistance of the churches was that many of the immigrants were able to assimilate to the new American way of life, while still being able to hold onto what their cultural roots are. Ethnicity within the Korean churches was also key because it provided examples of how Christianity had been made to be adapted to numerous other cultures. Social status and mobility upwards was also key because many of the Korean immigrants were from well-to-do families who sought to continue that sort of lifestyle in America. Being that I am a Christian and also begrudgingly American, I believe that religious institutions should help provide services to immigrants so that they can better assimilate into the culture, while still being able to hold on to their culture and beliefs. 

Question: In what ways do Korean immigrants change their lives in order to assimilate within American society and culture? 

Leigh Hiura
Reading: Threatening Men: Defining Filipino American Masculinity

I really do not understand what was going on in the minds of Americans in the past. I never understood why they thought it was okay to segregate people based on their skin color and like with this article, why Filipino men could be considered a threat just because some American girls may find them attractive. So what. I do not understand the past. However, it is a bit similar to now with gay marriage. I personally support it and believe that anyone should be able to get married to whomever they want, but people think it is wrong and it should not happen. I do not understand this either. Why can’t we just let everyone be equal. Not “equal” but truly equal in the sense that we are not threatened by someone else’s masculinity or who they love. It should not be a big deal and I do not think those who try to make it a big deal are right. Maybe we should feel threatened if someone, and it could be anyone of any color, is smarter than you and you are competing against them for a job or something but that is different because it won’t be based on race, it will be based on ability. With ability you can change, you can work harder, put in more hours and I understand that. With race though, what do you do? That is my question. Why would you feel threatened by something you cannot change and by something that should not make a difference?

Trying to be Outspoken

Sharon Hong

In the article “Secret Asian Man” by Tak Toyoshima, I read some of the Asian stereotypes that were shown throughout movies and society. In the screen, Asian Americans are never portrayed the way they are in real life. Usually, Asian Americans are shown for humor and to ridicule how white people see them as. These stereotypes will constantly keep going at the rate these movies keep showing these stereotypical images. Even though we, as Asian Americans, try to oppress this attitude, there is nothing that can be done when people with power keep striving to put Asian American down. My question is how long will it take for Asian Americans to be in power? How can people stop stereotypes? These stereotypes that media keeps portraying are the reasons why people judge us Asian Americans before getting to know us. There are so many discrimination and racial assault that there must be something done now. I hope people will be more understanding of Asian Americans later on and stop having the mindset of some people being minorities. Everyone deserves their rights and hope that the Secret Asian Man will become more outspoken about how Asian Americans actually feel, and how wrong the media portrays them as. As Asian Americans, we should not be as passive as we were taught to, but gain our rights through speaking out and saying what is wrong and not.

Secret Asian Man

I thought this article was interesting in how most of the comic strips talked about Asian stereotypes in Hollywood and society using sarcasm and humor. Very rarely do you ever see a film that stars all Asian actors that isn't about martial arts, and rarely do you see an Asian actor as a romantic interest for women actors in films. Secret Asian Man talks about all these things, and is a reflection of how most Asian Americans feel about these issues. He calls out these issues directly, which is very unlike Asian Americans and the myth of the model minority, where Asians are known to keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves. The Secret Asian Man somewhat idealizes Asian American ideas, while at the same time combining these ideas into an entity Asian Americans should strive to become like. How can Asian Americans become more outspoken about their ideas, like the Secret Asian Man?

- Timothy Huynh

Section A01

Reflection #10: Threatening Men: Defining Filipino American Masculinity

Wingyan Yuen
Section A01
Reading: "Threatening Men: Defining Filipino American Masculinity" by Kandice Chuh

In "Threatening Men," Chuh examines the role of Filipino American men in today's society. It also describes the need for Filipino Americans to prove their masculinity. Some does so by marrying a white woman, some does so by going the extreme. Because America is a society that inclined to embrace heterosexuality.

Filipino men feel the need to go the extra mile and prove their masculinity in order to fit in. They often see white woman as a symbol of assurance. That if they can marry a white woman, they are entitle to what a white man has: equality and to be treated like a normal American.