Bai Ling's Free Spirit Tells Her to Get Naked

July 14, 2005

I like this quote:

"A one-night stand and a lifetime commitment are the same," Ling said. "Because you don't have the control of the destiny of how long a relationship can be, you don't even know how long your life is going to be. So whoever makes you feel this love and this romance, you're lucky, no matter how long --

24 hours, a month, a year, a lifetime. I think there's a lot of beauty in different men; you cannot see just one man, one soul mate. So it's hard to choose. ... Ultimately, there is one. But it's not time for me yet.

When you're in the entertainment business, it's hard to have a serious relationship. Sometimes, when I'm tired and lonely, tough questions come to me, and you feel like you really want someone to hold you. And it's something I really want to have. You need another half to make a whole. But life's fantastic right now. I have freedom. So, before I get married, I should enjoy it!"

I'm sure she's a talented actress and a nice person, but some of the roles she's taken and the persona has really perpetuates many of the "dragon lady exotic Asian female" steroetypes.

I just saw her on the HBO show Entourage playing a kung fu expert who hops in bed (on the gym mat, actually) with the lead character in the show after 10 minutes.

I'm not saying Asian women can't play roles like this, but there's an imbalance with more "normal" roles and, of course, Asian American men are nowhere to be found in any role.

Contributor:

Harry Mok

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.

Comments

Comments

Fetish wrote on Fri, 07/15/2005 - 1:26am

On a similar note... I happened to see the pilot for an upcoming show on ABC called "Emily's Reasons Why Not." This show features an asian woman named 'Glitter' played by Smith Cho. Guess what? Cho plays a nasty but oh-so-sexy bitch.How novel.

MLC wrote on Fri, 07/22/2005 - 10:40pm

Actually, in China nudity is no longer a taboo. Did anybody else read the Leslie Chang (Wall Street Journal's Beijing Bureau Chief) article on nude photo portraits in Shanghai? Apparently they were all the rage in Shanghai a few years ago. Even in the early 1990s when I lived in the PRC, full nudity of Chinese women was rampant. Even male performance artists in China have been using nudity in their work for decades. This whole spiel that in China nudity is not acceptable is not true. It's a stereotype. Perhaps she's thinking back to the days when she lived in China, but in contemporary China, Playboy is alas a huge presence. Methinks this talk is an attempt to flatter the West ("Oh, look how advanced we are!"). Ha!

Bruce Darren Acosta wrote on Tue, 10/31/2006 - 10:42pm

Most of the guys like the girls and they want to sex,like girls like Sung Hi lee I like to f##k her in her arse wearing a G string or ever they likeAngelina Jolie or Jessica Alba some guys want to sex with Bai ling thats fine.This is all fantasy sex that i'm talking about.CU.BRUCE ACOSTAAUSTRALIA

paul wrote on Sun, 11/06/2005 - 10:04pm

i dont think you guys get it. its not about nude or no nude. heck, there is way more porn, sex in asia.the difference is, bai ling can act sluty in penilly frustrated u.s. without really putting out and she's considered a feminist. in asia, she'd be looked down upon or raped and everyone would say she deserved it (justifiably).