Asian women, black men TV rerun

September 21, 2006

Rinku Sen is with Colorlines magazine and she talks a lot about real-world reasons why there may be mutual attraction between Asian women and black men. But I'm not so sure "Americans have moved so far past race they don't even notice."

And I really don't buy the quote from the producer of ER, who says of the two Asian woman-black man couples he's had on his show, "Honestly, we really don't even talk about it or consider that it's an interracial couple."

TV is so white, how can you not notice?

In the fine tradition of Asian spotting on Hyphen, I think we've neglected to mention Xiao Mei (Gwendoline Yeo) of Desperate Housewives, who at the end of last season, was hopping in bed with Carlos and perhaps starting a trend of Asian women and Latino men TV couplings.

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

cool,wow...your mom? i'm barely older than two decades!in any case, i'm sure other people like that music. i hope i have not misrepresented myself here: i don't speak for my generation or "my people" when i say that. i simply don't like south asian hip hop or hip hop that rips south asian music.as for bhangra: jay sean is okay. never heard of sumeet. sukshinder shinda is pretty good. mehsopuria has an edgier sound. jassi sidhu is good. in the us, there is bikram singh. daler mehendi's younger brother mika singh is also putting some tight joints out. rdb (rhythm dhol n' bass) is pretty good, depending on what day and mood you see them in. malkit singh, of course...jazzy bains...etc...i think i should stop talking about music now. or else i'll start talking about shostakovich and then this thread will go to sh*t.oh yeah, and AQ! i won't wait forever :)-MPG
Well thats what the American media and guys like you want us to believe. If you want a lesson on achievements made by AA ill be more than happy to give you that lesson. I can tell you are not the type, You thrive of ignorance and capitalize off the notions of stereotypes placed on minorities in America. Could it be Jeliousy? Its Obvious to see you have no real grasp of American history as well. Yes, you were right to call DR. Carson "GREAT," that he is. Have you heard of the great DR. Charles Drew. The discoveries he made in medecine are milestones and can be topped by few MDs of any color. I can go on until infinity, but why waste time talking to deaf ears. People are individuals first and a race second.
i think I clearly said that MOVIES (i.e. Beerfest) are an exception because they (movies) tend to be more controversial and 'edgy' in as much as the audience pays to attend and in so doing 'accepts' the 'risks' inherent thereto. Also, a single movie or bit character does not negate the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. If there is an asian man shagging a black woman in "Beerfest" GREAT!!! There is a pretty strong vein of anti-black sentiment in the south asian community in the US. Maybe that will help erase that in some small way. [As an aside, you've got to think about where you spend your entertainment $$] I think it was last season on Gray's Anatomy that a south asian guy banged Meredith (Gray) for an episode. Does that negate the fact that there is a paucity of asian men on prime time TV? I don't think so.I don't think there is any 'consensus' data on marriage rates. People are or are not married to someone. There is no 'consensus' aspect to it - much like there is no 'consensus' needed to 'pass' the law of gravity. Opinions are irrelevant. I am betting the word was 'Census' data. The 18% sounds high, but is possible if you count blacks married to hispanics - of which there are 'white' and 'non-white' categories.Still standing after all this jibber jabber are the facts that PRIME TIME TV seems to want to 'represent' a BM/AF couple rate that is NOT present (not even close!) in society and that asian men are largely invisible. Why??
The assertion that films take more "risks" in casting (particularly of IR relationships) than TV shows is false.The reason why the film "Hitch" didn't have a BF lead/love interest was that the producers were afraid of the film being seen as a "black" film.The reason why "Hitch" didn't have a WF lead/love interest was b/c the producers were afraid that a portion of the WM audience would be turned off.A HF (albeit basically a non-Nordic WF), ended up as the compromise choice in casting opposite Will Smith.With budgets in the tens of millions - big studio pics tend to be really conservative.Otoh, TV shows, esp, ones with large casts, can take risks with casting of love interests.BM/WF couplings have been quite common on television (much more so than WM/BF) - "24"; "Sex in the City"; "ER"; "Grey's Anatomy"; "My Name is Earl"; Desperate Housewives;"The Practice"; "Ally McBeal"; "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; "Angel"; "One Tree Hill"; "LAX"; etc.With AFs - the WM/AF coupling is most common on television: "Gilmore Girls"; "Ally McBeal"; Beverly Hills 90201"; "Coupling"; "Malcom in the Middle"; "Battlestar Gallactica": "Deep Space Nine"; "Enterprise"; "King of the Hill"; "The Single Guy"; "Flight 29 Down"; "Malibu Dreams"; etc. and virtually almost every single crime show and many of the most popular sitcoms/comedies("Friends"; "Seinfeld"; Sex in the City) have shown WM/AF couples.There has yet to be an Asian-American couple on television (the Asian couple on "Lost" aren't American).
DEAN:You hit it on the spot. You get 2 TV shows with a Black and Asian love interest the ratings go up, and the world goes crazy(men). Why dont Asian men complain about the Shows with all the AF/WM interest. You have to admit, Black Males have a Gigantic influence on trends, and Pop Culture in America. That relates to Prime Time. Consensus, Census, its all a bogus survey to me."Hitch" was written by white producers. "Drumline", "Love and Basketball was wriiten by blacks for blacks, but crossovered like "Joy Luck Club", which was written and produced by an Asian women. So why theres not more Amy Tans in the industry. Theres answer to why there are no leading Asian men on Prime Time. More than likely there is a lack of Asian writers, Directors and Producers in Hollywood to write these scripts. Once that Happens then you will see a change. If you are waiting for mainstream America to do it then you are saddenly mistaken. African American Producers had to respond to all the negative roles Blacks were getting in the past. The spike Lees of the world soon emerged. This is just my opinion from Minority to Minority
DEAN:You hit it on the spot. You get 2 TV shows with a Black and Asian love interest the ratings go up, and the world goes crazy(men). Why dont Asian men complain about the Shows with all the AF/WM interest. You have to admit, Black Males have a Gigantic influence on trends, and Pop Culture in America. That relates to Prime Time. Consensus, Census, its all a bogus survey to me."Hitch" was written by white producers. "Drumline", "Love and Basketball was wriiten by blacks for blacks, but crossovered like "Joy Luck Club", which was written and produced by an Asian women. So why theres not more Amy Tans in the industry. Theres answer to why there are no leading Asian men on Prime Time. More than likely there is a lack of Asian writers, Directors and Producers in Hollywood to write these scripts. Once that Happens then you will see a change. If you are waiting for mainstream America to do it then you are saddenly mistaken. African American Producers had to respond to all the negative roles Blacks were getting in the past. The spike Lees of the world soon emerged. This is just my opinion from Minority to Minority
so who is upset at the depiction of BM/AF couples?shoiwng numerous BM/AF couples is illogical given the reality of American society.showing WM/AF couples is logical given the reality of American society.NOT showing AM/AF couples is illogical given the reality of American society.Why is TV being 'illogical' given the reality of American society.We have a suggested answer for the lack of AM roles - no writers\directors\producers to champion the casting of AMs in lead roles. What about the other (BM/AF)? Do yo think blacks in TV-land (of which there are not that many in the behind the scenes decision manking position) are banging the drum to show BM/AF couples? or do you think TV-land is staying away from the potential backlash (from WM and BF) of showing BM/WF couples?
Hollywood writers, producers and studio execs (of which a vast majority are white) of television shows - in the last 2 decades don't seem to have a problem with casting BMs in major roles (pretty much every single drama - "CSI"; "CSI Miami"; "24"; Law & Order"; "Law & Order SVU"; "Lost";"West Wing"; "Cold Case"; "NYPD Blue";"ER"; "JAG"; "Alias"; "Smallville"; Angel"; "What I Like About You"; etc. or even depicting BM/WF couples.BFs, in comparison to BMs, are underrepresented on television (but that's the way it is in a male-dominated Hollywood EXCEPT for when it comes to Asian-Americans - where Asian-Am female roles outnumber that for Asian-AM males).(Btw, "Joy Luck Club" wasn't exactly a film which portrayed Asian males positively nor is Amy Tan known for depicting Asian males other than in a negative light. Nevertheless, it was the studio which had the cold, heratless "skinflint" husband changed from that of a WM, as it was in the novel, to an Asian-Am male.)Regarding BM/AF depictions on TV and in films - there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, it is disturbing when they are more frequent than that of Asian-Am couples (of which there has yet to be one), especially when you look at the demographics.According to the US Census - only 1.2% of married Asian-Am females are married to BMs, and yet this is a more common pairing than that of AAM/AAF.(On "Lost" - the producers/writers were originally going to have Sun leave Jin for Michael).In the last 2 decades, the number and types of portrayals of BMs, HMs (basically white Hispanic) and even gay males has advanced in Hollywood.The one group that seems to get left behind is that of Asian-Am males.
so what do asian and asian american women say about all of this?are asian american men especially annoyed that black men are getting the 'play' on TV now?Oh, on the BM/WF relationships, I think most of those relationships cited (McBeal, ER, etc) ended up failing and didn't last. too often it seemed that the racial difference was key to the existence of the relationship on the show. the longest running, (relatively) well-functioning B/W relationship I remember on TV was the neighbors to George and Weezy Jefferson; it was WM\BF...but he was British and what do those damn foreigners know about good relationships!nicely enough on Grey's Anatomy, the Burke\Yang relationship is more driven by neat vs. messy, although this season we will get the parents of Burke 'surprising' our couple. i have been disturbed by the recent spate of 'let's show black people as bigoted too' movies and shows (like that Bernie Mack movie last year and the 'something different' movie). this has not been the case in my experience. you may not get kissed and slobbered over on your first encounter, but no one will burn a cross on your lawn either.Funny you mention Lost, I was 'smelling' that Sun/Michael thing brewing mid-season, but i bet they were worried about getting rolled by Asian men if they gave up yet another women to a black guy. That would have clearly looked like some sort of 'collusion' or something.
It's not that BMs are getting 'play' now - but that BM/AAF coupling is more frequent than AAM/AAF, even though it is actually a rarity (BM/AAF coupling, in addition to AAM/AAF coupling and AAM/BF coupling would be preferable).(Btw, BMs have always gotten "play" with BFs on television. AAMs have yet to even reach that stage.)
Hi MPG,yet another astonishingly in-depth post. how do you do it? by the by, i did get back to you! you will probably be surprised, but i hope you didn't see it and send it to junk.PS: now i am going to dig into your music list and expand my horizons!
I see you have done your research. There are, or were shows like Jaime Fox, Girlfriends, Moesha and the list goes on of Black oriented sitcoms. Theres an array of Black Producers, Writers and Directors. The point Im making is where are the Asian writers in Hollywood?How is it illogical. I can see if there were not any marriages between BM/AM then your point would could be argueable, You point cant be made with the evidence submitted by Dean. Most Prime time shows do depict Asian Females with white men. More than AM/AF couples. I dont hear you saying that is illogical. Why is it always the show with the BM as the lead man getting all the attention and high ratings. Look at Grace Park on Battle Star Gallactica. Im waiting for that blog. I personaly know a Black DR. married to an Asian Women. Allen Keyes the Black republican wife is also Indian. So how is it illogical? Its just two sitcoms. 1.2 percent AF married to BM, 2 primtimes sitcoms. I feel that logical.
I think it cool if you find love with a asain woman,I did some people people think that asain are ugly because of their eyes are always brown,well I'm black and my eyes are blue and some black people think I look ugly but that's cool I love my asain Boo and little girl she looks more asain then black and I love and I love her sweet brown eyes they look just like her mother one love too us all.
so what do asian and asian american women say about all of this?You are going to get mixed reviews, I hear it all the time. some will be for it, some will be against it. I beginning to think Rinku Sen dates black guys.
Is KashmiriJatt for real?The CDC slides show there are higher percentage of blacks affected by AIDS. and that is all the slides are showing. But immediately KashmiriJatt concludes that it must be because blacks are more promiscuous...I am African and I find this beyond offensive: the misuse of statistics to affirm your racism. And the shame of it is that you are posting on a "hyphen" forum.
Hey AQ,Oy veh. Sorry, I deleted that account cuz I thought you'd peaced out. If you want, you can always leave comments on my site.Meanwhile, I was watching Ugly Betty last night (online) and was intrigued by the WM/BF couple (Wilhemina Slater and the hick guy). On the show, Wilhemina generally has interracial suitors who are younger to her, and she is also a power-businesswoman. I think this is a positive and realistic portrayal of her relationships with men. Women who are non-white and compete in the high-speed arenas of corporate business, medicine, law, etc., generally tend to find a dating pool skewed away from their own race and even age. In the real world, not in college like where I am, there is more opportunity for women to jump scales in terms of who they date. Particularly in urban areas, I feel that women don't necessarily have to confront issues like stigma from the diaspora on interracial dating or dating younger. In George Simmel's terms, that urban blase plays into a woman's ability to be a mobile dater instead of one who has to stay within restricted boundaries of who it is acceptable to date. However, why is it that the only suitor we find acceptable for Wilhemina--a single mother who can most certainly sustain her own extravagant lifestyle without the help of a husband--is a hick from Texas who is in her income bracket, older, white male, a father, and commitment friendly? Is Wilhemina Slater not fulfilling her traditional role unless she gets with a man like that?! *RAWR!!! I don't like it!*On the other hand, getting married to interracial and younger suitors is a decision influenced by the diaspora. Marriage, like in Shakespeare's tragedies, is the joining of two families. When families, meshed in the fabric of both urban and diasporic spaces, get involved, the decisions taken by an interracial couple become complicated by identity politics. As a viewer watching ER's Neela and Michael date, I was okay with it because nothing seemed to interfere with their relationship; they were able to date without letting other people know too much about them. On the other hand, when they decided to get married, the first thought that came to my mind was what will her parents think.-MPG
And I really don't buy the quote from the producer of ER, who says of the two Asian woman-black man couples he's had on his show, "Honestly, we really don't even talk about it or consider that it's an interracial couple."TV is so white, how can you not notice?Maybe he classifies both partners as "colored" in his mind, and doesn't explore beyond that?
I think times are some what changing, as generations go by, people way of thinking will change with time and their surroundings. My Indian female friend in college told me that it was kind of traditional that their Indian parents pick their husbands and wives. Sorry, but im not marrying no one im not in love with. She rebelled against her parenst because she didnt like the guy. I guess she became to westernized for them? Did anyone see the movie "Face"?
Dontnuke, here is what i posted:"showing numerous BM/AF couples is illogical given the reality of American society.showing WM/AF couples is logical given the reality of American society.NOT showing AM/AF couples is illogical given the reality of American society."So i think i have acknowledged and agree that the lack of AM\AF couples is a glaring error (i.e. "illogical"). As an aside, I think you will have a long wait before you see ANY BM/AM "couples" on TV, but I digress.Please name the current MAJOR NETWORK programs which have a continuing AF\WM couple that is more than just 'background decoration' for the show? I am not as rabid a TV watcher as many here seem to be, so I just don't know.I think to try to equate the number of TV shows (and I don't believe I've ever narrowed it down to 'sitcoms') to the percentage of 'couples' of a given type in the US population is valid. To make such a comparison you would need to compare the percentage of regularly occuring 'character couples' (i.e. AF/WM) with the percentage of real world couples.Here is the gist of my observation (stay with me here!):1 - there is a MAJOR UNDER-REPRESENTATAION of AM/AF couples on MAJOR TV when compared to real life. WHY?2 - there is an OVER-REPRESENTATION of BM/AF couples on MAJOR TV today compared to real life. WHY?3 - there is an UNDER-REPRESENTATION of WM/AF couples on MAJOR TV today WHEN COMPARED to the actual percentages in real life.You are correct that there are a number of black-themed shows on TV, but you seem to group together programs which are currently being broadcast with those that have been cancelled. This is misleading - it 'over counts' the level oof representation of the group. You will also note that I do not believe that ANY of the 'black themed' shows you listed include a BM/AF couple (as recurring characters) or BF/AM for that matter. So WHY on shows largely headed by WHITES (not ALL but MOST) are there so many BM/AF couples? You would think that IF these shows are 'controlled' by White Men AND that white men wanted to show their control and dominence over Asian Men, that the shows would have WM/AF couples wouldn't you??But they don't; so I suspect that something else is afoot here. What could it be?????Oh, Dean, it is OBVIOUS that BM would take the dominant role as the mate for BF on TV shows. MOST of the couples that we see on TV are 'race matched' - EXCEPT where Asian men are concerned.And let no one be misled, blacks do not even begin to have a MAJOR role in the writing, directing, casting or producing of TV shows EVEN those that star Black people. Its like pro sports - you can play but you can't own.Anon, do you have a problem with Sen's dating choices?
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1800171560I guess this was the movie that started it all. Mississippi Masala. A young Denzel Washington and a pretty Indian Canadian
"Oh, Dean, it is OBVIOUS that BM would take the dominant role as the mate for BF on TV shows. MOST of the couples that we see on TV are 'race matched' - EXCEPT where Asian men are concerned."That's my whole point (imagine what the reaction would be from the African-American community if all the BF characters were paired with WM (or other non-BMs) or all the WFs were paired with BMs (or other non-WMs).Aside from "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy" which depict AF/BM - the most common pairing on TV (and in movies) have been AF/WM.Many of the producers on “black” shows are white (i.e. – “Girlfriends”). Nevertheless, BMs are represented in many “general audience” shows on television and on Madison Ave. (which is very white).
KashmiriJatthis i a bit late but--With regards to your statistics and sources--let us assume for a moment that it was stated that promiscuity was the discriminating factor, it is beyond naïve to believe that publishers of data do not have an agenda. I am not purporting some sort of diabolical conspiracy theory. Rather, I am simply saying that people have motive. If the IMF published an article of their research on the effects of neo-liberalization would you not take their conclusions with a pinch of salt? I should hope you would especially if the conclussion did not stand up to logicall scrutiny. As such, it is also inane to use sexual promiscuity as the discriminating factor concerning the prevalence of HIV in the African-American (or any) population. The African Americans that I know (and not necessarily personally) are no more sexually promiscuous than their Caucasian counterparts. In fact, in many cases, they are less. However, one very obvious discriminating factor is the possession of knowledge of and use of contraceptive/preventive methods in either party. More often than not white women are better equipped with knowledge about modes of contraception and prevention than non-white women the world around. They also typically have better access to these methods. What more, in the event that a white girl or woman becomes pregnant she or her family is better enabled to “deal with it,” if you will. I have known many more white girls and women who have become pregnant but aborted it than black girls/women who became pregnant and could not for varying social/economic and cultural reasons. White women are also, once again for socio-economic reasons, better equipped to receive treatment when they contract STDs to stop the spread and prolong their lives and health. Moreover, for varying socio-cultural reasons, white women are better able to prevent the contraction of STDs. The position of women the globe around is no where near as nice as it is for white women. The prevalence of domestic rape in Africa and Asia goes without saying. The majority of women who are infected with HIV in these places, are infected by husbands who (ill equipped with knowledge or preventative measures not necessarily more promiscuous than their Caucasian counterparts) come home and infect them. They are not sleeping around or otherwise behaving in a sexually promiscuous manner. Often times, these women are married young and enter into marriage with little to no knowledge of sex, its ramifications and consequences other than the fact that you have sex and you may end up pregnant. They are also ill equipped to say no, meaning they often don’t even have this right legally. I could continue on this subject, but all one needs to do is google (m y verb for research) women’s issues the world around and HIV and the use of and education concerning contraception and prevention to know these things.
think,AMEN.-MPG
Think - you are certainly on point, but I betting that you are talking to deaf ears.
YES, the lack of AM/AF couples on TV is not right, nor is the lack of AM roles in general, but BM/AF couples are not the cause of that and Black writers, producers, directors are not the cause of this. Has the asian community complained about the lack of AM/AF couples on TV? If there were an explosion of BF/WM couples, there might indeed by some outcry from the black community. I think there would be some noise if it was BM/WF too. Where is the asian community's voice regarding AF/non-Asian male couples? One thing that would have to be discussed in the AF/WM isseu is that there IS a significant REAL WORLD couple rate of that mix. Why is that? For AFs to complain would ring a bit hollow.The most common pairing on TV is not AF/WM. the most common is WM/WF. Other than the current Battlestar Gallactica (which I personally don't consider 'major media') what are the current programs with a recurring AF/WM couple that is central to the plot? the almost 'comic concubine' fiasco on Desperate Housewives is something I don't even begin to get. a menage a trois??Think about the underlying message to BW as a result of the BM/AF mushroom - that BW are not desireable to even BM. The same message would appear to be on the agenda for AM.So what do you think is the motivation for showing something that is 'not' - BM/AF couples and NOT showing something that 'is' - WM/AF, BM\WF and AM/AF couples?
I don't think anyone here is decrying the fact that there are BM/AF portrayals - but rather that the Hollywood system continues to avoid the portrayal of AMs as love interests (with females of any race/ethnicity), including African-Am producers (such as Shonda Rhimes of "Grey's Anatomy").Gay AM characters, btw, were fairly common on "black" sitcoms like "Half and Half" and "Girlfriends."There is an outcry about the lack/negative portrayals of Asian-Am males (as well as females) on television, and in particular, with regard to the portrayal of AF/WM in lieu of any AF/AM portrayals.The most common pairing (with regard to Asian-Am characters) is AF/WM.As I have stated AF/WM couplings have appeared in shows like "Beverly Hills 90201"; "Gilmore Girls"; "Malcolm in the Middle"; "The Single Guy"; "Pepper Dennis"; "Coupling"; "Ally McBeal";"Deep Space Nine";"Enterprise"; "Relic Hunter"; etc...to any number of dramas/sitcoms which include guest roles with AFs (in dramas - the theme usually is that of the AF wanting to escape from oppressive AMs and be saved by a "white knight"...to teen shows like "Flight 29 Down", "Suite Life of Zach and Cody" and "Malibu Dreams."There is no danger of BFs beginning to think that they are not desireable to BMs (there are countless TV show, films, videos, etc. which portray BM/BF couples).The reason why there have been a few portrayals of AF/BM couplings is that the "de facto" casting of minorities for the sake of diversity is AF and BM (at the cost of AMs and BFs) - which often leads to their coupling since Hollywood thinks it's being progressive by showing such couplings.
Hollywood is filled with closet racists.
Well if its the White men trying to use black men to dominate The Asian Mans image im lost. Why are female Asian Film makers producing such Movies as "Face" and "Mississippi Masala"? Not White, not Black, but Asian females. Why do media moguls such as Oliver Wang "O" DUB, and Jeff Chang, 2 very well known writers promotes Black culture to Asians? Did you ever think why Rinku Sen did an article on this topic? The world is changing Black people set the trends in America. We always have. Thats why theres success with Black Americans in Hollywood. Hollywood cares for one thing and one thing only, Ratings. Ive never watch a show of ER, or Greys Anatomy like 98 percent of all other Black Americans. Obviously, a lot of Asian tune in. Questioner, BM/AF are not overrepresented, stop hating. That couldnt be further from the truth. 2 shows, 2 louzy shows and everyone thinks Hollywood has gone BM/AF crazy. There are BM/AF marriages. Yes Qustionar, there are. Im living proof of that and countless others. Yes there are more WM/AM couplings but 1.2 Percent of 45 million gives you what. well you do the Math. Thats not counting overseas were its crazy rediculous. Even my white friends make jokes about us and Asian females over here because its thick. The point im making is BM/AF are not overrepresented. Its just 2 shows. Whites are really overrepresented. All the sitcoms, all the movies. I mean lucy liu never dated an Asian guy in any of her movies, All white, So whats the Problem. So look around and you will see. Im sorry that the 2 shows you like happen to have BM/AF relationships. Why dont you give such shows as BattleStar Galactica, Gilmore Girls and Malcom in the Middle a chance. Then you will see how wrong your rhetoric is. Yes Dean you are right. There are some Black oriented shows that have white producers, but still there are some that do not. The Bernie Mac show, Bernie Mac writes a lot of the material for his sitcom. Only Asians can remedy any kind of Stereotypes of Asians in Hollywood. Once an influx of Asian Directors, Writers and Producers set up shop and distribute their brand of entertainment in Hollywood, you will see the end of a lot of this jargon weve been discussing.
BM/AF couples arent overrepresented. i can hardly even remember the number of these couples ive ever seen in the media. DONTNUKEIT is correct. I'm disgusted at the way some asians are so shocked and get all angry at seeing one or two black men date one or two asian girls, as if it's "the last straw" or something. Why is it the "last straw"? Why is it worse than a white guy/asian girl couple. In my opinion its probably BETTER. At least you know the girls not selling out or giving into peer pressure. The asian man issue is separate and i agree there seems to be alot of prejudice against us. but for gods sake lets not start hating on black people.
BM/AF couples are more acceptable to the racist white society. In reality, proportion to their population, there are more WM/AF couples than BM/AF couples. By a long shot. However, showing WM/AF couples on shows is not acceptable to whites, particularly white women and teen girls. Hence, they show the BM/AF couple as in Grey's Anatomy.
BM/AF couples are more acceptable to the racist white society. In reality, proportion to their population, there are more WM/AF couples than BM/AF couples. By a long shot. However, showing WM/AF couples on shows is not acceptable to whites, in particular the racist white women and racist white teen girls who watch these shows. Perhaps reminds them of too many Asian women or girls they know dating white men they had eyes on. Hence, they show the BM/AF couple as in Grey's Anatomy.
1. there is a MAJOR UNDER-REPRESENTATAION of AM/AF couples on MAJOR TV when compared to real life. WHY?AM/AF not generally considered American. George Allen echoed white attitudes when he said welcome to America to a person of Indian origin born and brought up in Virginia.2 There is an OVER-REPRESENTATION of BM/AF couples on MAJOR TV today compared to real life. WHY?Answer: Both happen to be non-white and the attitude among the racist white population is let them screw themselves as long as they dont contaminate white blood. In fact, the TV may be trying to encourage non-white pairings and leave the white people alone. Dont be surprised if the Survivor Show is divided into white and non-white next season. Two white groups and two non-white groups perhaps.3 - there is an UNDER-REPRESENTATION of WM/AF couples on MAJOR TV today WHEN COMPARED to the actual percentages in real life.Answer: Answer: To appease the racist white women and racist white teen girls who watch these shows and who feel threatened by Asian women and mail order brides perpetuating race mixing. If you had watched CSI last year in one particular show, the characters played by Marg Helgenberger and Jorja Fox are furious that a white suspect has an Asian wife and they take great pleasure in proving that this white suspect actually killed someone. White women and white girls are generally less vocal than black girls and black women but they also despise interracial couples, perhaps more so, and that may be another reason why white women are not paired with non-white men in any TV show. Let us not absolve the racist white females and their preferences.
RAJ;I can name quite a few shows with BM/AM couplings. I can only name 2 with BM/AF couplings. How does 2 shows overrepresent BM/AF couplings I do not know. I can name a million shows with WM/AF couplings. There is an underrepresentation AF/AM shows and it is sad. There are a lot of conspiracy theories floating around on this blog.
Racism is still present. In fact, the book "America Deceived" was pulled from Amazon and Wikipedia for racist content (not too mention the unflattering parts about Foxnews anchorwomen). Anyway, black, asian, white, who cares.Last link (before Google Books caves to pressure and pulls the title):America Deceived (book)
Raj - thanks for answering my questions.DontNuke and others - I am not (nor was I) 'hating' on BM/AF couples (I think a ways back I actually said I thought it was good). I was just asking for opinions from 'the readers' as to why they thought this was being presented and (more importantly) why they thought the more 'likely' couple 'configurations' were NOT being presented. Raj addressed this.My point was not that there are too many BM/AF couples on TV, but that COMPARED to the ACTUAL number of BM/AF couples AND WM/AF couples, it seems that MAJOR NETWORK TV is OVERREPRESENTING the BM/AF 'rate'.The fact that AM/AF couples are woefully underrepresented is glaringly obvious.But Raj raised a good point on that which I had not considered - 'Americans' want to see 'Americans' on TV and (to obviously too great an extent) 'Asians' are not 'seen' as American and this perception is amplified when the couple is AM/AF. Asian male actors have almost always been cast in part for their 'asian-ness'. Just look at "Lost": while the couple played by Daniel Kim and Yunjin Kim (or Yoon-jin) is a good thing and the writers have delved into the complexity of their lives and characters, they are 'cast' as 'non-Americans'. Both came to the US as infants\toddlers. They are more 'American' than Arnold Schwarzenegger or Mel Gibson neither of whom grow up here, yet both Gibson and AH-nold would be 'cast' as 'American' far more readily than either 'Kim'.This might deserve some thought as to what goes through OUR collective minds when someone says "He/she is an American". What picture do you get?I suspect that Raj has hit another spot where some of this current 'couple casting' is driven by. It is unlikely that TV writers are completely immune to or ignorant of the occassional rigor\rancor of debate regarding AF\WM couples ('yellow fever', 'fetish' or 'snow blindness', 'banana') - from both the Asian community and white women. So they may have chosen to 're-cast' the situation so as to avoid (potentially) offending either group. This is similar to the consideration that must be taken into account when representing WM/BF couples - the legacy of slavery and forced (sexual) servitude often bubbles to the surface.Now DontNuke would you be so kind as to list all of those network programs that have Black Male/Asian Male (BM/AM) couples that you say so readily exist. Given that there are very few Male/Male (aka 'homosexual') couples on MAJOR NETWORK TV, the odds that there are many BM/AM versions seems unlikely. Please don't cite some program that comes on SF cable at 2 AM. That isn't MAJOR NETWORK TV. Also, I doubt that you can name 1000 shows with AF/WM couples that are CURRENTLY BEING BROADCAST. (This means do not list shows that are no longer on).
Raj - thanks for answering my questions.DontNuke and others - I am not (nor was I) 'hating' on BM/AF couples (I think a ways back I actually said I thought it was good). I was just asking for opinions from 'the readers' as to why they thought this was being presented and (more importantly) why they thought the more 'likely' couple 'configurations' were NOT being presented. Raj addressed this.My point was not that there are too many BM/AF couples on TV, but that COMPARED to the ACTUAL number of BM/AF couples AND WM/AF couples, it seems that MAJOR NETWORK TV is OVERREPRESENTING the BM/AF 'rate'.The fact that AM/AF couples are woefully underrepresented is glaringly obvious.But Raj raised a good point on that which I had not considered - 'Americans' want to see 'Americans' on TV and (to obviously too great an extent) 'Asians' are not 'seen' as American and this perception is amplified when the couple is AM/AF. Asian male actors have almost always been cast in part for their 'asian-ness'. Just look at "Lost": while the couple played by Daniel Kim and Yunjin Kim (or Yoon-jin) is a good thing and the writers have delved into the complexity of their lives and characters, they are 'cast' as 'non-Americans'. Both came to the US as infants\toddlers. They are more 'American' than Arnold Schwarzenegger or Mel Gibson neither of whom grow up here, yet both Gibson and AH-nold would be 'cast' as 'American' far more readily than either 'Kim'.This might deserve some thought as to what goes through OUR collective minds when someone says "He/she is an American". What picture do you get?I suspect that Raj has hit another spot where some of this current 'couple casting' is driven by. It is unlikely that TV writers are completely immune to or ignorant of the occassional rigor\rancor of debate regarding AF\WM couples ('yellow fever', 'fetish' or 'snow blindness', 'banana') - from both the Asian community and white women. So they may have chosen to 're-cast' the situation so as to avoid (potentially) offending either group. This is similar to the consideration that must be taken into account when representing WM/BF couples - the legacy of slavery and forced (sexual) servitude often bubbles to the surface.Now DontNuke would you be so kind as to list all of those network programs that have Black Male/Asian Male (BM/AM) couples that you say so readily exist. Given that there are very few Male/Male (aka 'homosexual') couples on MAJOR NETWORK TV, the odds that there are many BM/AM versions seems unlikely. Please don't cite some program that comes on SF cable at 2 AM. That isn't MAJOR NETWORK TV. Also, I doubt that you can name 1000 shows with AF/WM couples that are CURRENTLY BEING BROADCAST. (This means do not list shows that are no longer on).

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