Bruce Lee might well be turning over in his grave to the news that they’ve finally gotten around to doing a porn parody of him.

That’s right, Bruce Lee XXX: A Porn Parody is set to be released on July 20, the anniversary of the martial arts star’s death in 1973. The adult video will star Keni Styles, a Thai import via Great Britain who’s the only Asian male starring in straight porn movies produced by a major studio in the United States

At least a white actor hasn’t been cast to play Lee, which wouldn’t have been a surprise because in porn size does matter, and the overarching stereotype is that Asian guys don’t measure up. There are very few Asian American men starring on mainstream TV and movies, but in straight porn, they were totally missing in action until Styles came along.

Having a heterosexual Asian-male porn star could be construed as a sign that some of those stereotypes are falling by the wayside. In some ways it’s also an affirmation or a reclamation of the masculinity of Asian American men.

This is Asian American studies professor Darrell Hamamoto’s theory, and he produced a short porn film with an Asian American male and female couple to try and prove his point. (See my story on Salon.com. No photos but content might be NSFW.) A few other Asian American men have made some inroads (Asian men are common in gay porn, more fodder for stereotyping), but Styles is the first to make it big, so to speak, in straight porn.

The image of Asian males in American society has been discussed and dissected for years, and I’ve done my fair share. But no porn movie is going to make the myriad of racial and sexual stereotypes about Asian American men and women go away. Styles probably is on track with what he said in Jeff Yang’s Asian Pop story:

"I often interact a lot with Asian American guys in online forums, talking about the issues they face. And many of them really feel hard done by American culture -- they feel unattractive, they feel defeated. While I have a lot of empathy, there's a sense in which this is self-inflicted. I didn't grow up in the States; I don't know first-hand what they've been through. But I can say, I didn't have an easy street of it myself, and you know, I've overcome."

Styles seems to be exuding confidence and living life to the fullest. There’s no reason why all Asian American men can’t do the same ... even if they don't want to be porn stars.