Why Jeremy Lin Will Change The Sex Lives of Asian-American Men Forever
The NBA phenom could put an end to a lot of dumb stereotypes.
By Chaweon Koo
The first time I heard of Jeremy Lin was in a KevJumba video from a few months ago. And unless you're Asian-American, I don't expect you to know about KevJumba. Thus, I don't expect you to understand exactly what Linsanity really means to the hordes of Asian-Americans who are saying, "Finally." For me, "finally" comes in the form of relief that I can stop justifying why I've always liked/preferred Asian men. Most of my boyfriends have been Asian, and my current boyfriend (not Asian) gets jealous when I gush about Asian-American guys. I never did understand all the videos and stories about how Asian guys can't get girls, aren't good looking, etc. — stories that have been internalized by not only the Asian-American guys, but also the girls.
Can Jeremy Lin change all that? Is he a new vanguard for Asian-American sex symbols? I think most women my age, being honest with themselves, wouldn't kick Jeremy Lin out of bed. (Forget the #Linsanity, and imagine that strapping young man warming your sheets.) Asian men, especially Asian-American men, have rarely achieved sex-symbol status. Not that long ago, I'd often hear women say, "I'm just not attracted to Asian men — they're not [some adjective related to masculinity] enough."
But recently, even before Jeremy Lin's emergence, I've seen signs that that's changing. In the past few years, YouTube has sprouted videos of American girls proclaiming their love for Asian-American guys. I know a white girl who only dated Asian-American men and is now married to one. In her words, "Asian-American guys are hot and any girl who doesn't see it is blind."
The environment is ripe for someone like Lin to start eviscerating tired stereotypes. Even in twenty-first-century America, mainstream media still portrays Asian men as dweeby Long Duk Dongs (exhibit A: 2 Broke Girls), or as chaste martial-arts masters. Lin is none of the above. He's created a refreshingly new category: a good-looking American guy who happens to be of Asian descent.
And the best part is, there are Jeremy Lins everywhere in America. You can find gorgeous Asian-American guys making espressos at chic coffee bars. Flipping through men's magazines at Barnes & Noble. Smack-talking with buddies while playing Xbox games. Walking their female friends to their cars. Playing a vigorous pick-up game at the local Y, sweat languorously sliding down their necks. Go search YouTube for videos of Jeremy Lin, pre-Knicks fame. You can watch him eat a breakfast of steak and potatoes at Denny's — just a regular dude, with, you know, a smoking body.
After Lin scored thirty-eight points against the Lakers, FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock tweeted "Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple of inches of pain tonight." I don't know what sort of loving he's been experiencing, but I've been witness to a spectrum of both Asian and non-Asian penae, and to be totally honest, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Science says that our brain filters what we seek. If you're looking to buy a Porsche, your brain will find Porsches you never noticed before. So, if Jeremy Lin makes an impression on you, don't be surprised if other hot Asian-American guys start coming into your life. And don't worry if you find yourself shaking your fist at the cruel fates for not allowing you to see these gorgeous men before; better late than never.
Want to meet a six-foot-three-inch Asian-American professional basketball player? No promises, but give Hooksexup Dating a shot and we'll see what we can do.
Commentarium (84 Comments)
There was a surge of optimism years ago about breaking this stereotype. Newsweek even did a thing about it! It didn't pan out.
Still have the same problem though.. is it Lin yet?
well, the only people prolonging Asian stereotypes are Hollywood. yes, the network that brought us the most offensive Asian stereotype in the hit show 2 Broke Girls, in this 21st century btw. Only people that have never met Asian American still have such stereotypical view.
is 2 broke girls a hit? I thought everybody agreed that it was stupid and offensive.
Unfortunately, it's a hit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Broke_Girls#Ratings
Whitney also made a crack at Asians. Now I can't even watch it on mute.
I'm married to an Asian and have Asian children. I really like the show 2 Broke Girls. It's funny. Get over yourselves.
listen up you liberal bitches, it has nothing to do with TV. Chicks find asian men the least masculine. Maybe that shit will change one day.
Check this article - condoms are too big for men of the asian subcontinent.
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6161691.stm
"The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture."
Get over it you uber liberal children.
New Asian guy on two broke girls tonight is HOT! Take that!!
Buck Nasty - as an Asian man, I can assure you that condoms are not too big for me.
Excellent. That's the nature of statistics however. Valid only in a large sample size. A sample size of 1 is piss poor. Sling that dick homey.
I'm white and have always preferred Asian guys because I don't like hairy men...size has never been an issue so I think that is just a stereotype...
Buck Nasty -I've read about that study and first off Indian is different than East Asian. Secondly, the mean difference between white populations and Asian populations in terms of penis size is less than an inch. Which means there are lots of Asian guys bigger than white guys. I think maybe YOU are the one with trouble understanding statistics?
thats a bunch of crapola 'nn' race does NOT determine your d__k size.Typical white guy bashing b___tch aren't ya now? Tis thread isn't about white men but you went there and those penis size studies you see online are bs.Propaganda
nn you're an ignorant fuck. Chug some more cock and maybe your neurons and synapses will start firing, driving you to increase your knowledge.
Buck Nasty- I've seen that article a few years back, but I think you're a bit confused. Indians are not Asians, but in fact are Caucasoid. They share some blood line with Arabs, but almost none with Mongoloids.
Nigahiga yo. He is way hot!
Hell to the yeah")
I have a big thing for asian guys. I didn't watch Takashi Miike's "Crows Zero" twice in one weekend because I'm such a huge fan of fistfights... And the reason I watch Glee has little to do with Lea Michele's singing voice and a LOT to do with Harry Shum jr. Harry, you and me we should be dancing in the sheets...
Just like how Morgan Freeman changed the world of sex narration, and Beckham changed the perception of bad-toothed Englishmen.
This article is hilarious.
Thanks for giving some love to Asian men (figuratively, not literally). Except in California, which boasts a huge Asian-American population, Asian-American men definitely are stereotyped as less masculine.
Interesting topic, but this piece seemed a little weird to me. I was expecting an analysis and critique of mainstream American culture's construction of masculinity. Instead this piece just gushes "Asian-American guys are hot and any girl who doesn't see it is blind." It's nice that you some of your friends like Asian American men, and its too bad that some of them don't. I'm not sure that information makes for a thought-provoking article.
Yeah, this article left a weird taste in my mouth too. There are so many interesting facets to the Linsanity phenomenon (social constructions of masculinity, institutionalized racism in the media, etc), and you decided to run with "Jeremy Lin is cool because he brings mainstream credibility to my personal racial fetish"? Hmm.
I think everybody knows that some people have racial fetishes, while others don't. The fact that a hot Asian athlete happens to be popular right now isn't going to change that. It may, however, provide an interesting commentary on race as it filters through our ridiculous media, and I would've enjoyed reading about that rather than your "omg azn doods r HAWT!" fangirling.
This. A thousand times. I like Asian men too, but like JCB said, I expected a deconstruction of race and masculinity and media. Instead I read a self-expressive diary piece that felt more like fetishization than analysis.
I agree this article sounds like it was written by a high school sophomore between 7th period and anime club. Why would you name your article this and then proceed to discuss absolutely nothing about Lin's actual influence on the perception of Asian men except a joke suggesting that he has a small cock? She only includes a video that doesn't relate at all to him when just searching "Jeremy Lin sexy" on Twitter yields multiple results including a LOT of white dudes claiming he's not. That would be an angle: her own preference for Asian dudes, which predated Linsanity entirely, is not.
I find asian men (I'm caucasian) as appealing or attractive as anyone else and normally wouldn't have thought much of it until I was talking with 5 of my female asian friends (I live in Vancouver) and I once asked them if they had ever dated asian guys (since they were all in long term relationships with white men and I had never seen any of them date asian men). None of them had ever had any attraction to other asian men and none had ever dated another asian man (their ages ranged from 23 - 48). They just didn't find them attractive - Canadian born or foreign born. I have a classmate who is on exchange from Japan and even she really does not like asian men - she says she doesn't like their hair and they all look like chickens. Not my words, it's just what people have told me.
Sadly its a common preconception. Hey - that's life. Work with what you've got. Just work that giant wang.
Ali. This phenomenon you observe, I think, has a lot to do with positive portrayal of white men in the media and hence the perception of women. In addition white are thought of having better potential of earn higher income then men of colors. And by nature women are genetically look for security--economic or otherwise.
I'm from Vancouver too and as an Asian guy I'm only noticed by the things I own that make me appear white-r. Canadian-born Asian women have pointed out that they like what I study, the music I like, and my car because they are significantly more white than anything else. Foreign Asian women won't even look twice at me when they see I'm not driving a high end sports car. And Caucasian women, well, I've yet to make a mark on their radars, that I know of.
It's a fact that Asian men have smaller penises than non-Asian men. Just because you didn't notice, doesn't mean that it isn't true.
Your statement is that all Asian men have smaller penises than all non-Asian men, which is not what Google says. Besides, if it attraction simply boils down to penis size, this culture has worse problems than not finding Asian men attractive.
That "smaller" statistic refers to minor differences in the mean of a bell curve. The variation from individual to individual is so much larger than that difference that it's practically irrelevant.
Broseph - go take a statistics class or stop trying to be offended.
"more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms."
I've only had sex with black guys and Asian guys. I never measured their penises so I can't say who is bigger but I can tell you that I never had an orgasm with the black guys. The Asian guys were better and more attentive in bed. How's that for stereotyping?! Just my anecdotal experience.
That proves my point....
In reply, to 'ugh''s comment, this is where stereotypes are both a blessing and a curse. Certain black men will feel like they are super masculine, with a big dick (which for guys means they assume they MUST be awesome in bed), so they won't feel the need to make as much (if any) effort.
An Asian man on the other hand, who is regularly faced with stereotypes about how feminine and unattractive he is, will go the extra mile to prove that he is...Well, "worthy" for lack of a better term. Which translates into being more attentive in bed.
I've notice that China and India have the largest populations in the world. So where's the correlation? None.
Gwen, while that may be true for some Asian men, I rightfully disagree with you. I, as an Asian male, please my gf because I love her, because I want her to feel the same thing that I feel. I never once thought that I had to prove myself to her, or anyone, for that matter. I know what I am capable of, and if a mate is skeptical about my abilities because of stereotypes, I am evermore glad when the surprise reveals itself. While I am speaking for myself, I believe there are other AM who agrees with me.
About the article at hand, Jeremy Lin may spark a major change in the perception of AM, but he is not, and should not be, the only AM making a change. Each and every AM influences the way other people see us. How will you change their perceptions?
https://theasianobservation.blogspot.com/2012/02/jeremy-lin-effect-what-i...
"GoogleIt": Please do stop your hateful bashing. Trolling is obviously not going to get you anywhere. Racism isn't going to cut it either. (Truly, I do wonder why Asian women are less interested in Asian men than women of other ethnicities? Perhaps all that will change in a few years.)
This article is beyond dumb. If you want to talk about how Asians are hot fine, but don't bring Jeremy Lin into it. As probably the only person here into sports I knew from his first interview, and if you did just the slightest bit of internet research, he is a hardcore Christian. Tim Tebow-esque. He would want NO part of being a sex symbol. I bet Jeremy Lin would hate this article because it stands for 0% of what he stands for. Learn about something before you write about it sheesh. Oh, and for the record the Knicks suck.
Blah,blah blah.....the article sounds like it was written by a 13 yr old girl w/ a crush.If this had been an article written by a white gal singing the praises of how white men are the greatest and sooooo hot this thread would be full of "you are a racist","there is beauty in men of all races","you're a xenophobe" etc comments.As far as asians go they are like only 5% of thge US pop which would make asian guys aprox: 2.5% demo maybe? Thats why they are not equally rep'd in the media.I also always hear about how white guys are taking all of the asian women away crap.That too is bull most white guys are married to ww (like 94%),or dating or cohabitating with white women fwiw.
It wouldn't really be hard to "take all the Asian women away" as you put it. Asian women only make up, what? 2.5% of the American population, with black women making up about 6%. Considering that number you put leaves 6% of white men unaccounted for, a lot of them will still be dating/marrying outside of their race.
seriously I don't really know why it's still socially acceptable to generalize about finding one race more attractive than the others in such broad terms. Yes, people prefer certain races based on appearance, but this article seems to suggest the only option other than excluding Asian men on the basis of masculinity is to fetishize them, AND it posits masculinity as the one reason women would have for rejecting any man. Can't we judge people on an individual basis?
Yeah, I was coming here to say this. It's super creepy and fetishizing when white guys say "I'm only attracted to Asian women"; why is it a good thing in this article that a white girl "has only ever dated Asian men and is married to one". Limiting your dating pool to one race is creepy whether that race is stereotyped as attractive or not.
Well white women are reprobates and have been kicked off their pedastal and they cannot freaking handle it.If white women do not like it go date a blk guy or whatever.The reign of the white woman is over.Feminist trash white women what a joke.Im a white guy and i h8 white women.Burned too many bridges ladies and now.you.are.done
...wow. The freaks really came out for this article.
travis77, you sound like the kind of person who could wind up walking into a public building and shooting 30 people. It scares me to know there are people in the world that would say they hate millions of people they've never met. You should seriously get help.
Pickle: Why is it "creepy" only when white guys are attracted to Asian women? Is it also "creepy" when black men are attracted to white women? Have you ever heard of a preference? Do you think it's a choice? Have you ever looked up the word "fetish" in the dictionary? Asian women are people, not objects. If I had to guess, I would guess that you are an older, white, likely unattractive woman that is threatened by white men (the men _you_ are attracted to, so not a "fetish" or "creepy" at all), finding Asian women attractive. Perhaps if some people stopped worrying about what other people find attractive or the penis length of other people, their own attractiveness would increase.
James: Pickle didn't say it's creepy for white men to be attracted to asian women. She said it's creepy when white men say they are only attracted to asian women. I think she was referring to the psychological assumptions that often spur this situation in the first place (that asian women are passive, childlike, exotic etc.) And she uses the word fetish because, when you make these kinds of assumptions about people, you are in fact fetishizing/objectifying them.
I know sexual preferences and fetishes form without our permission, and I don't think people should fight them (unless they are leading you to degrade others in some way). But it sounds like you've gotten some crap about your preference for asian women and your projecting it onto Pickle (and insulting her/him unnecessarily, as a defensive gesture). I hope you're not the kind of guy who thinks that every comment women make about others come from a place of jealousy/insecurity. And trust me, not all asian women are thrilled by white men who claim only asian women are attractive.
I for one was happy to read this article. I'm a white girl who is mostly attracted to Asian men; that's not to say I've never found a guy of another race attractive, but I do have a preference. The comments I get when I tell people this are pretty unbelievable, especially considering I live in a liberal area. People say things like, "they're too girly for me" or "aren't they...you know...small?" If I, as someone who just likes Asian guys, hears that stuff all the time, imagine what the men themselves are hearing. I've know my share of guys who are really beaten down by this, and it's hard to see. In a way, I'm glad my current boyfriend was born and raised in Korean so that he didn't internalize these kind of misconceptions. And by the way, although I hate to get crude, he has 8 inches. Take that stereotypes.
I understand your point, but if you're allowed to be physically attracted to Asian men above men of other races, other people are allowed to find them unattractive for the same reasons. That's the nature of the beast with racial fetishes: people don't choose them. They represent a conflation of many forces, some of which are genetic, and some of which are socially constructed. And we need to be examining these social constructions when they boil to the surface of our collective consciousness (as they are in a big way with this whole Linsanity mess.)
But to reduce a potentially interesting deconstruction to a rant about your personal racial fetish is to sweep all those factors away in favor of something much less interesting. This isn't about you and your boyfriend. As loudly as you can shout "Asian men are hot!", other people can shout "No they're not!", and both sides have equal validity and we STILL haven't addressed what lies beneath. You've got ESPN making jokes in 20-fucking-12 about "a chink in the armor" and we're still arguing about dick size? Come on people.
Great point, thank you for taking the time to articulate!
JCB I mean
@meanwhile white guys continue to bang asian women like its going outta style.
Asian men are just not attractive to me.
White men however--Good lord !
Can anyone explain why in America in 2012 it is still okay to make racist anti-Asian jokes, when just about any other ethnic group it would be absolutely unacceptable?
Too bad for Michael Richards he went off on African Americans. If only he had made a racist anti-Asian rant, he probably could have gotten a TV deal with NBC.
Enough with the f*%^$%^ racism and the so-called "humor" which is just more racist crap.
Who says its okay?
Good job playing basketball! But I don't see anybody's penis getting any bigger.
I don't think this article did anything to counteract racial stereotypes when it comes to Asian men. If anything, it exacerbates them. Anyone who lets themselves feel manly because they THINK their penis may be bigger than someone else's of another race, is either an idiot, or is lousy enough in bed that he doesn't realize that the important thing is only three inches in...It need not be any bigger than that.
I feel like someone made up that 'small penis' stereotype, because they were insecure about their own race.
And since everyone went there anyways, I'm going to say that I personally choose to date outside my race for the simple reason that men who are not the same race as you try just a little harder to keep you happy. That is not a racially exclusive trait.
And I agree with the person who asked why we can't just get to know people instead of having to rely on the preconceived notions that TELEVISION has given us about them.
"...I personally choose to date outside my race for the simple reason that men who are not the same race as you try just a little harder to keep you happy."
Umm, whaaat? Wow.
Gotta love talking about race. the more people try to sound educated and "post-racial," the more they reveal just how prejudiced they are. Saying you prefer dating other races because they work harder to keep your precious white ass makes you sound like a plantation-era slave owner fucking her field hands, you crazy woman.
Seriously, everybody knows about KevJumba. I've been watching his videos since I was 14, and I'm black. You don't have to be Asian to know about Asian comedians. Not everyone is sooo self-centered that they'll only watch a video if someone who looks EXACTLY like them is in it.
Everyone knows about Kevjumba, this is a super-weird article though.
Im a liberal white woman and ill bend over 4 anything!
Why are so many people reducing this whole issue to penis size? (or at least it seems, so many of the guys... I'm not sure why Buck Nasty is so irrationally obsessed with the size of other men's penises)? I generally need to check off a fair amount of other attraction factors before I even get close to knowing what a man has in his pants. That's where all of the other interesting stuff comes in vis-a-vis perceptions of Asian men as desirable romantic/sexual partners, i.e. social constructs of masculinity, institutional and internalized racism, stereotypes, etc.
I respect and realize that most people have general preferences, but I'm always suspicious of people who are hung up on only dating members of a certain race, whether it's their own or a different one. There's obviously stereotypes and simplified thinking coming into that, and often fetishization and exoticizing. I doubt you would want someone to date you based on ideas they may have about your race (even positive ones), so accord your potential partners the same respect. Also, there's such a range of beauty in the human race... I don't see how people could limit themselves to just a narrow field of it, or not see that range at all.
right on Dea ! but for Ixie, who stated that her korean BF has eight inches............well, I have only one thing to say, when your lying, make it more beleivable !, even out of all the Asian races, koreans have the smallest, your Inferiority Complex on dating a 'small' Korean is too obvious !!!
I hope so! The media has far too long either ignored or worse marginalized Asian American men.
Unfortunately, you can start to see some of the anti-Asian backlash against Jeremy Lin when he lost to the Heat. Lots of racism going on. https://www.asianmanwhitewoman.com/heather/editorial/the-jeremy-lin-backl...
It will take time for people's perceptions of AMs to change.
oh boy would you like some cheese with your whine? The only person holding you back is YOU.You are no more demonized then white men (who ironically these days are made to look like the jack-ass on every other tv commercial)
This article is dumb.
im beyond sick of hearing how whitey is responsible for keeping the black man down or asian men down.Oh yes it must be that institutional racism at work right? The problem is you have a defeatist attitude and you blame everyone but yourselves.People who run around calling others racist are usually themselves the biggest racists.Get over it in 2012 america you have the same d%mn opportunities as anyone else and you've also gotten a leg up BECAUSE of your races period
You know, I think the Fox news network is looking for a new on-air personality. If your comments here accurately represent your opinions and editorial style, you should really apply. Don't worry, the lack of background in journalism won't hinder your chances.
Andrea
You're obviously totally clueless because you don't know what minorities go through. Even in these comment posts you can find 4-5 racists going out of their way trying to "contain" the positive fallout Jeremy's breakout. Jeremy Lin own story of outperforming at every level yet getting no scholarships almost cut out of the NBA obviously had something to do with racial preconceptions. Deniers like Andrea seek to slow down progress by saying everything is perfect
Two problems: 1) Jeremy Lin is not good looking. He just isn't. Has nothing to do with his race. 2) Lin is a serious Catholic - the Jesus-this, Jesus-that kind. That is just about the least hot thing on Earth.
I think Jeremy Lin is really handsome, dylanmac. To each their own.
Did this page specifically turn into facebook because there is a shitload of crazy stirring about that I would normally expect there. Then again, this is the internet. Nowhere is safe.
I'm just going to listen/read and agree to everything JCB writes.
As a white male, I find Asian women are smoking hot. That's all I have to contribute.
Well, you better be careful with that comment one of these jealous white chicks may come along and accuse you of preying upon asian women for their "supposed submissive-ness" and then they will label you as being a misogynist,racist and white woman hater.Keep bangin' away on women of the asian persuasion my friend-The tighter the better!
Asians are great, but you're not dating one now?
i not instrested.. i like friend wif europe.. im like prison.
I am a white female and my last 3 boyfriends have all been of asian heritage and are all super HOT!! all over 6ft tall and not lacking anywhere!! Love you Jeremy Lin!!
Is and forever will be relative more than subjective, because if I had to pay taxes on my size, it wouldn't be perfect, but you have to be intelligent to get this joke, unfortunately. For the ones who use this sensationalized information as a tool to belittle and or manipulate a situation to influence some sort of outcome, then you're just another bottom feeder subject to Hooksexup's ploy to not care about what brings "site traffic" to their domain so the web group can all keep their jobs.
I love blondes.
I love how Asian men can jerk it endlessly to white women and talk about it online and be considered as heroes but all white men must all be creeps because we prefer Asian women.
Fuck all of you.
Now you say something