Jump to content

Are Asian Men Sexy?


Lucky
This topic is 6830 days old and is no longer open for new replies.  Replies are automatically disabled after two years of inactivity.  Please create a new topic instead of posting here.  

Recommended Posts

Posted

Given that there are not a lot of Asian leading men in movies or television, a columnist for sfgate.com discusses whether Asian men are considered sexy in the world at large. Why is George Clooney the sexiest man alive? Do you have to be a rice queen to appreciate Asian men sexually? Personally, I don't think Asian men are sexier than any other group or race, except when they are. Here's Jeff Yang's opinion:

 

ASIAN POP

Do you think we're sexy?

By Jeff Yang, Special to SF Gate

 

Thursday, November 22, 2006

 

As George Clooney celebrates his second time around as People's "Sexiest Man Alive," Jeff Yang looks at the status of Asian men in American culture. From Gedde Watanabe in "16 Candles" to Daniel Dae Kim in "Lost," it seems like the image of Asian male has come a long way, baby. Or ... has it?

 

Flipping through my glossy copy of People's annual "Sexiest Man Alive" issue (Double sized! Over 200 hunks-a hunks-a burnin' love inside!) has led me to a couple of quick conclusions. The first is that George Clooney is, indeed, a piping-hot serving of manwich. I mean, I'm a straight, married male with a kid, but I can still see how if I were of a different gender or sexual orientation, I'd have great difficulty throwing Clooney out of bed for eating whole-grain Tuscan crostini.

 

The second is that, even so, Clooney is not even close to my pick for the Sexiest Man Alive. In fact, I wouldn't even call him the sexiest man in the Nov. 27, 2006, edition of People. That's because the issue also contains Yul Kwon, described by People's editors in interviews as a Sexiest Man Alive "finalist" and profiled in the mag's section on "Sexy Men in Sexy Environments."

 

Clooney is smart, funny, owns an Italian villa, and is the kind of sharply dressed man that ZZ Top correctly noted every woman's crazy 'bout. But Kwon is another creature entirely -- a genetic specimen so undeniably ideal (at least in comparison to yours truly, as both wife and mother have hinted) that he prompts thoughts of the classic comedy "Twins."

 

This is Yul: classically sculpted features, egg-carton abs, able to reconstruct civilization on a desert island with nothing more than a pair of coconuts and a feral chicken. And this is me: laughably doughy features, egg-shaped physique, desperately trying to file a piece on sexy Asian guys before my editor sends burly men to snap my fingers like takeout chopsticks. It shouldn't be difficult to identify who's the Arnie and who's the Danny in this comparison.

 

"The thing about Yul that's compelling is that he's smart, he's strong, he's a leader, but he knows when to show strength and when to be restrained, and God, look at those abs," says Cynthia Wang, People's associate L.A. bureau chief. "Everyone was saying, 'Wow, we can't miss that man, the way he looks, the way he behaves -- he's got to be part of this issue.' And as both an Asian American and, admittedly, a reality TV junkie, it's great to see that."

 

There are other Asian men in the Sexiest Man Alive issue, too -- including "Harold and Kumar"'s John Cho, "Lost"'s Daniel Dae Kim and Hong Kong pop idol/"Grudge 2" star Edison Chen. In fact, if you take it at face value that People magazine is a reflection of, well, people and their attitudes toward mainstream popular culture, you'd have to say that the image of Asian men has taken an enormous leap forward in the two decades since the "Sexiest Man" issue was inaugurated (with the original honor going to Mel Gibson -- lo, how the mighty have fallen).

 

Not So Fast, a Bit More Furious?

 

Of course, not everyone buys into that line of reasoning. Take for example Ethan Lee, UC Berkeley grad and creator of a buzzed-about new Web comic called Single Asian Female, which he calls an attempt to encapsulate some of what he learned in his Asian American Studies classes into "a form that's easy to read and understand."

 

If it seems a little weird for guy to be writing a strip called Single Asian Female, well, Lee says it's because he wanted to talk about issues that could only be effectively expressed from the point of view of an Asian American woman -- "like the story about Asian females getting hit on by white guys with Asian fetishes."

 

Also, as some on the Web have suggested, people are a lot more likely to read a strip with an Asian American female protagonist -- just like they're more willing to watch news with an Asian American anchor, or more likely to accept an Asian woman as a romantic lead.

 

"Asian men are still stereotyped as geeky, sexless losers, including by some Asian American women," says Lee. "I remember that even in my Asian American Studies classes, there were two or three Asian women who bragged how they only date white men. I distinctly remember one of them saying, 'I'm afraid an Asian man might beat me,' and another saying, 'Well, I've always been attracted to the Abercrombie and Fitch model type.'"

 

But, I ask him, is that really representative? Even if there are attitudes like that out there, it's hard to think that those are really the norm today. Certainly things have changed in the past 20 years, with society moving -- slowly -- toward a more progressive, inclusive standard of beauty, right?

 

Lee doesn't think so. "Go to any newsstand, and just stand back and look at the magazine rack," he says. "Over 90 percent of the people looking back are going to be white. If you exclude Beyonce, Oprah and a bunch of athletes, you're talking more like 99 percent. That's what Asian Americans internalize when they think about who's sexy, about who they want to get with. They think: 'White people are sexy, and we want to get it on with a guy like George Clooney.'"

 

Jeff Adachi, San Francisco public defender and producer/director of "The Slanted Screen," a documentary exploring the evolution of the Asian male image in film and television, is somewhat more sanguine. "Slanted Screen" also makes the case that representation in media both reflects and impacts societal attitudes -- but Adachi believes that the worst excesses of Hollywood history are behind us, and a new breed of Asian American actors, producers and directors is crashing the show-biz gates in a way that's not only increasing the number of Asians in film and on TV but reframing the way we're being portrayed as well.

 

"Historically, it's true, Hollywood tended to take three steps forward and two steps back," he says. "But we're positioned now to make much larger gains than in the past. You look at this younger generation of Asian Americans, who didn't grow up immersed in civil rights, and the idea of being constrained by race is completely foreign to them. ["Mad TV" cast member] Bobby Lee, he told me he never auditions for an Asian role, because he knows he's not going to get it -- it's going to go to the really good-looking Asian guy. So he only auditions for 'white' roles -- and he gets them, because he's funny and talented and doesn't have any baggage. He went out for a commercial that was looking for a 'mountain man,' a guy living out by himself in the wilderness, and he said he was the only person of color to show up for the audition. Everyone else was a big, bearded Caucasian guy. And he got the role."

 

I'm Too Sexy (for This Column)

 

That brash, damn-the-torpedoes, what-do-I-have-to-lose sensibility isn't just a blueprint for storming the gates of Hollywood; it's also a critical ingredient in the recipe for masculine sex appeal, regardless of race, ethnicity and culture. A nation of emo boys notwithstanding, being comfortable with who you are, even defiantly so, can make the gnarliest of dudes a lovebeast of epic proportions. It's what makes mirror-shattering rock stars like Mick Jagger, Steve Tyler and Ric Ocasek such model magnets (well, that and a few million in the bank).

 

"I think if you compare the general demeanor and attitudes of young Asian American men now, versus a generation ago -- when people like you and me were coming of age -- you'll find a lot more self-confidence," says Oliver Wang, cultural critic, assistant professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach, and fellow blogger at the Asian American papa community Rice Daddies. "Not that we've reached the promised land of secure masculinity yet. Hell, what men have?"

 

Karin Chien, producer of "The Motel" and "Robot Stories," agrees. "Sexiness comes from within," she says. "It's confidence and power and success and humor all rolled up into one big package. Sexiness is knowing that you're hot, no matter what anyone else in the room -- or anyone at People magazine -- says."

 

Which brings me to my biggest reflection upon perusing this year's "SMA." Clooney isn't the sexiest man in the issue. But Yul Kwon, for all of his drop-forged perfection, isn't, either. From my humble perspective, 2006's Sexiest Man Alive is none other than Masi Oka, breakout star of the hit show "Heroes."

 

I've dropped a lot of love on "Heroes" recently, not only because I'm an addict of the program but because I think it captures the zeitgeist in a way that other series -- including the desperate denizens of Wisteria Lane and the Other-haunted castaways of "Lost" -- do not. We live in a time when we're searching for heroes. But in searching for them, we're also redefining them, casting them in new and more mundane images. We don't want flash, we want familiarity. We're seeking the extraordinary, but with an accent on the ordinary.

 

The heroic quest of Oka's character, Hiro Nakamura, isn't just saving the world; it's reframing the cultural dialogue on masculinity and sexual appeal, and reinventing the notion of heroism itself. Recent episodes have shown a new side to Hiro -- his romantic streak -- and my friends and I hope that the show's writers let him succeed in his chivalrous journey to save his perky soul mate, a Texas greasy-spoon waitress with superhuman mnemonic powers. (And yes, she's white, though interracial relationship issues seem refreshingly abstracted in "Heroes" -- there are at this count three significant trans-ethnic couples in the series, with nary a single reference yet to race, which, depending on your perspective, is either a sign of more tolerant times or proof positive that the show exists in a parallel universe.)

 

Hiro is a doughy, bespectacled and flamboyant out-of-the-cubicle geek -- a manga addict, a comic book fanboy, a hard-core Trekker. But he's so at one with his inner dork (which is also his outer dork) that it all ultimately proves irresistibly charming -- even, you know, sexy.

 

"I was talking to Tim Kring, the show's creator, and he told me that Hiro's character is completely the work of Masi," says People's Wang. "The way Hiro was written, the character wasn't nearly as funny and interesting as Masi's made him. The way Masi decided to play him has actually changed the direction of how the season's playing out. Did you know that all the Japanese dialogue in the show -- Masi does the translations himself. The script is written in English, and Masi converts the lines that are supposed to be in Japanese into phrases that are appropriate, slangwise. And that's kind of lost on people who don't speak the language. But it's part of what has made his character so authentic and appealing."

 

That's the ticket, right? It's always been out there -- it's the moral of every made-for-teens TV movie, the end zone of every sitcom's "Very Special Episode": Be at home in your own skin -- don't try to reformat yourself to the world's expectations, be yourself, love yourself, and just maybe, the world will follow.

 

Of course, we -- and the cast of "Heroes" -- have a long way to go before we can fix the world's problems. For one thing, the online poll at People's Web site, asking readers to vote on the show's sexiest male cast member, has Masi Oka stuck at 2 percent; floppy-haired Milo Ventimiglia is in the lead at 30 percent. I'm not saying that everyone who reads this should head over and crash the vote. But on the other hand, on behalf of Masi, me and hundreds of thousands of other happily (extra)ordinary dweebs, I leave you with this cryptic message:

 

Save the fanboy. Save the world.

  • Replies 30
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Posted

IMHO. Myself Being somewhat Shallow..L O L

 

IF an Asian Guy has a Hot Bod, that I see in Film or Print or In Person, "at that point in time" I can find him Very Sexy...

 

 

There just are not alot of Asian Guys in that Category to begin with.

 

I'm guessing that's why, the Majority of Young Asian Girl's WHO DO Date and like Caucasian Guy's, at least in NYC..Usually are going with Goodlooking or at least Cute Guy's Outside of their Race.

 

Amer-Asian well that's a whole different thing! Some of these guy's are Plain Hot! IMH.. Alway's Horny- Opinion of course...LOL

:p :P :p

Posted

well, talk about generalizations... "most" Asian girls date white guys? Are you sure about that, or just the ones you notice. Maybe the Asian couples just travel in different circles than you do.

 

Being a bit of a rice queen, of course I find all sorts of Asian guys sexy. I also find various guys of pretty much every other race sexy. But what I really like as 2nd generation or later Asian-American guys. Something about Asian looks with a totally "American" sounding voice really does it for me.

Posted

fed.. Re-read what I wrote. Apparently you missed the "WHO DO" in Capital letters!

 

This was to make sure that in NO WAY.. was it to be Mistaken, that I think Asian Women Prefer Caucasian Men.. Again apparently someone missed what I said anyway!

 

Trust me, alot of Caucasian Men are not all that likable, or Goodlooking ....LOL :p :P :p

Posted

Don't be fooled by asian girls going out with guys of other races. I have as many Chinese friends as I have caucasion friends, and all the Aisan guys say the same thing about Asian women. They want you to marry them so that they can come to Canada or the US. They don't want sex, they want your money. Many of the Asian girls that come here do not put out. Sure there are those who are escorts, but they are escorts because they are in a financial bind based on empty promises, not because they want to have sex.

As for Asian men, I have hired three Asian escorts. All three have excellent bodys, great definition, are very handsome, and have great personalities. So why aren't Asians selected as the sexiest man?

Louis.

Posted

I thought I understood what you were trying to say, but after re-reading it I still have no idea what point it is that you are trying to make. Are you saying that (in your opinion) there are few cute or sexy Asian men so Asian girls who do date, date cute white guys since there are not attractive Asian men? Maybe that is the case is NYC thought I doubt it. My time in NY has been limited but I did spend an evening at a concert in a club full of Thai college kids and there appeared to be many couples in attendance as well as groups of girls and groups of guys.

 

I guess my experience here in DC is that there are lots of Asian couples. The department I work for has lots of Asian people working there. And it seems to me that I see lots of Asian couples. And because I notice the cute Asian guys I even see some Asian guy/white girl couples. I will admit I don't pay much attention to whether there are many Asian woman/white guy couples since that is not where my interest lies. ;-)

 

I guess the variety of attractions is good for everyone.

Posted

>Personally, I don't

>think Asian men are sexier than any other group or race,

>except when they are.

 

They ALWAYS are. Except when Latino men are sexier.

 

Just the opinion of one rice queen, of course.

 

P.S. In college I witnessed firsthand the prejudice of a number of social-climbing Asian women against Asian men. Not universal, but pretty widespread among northeast corridor Ivy League types. "For Buddha, for Country and for Yale."

Guest zipperzone
Posted

If you are a size queen (which I am not) I think you would find most Asian men VERY disappointing, regardless of their looks.

Posted

>If you are a size queen (which I am not) I think you would

>find most Asian men VERY disappointing, regardless of their

>looks.

 

I have come across several exceptions to this rule. A couple in Japan, one of whom I examined at length (sorry). And others in Singapore and China.

 

Further, observations in restroom urinal lineups in China and Japan suggest this stereotype may not be accurate.

Posted

This is a stereotype that probably isn't ever going to go away. I recently spent 3 weeks in Thailand. While I was there I had an opportunity to survey many, many Thai penises, and I can also confirm that there are lots and lots of exceptions to this widely-held belief.

Posted

One of the hottest afternoons I ever spent in my old New York bathhouse days was with a middle-aged Japanese businessman. He didn't speak very good English, but there wasn't much opportunity for conversation, because my mouth was always stuffed with his very large cock.

Posted

OK.. I will simplify MY Take further!

 

IN THE "SMALL GROUP" THEY FALL INTO....Asian Girls OVER-ALL have Good Taste when it comes to the Caucasian Guys or NON-Asian Guy's they do date!

 

This is not to say, they donot run into "Small Dicked" NON-Asian Guys also.

There are Many Many around. L O L

 

Yes.. There are ASIAN Working Guy's who donot rely on their Average Dick Size, to gain Repeat Client's, But that's also the case with alot of Working Guy's..A Nice Look, BOD Etc and Charm, usually will work just fine for them!

 

Again.. The Asian Working guy's usually have Great Worked Out Bods and unbelievable Smooth Skin! :p :P :p

Posted

Asian men are VERY sexy. One of my definite turn-ons.

 

The longer i explore my sexuality, the more i realize that i'm not sexually wanting anything even close to what i am (all-american, Abercrombie-esque). Diversion is the spice of life. YEE-HAW!

 

I've also got a thing for black guys. Anyone share this as well?

 

 

BN :)

Posted

Although several people have jumped on this topic to deny the traditional belief that Asian men are less well hung than other men, I say, show us the evidence.

I happen to think Asian men are very sexy. But I also am something of a size queen, I admit it, and have looked for Asian escorts, or even photos of Asian porn stars or others on the the internet for a number of years. I have yet to see an Asian (I mean East Asian here) who you would call really hung. The Asian average seems to be around 5 inches, but the biggest I've seen, I would estimate at around 6, or 6.5. These, of course, are only guesses in the case of photos, but I think it's pretty obvious.

As on this thread, I've read posters tell stories of hung Asian guys, but I've never seen a photo of one.

The biggest I've seen is the only famous Asian porn star, Brandon Lee, and although he's apparently small of stature, he does appear to be hung better than average. But not in the really big categories, like Michael Brandon, Tom Chase, etc.

There's a film on Pornotube.com of a bunch of Japanese guys, there must be 30 of them beating off. Not one is anywhere near well hung. The biggest is maybe about average for a Caucasian. Most are small.

So, I actually think all the evidence is that the traditional idea of smaller hung Asians IS true. Undoubtedly out of billions of people, there must be some exceptions, but they are sure hard to find.

As I said, I think a goodlooking Asian guy with a hot bod is really scrumptious -- and I'd love to be proved wrong with some evidence that they can be well hung too. But as of now, I'm inclined to think the genes just don't offer that variation very much.

Posted

Three years ago, I attended a friend's wedding in Sydney. Two of his first cousins were born in Taiwan and raised in Sydney. When those boys talked, my heart just melted. They are just so sexy especially with their Aussie accent. And when they danced at the reception... oh never mind, I need to take a cold shower now.

 

A couple of months ago, I was back in Sydney. When I checked out of the hotel at 5 in the morning, the night clerk was an Asian (of Chinese descent) university student. And when he started talking, I just wanted to take him home with me.

Posted

With regard to size I guess all I can tell you to do is go to Thailand and hang out in the gogo bars. You will see plenty of big Asian penises there. No photos allowed I am afraid. Certainly not all of them are hung big, but a surprising number are. And of course they are yours for the off'ing. I went to one of the shows at a bar in Chiang Mai full of big muscular guys with big dicks. My guide told me that most of the guys were poor from the hill tribes. He told me the ethnic Thais all go to Bangkok or Pattaya if they are going to work in gogo bars and the performers in Chiang Mai are from the local hill tribes or immigrants from across the border in Burma or Laos.

 

And I have a semi-regular thing with a guy here in DC who is American Born Chinese. He has a really cute voice, a great body, and the world's most suckable cock. It's not necessarily huge by any means, but it is a perfect mouthful and more than adequate.

 

I also had an interesting experience in Sydney several years ago. I went to the changing of the guard ceremony at a place I think called Victoria Barracks. Major Cho came out to explain to us what was happening and he had this big booming Aussie accent. It seemed very incongruous to me at the time.

Posted

The Asian escorts that I have been with are all well equiped. While none of them would be considered huge (more than 8"), they are still quite well endowed.

Louis

Posted

Who are the Asian escorts you're speaking of? I've been with Tommy Tam and Ken Mifune, both very hot muscle studs, but average in size, probably six inches at most. Both are versatile but seem to expect to bottom, as with most Asian escorts.

Posted

It's interesting how both the author of the article and most of us automatically think of the people we used to call "Oriental" (i.e., those from east and Southeast Asia) when we hear "Asian." There are a lot of non-Mongoloid race Asians as well-- Indians, Pakistanis, those from the Asian part of the old Soviet Union, etc. And the Iran, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula (as well as most of Turkey) are part or Asia as well.

 

I find a lot of Indian men sexy. Kal Penn (the OTHER Asian in "Harold and Kumar) is pretty cute. I guess I just have a thing for dark skin in general-- black, Latino, south Asian, Middle Eastern, whatever.

Posted

You are right of course about the term "Asian", which is why I specified East Asian in my post. The imposition of the term "Asian" to describe people from the Far East is indeed one of the political correctness movement's sillier regulations. As you point out, Israelis, Russians east of the Urals, Iranians, and Indians are all Asians.

I have never been sure why anyone would be offended by the term "Eastern" which is all "Oriental" means. But in America today, we all feel entitled to feel demeaned by any term that categorizes us in any way -- and of course that includes us gay men.

While certain terms have clearly been terms of derision in the past, I don't really think "Oriental" was ever generally seen in that light. (But then I don't think the terms "girl" and "boy" were ever generally meant derisively, and those are also off limits). Don't get me wrong, I'm no right-winger or defender of prejudices, but the language police have crossed the bounds of reason in some cases -- which has only given ammunition to the real right wingers.

Posted

I once spent a week in Kazakhstan - the young men there were really hot! An interesting combination of Mongol, Chinese, and Russian, made for a tempting mix... And the gay bars in Almaty were fun!

Posted

but were they hung? :-)

 

That part of the world has intrigued me for some time now...the old Silk Road through central Asia. Maybe some day I will get to visit. Were you there working?

Guest showme43
Posted

>I once spent a week in Kazakhstan - the young men there were

>really hot! An interesting combination of Mongol, Chinese,

>and Russian, made for a tempting mix... And the gay bars in

>Almaty were fun!

 

you did Borat??

 

i find BD Wong of SVU very sexy

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...