Eat Your Crust

The Portrayal of Asian Women in Media (ft. Kaila Yu, Fetishized)

30 snips
Aug 13, 2025
Kaila Yu, author of the memoir "Fetishized" and former lead singer of Nylon Pink, dives deep into the hypersexualization of Asian women in media. She critiques works like "Memoirs of a Geisha" for perpetuating harmful stereotypes. The conversation highlights the objectification faced by Asian women and discusses the need for nuanced representation. Kaila also shares insights on the journey to self-love and the differences in cultural perceptions of identity. Tune in for a compelling look at empowerment and self-acceptance amidst societal pressures.
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INSIGHT

Media Shapes Stereotypes Early

  • Memoirs of a Geisha shaped many Western perceptions of Asian women despite being fiction and written by a white man.
  • That portrayal normalized submissive, sexualized tropes that trickled into real-world behavior and violence.
ANECDOTE

Fictional Portrayals Lead To Real Harm

  • Hosts recall Memoirs of a Geisha's influence leading tourists to harass real geisha in Japan.
  • Kaila and Jisoo note how fictional portrayals can produce dangerous real-world behavior toward marginalized people.
ANECDOTE

Discovering Desire Through an Online Model

  • Jisoo describes discovering Sunghee Lee, a Korean Playboy model, as her first visible example of desirability online.
  • That early discovery pushed her to emulate a sexualized image to escape invisibility among boys in high school.
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