Your Preference Is Prolly Problematic… with Kaila Yu

Before Kaila was old enough to fully understand her body she became the target of an old racist myth spread by a classmate, about the sexual anatomy of Asian girls. Like many of us who encountered harassment this early, she’d soon learn his comments were only the tip of a bigoted iceberg.

Do you remember the first time you were confronted with a stereotype that would resurface throughout your entire life?

Kaila Yu is the author of Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism and Beauty. Formerly an import model and lead singer of the all-Asian American pop-rock band Nylon Pink, Kaila joins Janicia for a conversation on the origins of “yellow fever,” why your “type” preference might be a problem, the “raunch era” of the late 90’s & 2000’s, plastic surgery, the underground car scene that inspired the Fast & Furious series, and more.

Content warning for references to SA from 23:08 – 24:35

0:00 Intro & where the heck I’ve been

3:18 Atlanta Spa Shootings

5:01 Beginnings of Asian fetishization in Western media

6:29 Colonization and sex work in Asia

7:50 Trafficking, “Yellow Peril”, and the Chinese Exclusion Act

11:20 Bride Schools & the War Brides Act

14:08 90s media, whiteness & model minority myths

16:03 Role models, self-esteem and Sung-Hi Lee

20:00 Representation

21:21 Pin-ups and the Raunch Era

23:08 – 24:35 CONTENT WARNING SA discussion

26:02 Import modeling & the Fast & Furious import car scene

29:27 What is the Asian fetish

31:10 Racial awakenings

34:58 Preference vs. fetish vs. BOTH

40:45 Can you be complicit in your own fetishization?

43:26 Sobriety, self worth & therapy

47:56 Sex icons and role models

50:39 Plastic surgery, whitewashing & erasure

1:00:38 Book release drama

Archival audio:

@ameyamarieokamoto 2022

Today Show reports, 2021

Jackie Fernandez, Asian women are not your fetish – TT @jackiefern IG @jackie_fern

@soogia1 2025

Viola Davis, The View 2022

Sung-Hi Lee, The Girl Next Door, 2004

@AsianHappyHour 2022

Watch the full video version of this episode on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teawithqj/posts/your-preference-165112637?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Send your inquiries, thoughts and advice letters to teawithqueenandj@gmail.com

If you’d like to support this work, please share it with a friend and/or join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/teawithqj

To donate:

www.paypal.com/paypalme/JaniciaF

Cashapp: $JaniciaF

Venmo: @Janicia-Francis

xo