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