Thanks to media, a lot of westerners have a stereotype against Asian men – that they are not as masculine and are often seen as less desirable than their Caucasian counterparts.
Well, NBA superstar Jeremy Lin recently revealed the challenges and hardship he had to face growing up as an Asian-American male and also commented on the issue of emasculation on mainstream media, according to Next Shark.
With Jeremy’s continuous NBA success, he has been constantly defy odds and breaking Asian stereotypes. Hence, most wouldn’t think about his struggle as an Asian-American male, until now.
Jeremy’s success did not come easy, as he had to face a lot of challenges and hardship at every corner.
He has stated that even now, he would need to convince security guards on occasion that he’s a player when he enter to the gym.
In a Q&A session, Kevin Kreider has asked Jeremy Lin several questions which Lin addressed, such as being an Asian in general, and the dating scene of an Asian-American male.
At one point when asked by Kevin Kreider:
“Did you ever come across the stereotype Asian guys not being attractive, and if you have, how do you think we can break that in the American culture especially?”
Lin admitted that the Asian-American masculinity is one topic that should be discussed way more. He further shared his experience regarding the issue when the public compared him to another NBA rising star back in the days.
Watch the full Q&A session here:
His video definitely opened up a lot of viewers’ perspective and having more people voicing out how it is being Asian-American.
One commented, “In American society, the only race that’s OK to be made fun of is Asian. Particularly, Asian males. All of the stereotypes of Asian males are fine to be publicly said and reinforced by Hollywood, music industry, and media… such as small penis, skinny, short, weak body, meek, nerdy, etc. Every other race calls us Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Kim Jon Un, or now, Jeremy Lin.”
“I’m a white girl and I do actually prefer Asian guys. Most of them are super respectful towards the elderly and I find them a lot more attentive and sweet, instead of pretentious and cocky.” another wrote.