> The difference in the portrayal of Asian women, could be in the passivity and inscrutability that is still often attributed to all Asian people, men and women. It is part of the cultural stereotype.
Along with the scant portrayals of Asian women in the media, there is little research about Asian or Asian-American images in the media. Most of the research concentrated on African-American or Hispanic portrayals in the media. For example, Emtman (1996) noted that in a comprehensive anthology on gender and ethnicity in the media, there were only two mentions of Asian Americans. Emtman noted that although there are references in the popular press to the fact that Asian Americans are portrayed as the "ideal minority," there was actually little evidence of this. Instead, the evidence from his review of news, entertainment, and advertising was that Asian-Americans had little media presence of any sort.
While Emtman (1996) indicated that this invisibility might be preferable to the negative portrayals that African-Americans and Hispanics have to deal with, it still seems to present problems of its own. The media contribute to our picture of the world, and understanding of it. If Asians are not pictured very often in the United States' media - which is an image-intensive society - how does that structure people's worldview and understanding of their place in the world in relationship to Asian people? If some of the examples that will be discussed later are accurate, it might contribute to people's belief that the United States is at the center of the world, with all other people influenced by, and dependent upon, U.S. style, thought, and leadership.
Just how invisible are Asian women? According to agency statistics, the number of Asian women represented by top agencies like Wilhelmina and Ford was miniscule, with five at the former and four at the latter. In 1992, only 2.5% of the ads in Vogue featured any models of color, ...