Chinese American Masculinities: From Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee (Studies in Asian Americans)

186 Pages·2001·5.58 MB·English

by  Jachinson Chan

Edited by
Franklin Ng
California State University
Fresno
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
Published 111 200 1 by
Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chm,J achinson.
Chinese American masculinities ; from Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee /
Jachinson Chan.
p. cm. (Asian Americans)
-
Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN 0-8133-4029-X (alk. paper)
1. Chinese Americans in the mass media. 2. Masculinity 3. Mass
media-United States. 1.Title. 11. Series.
P94.3.C37 C48 2000
302.23'089'95 1073-dc21 00-061706
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
Asian Americans
Reconceptualizing Culture, History, Politics
Franklin Ng, Series Editor
The Political Participation ofAsim The Hmor~gR eiugee Experience in
All~ericar~s:VotinBge hxior ill the United States: Crossing the Rn-er
Souther11 Califor~iia hies hliyares
Pei-te Lien
Beyond Ke'eaumoku: Korans,
The Sikh Diaspora :Tradition ~iid N~tioii~lisi1~1i, idL ocal Culture ill
Change in an Iimnigra~~Cto n1111~1nity H'lnai'i
Michael Angelo Brenda L. I<\\-or~
Cl'~in~iiiCgh inese Idelitin Asim Alnericm Culture on St~ge:
Eliome L.W. Belden The History of the East West Pl'lyers
Yuko I<urahashi
Trmsr~atioiialA spects of Iu-Mien
Rehgee Identity Holileton-11 C hillaton-11:T he Histor>-
Jeffery L. MacDomld of O~lklaiid'sC hinese Con~i~mr~ity
L. ER Armelitrout Ma
Cxir~gfo r Cm~bodiaAr~in ericms: A
Multi-disciplir~qR esource for the Chinese An~ericmM '~sculinities:f roin
Helping Professions Fu Maiichu to Bruce Lee
Sharon K. RdiTT Tachillion Chm
Im'lgir~ir~tgh e Filipino Ainericaii
Diaspora : Transnatio~laRl elations,
Identities, and Conm~unities
JonathanY. Okm~ura
Mothering, Education, md Ethnicity:
The Transformation of Japanese
American Culture
Susan Matoh Adler
Dy~lamicso f Ethnic 1dentity:Three
Asian American Con~munitiesi n
Philadelphia
Tae-Hyup Lee
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
CHINESAEM ERICAMNA SCULINITIES
From Fu Manchu to Bruce Lee
Jachinson Chan
Routledge
New York & London
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
Preface
have spent about 15 years in Hong Kong and 15 years in California. Since I
was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I consider myself a Chinese American
man. However, I spent my early years in Hong Kong and I am very much a
product of Hong Kong's culture. Ever since I started doing research on Asian
American issues, I have been intrigued by the ways in which Chinese Inen are rep-
resented in various media both in Hong Kong and the United States. The diverse
representations of Chinese lnasculinities in Hong Kong are inversely proportion-
al to the lack of depth and diversity in America's representation of Chinese mas-
culinities. As an academic in the field of Asian American studies, my research as
well as my personal interest gravitated towards a project that tried to understand
the historical conditions from which these American images of Chinese men
emerged. As I became further involved in this project, new questions began to
arise which I could not ignore. Specifically, I wondered if the term masculinity
was adequate because I was no longer sure if any one definition would be able to
encompass the multiple perspectives on what it means to be a man, much less a
Chinese American man. As my roles changed from being a son to a lover, spouse,
and father, the meaning of manhood began to change. I became more interested
in studies done by profeminist Inen ~110w ere engaged in critiquing patriarchy
and normative models of masculinity. I soon realized that while the historical
conditions surrounding various representations of Chinese American men were
important, I was also interested in imagining alternative models of masculinity
that I could adopt on a more personal level. Who were my own role models and
how can I become a more self-critical man? My father seldom talked about issues
of ~nanhooda nd just when he started to open up to me on a more emotional
level, he passed on. Not only do I miss his physical presence, I miss dearly the
conversations we did not have.
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
The model of masculinity espoused by my father, I came to realize, was
embedded in deeds as opposed to words. His silent actions were balanced by cin-
ematic and dynamic characters on screen: from comedic country bumpkins,
working-class heroes, and romantic fools to conflicted martial artists, glorified
triad society leaders, and the rise and fall of powerful and affluent men. The
world of fantasy pro~idede ndless dreams of masculine heroics while in reality
my father taught me the simple truths of honest!; responsibility, respect for oth-
ers, and a sense of humor.
When I came to California to pursue my graduate studies in 1985, I quickly
realized that my ethnicity and gender were constantly under scrutiny. The Asian
American literary texts I read did not have interesting male characters and the
debate between Maxine Hong Kingston and Frank Chin seemed to revolve
around the same arguments. The issues surrou~ldingA sian American masculini-
ties resurfaced, howevel; when I started to teach at the Uni~ersityo f California,
Santa Barbara, as my Asian A~nericanm ale students wanted to know more about
"men's issues" since there were several courses in the Asian American studies
department that addressed "women's issues." I started to do some preliminary
research and I found very few in-depth studies done on the topic of Asian
American masculinities. This book represents an attempt to articulate different
models of Chinese American masculinities and conceptualize alternative models
of masculinities that resist the tendency to reciprocate racial, gendel; sexual, and
class hierarchies. In my own personal search for an anti-sexist and anti-homo-
phobic model of masculinity, I have been pleased that many of my friends
thought that I was gay when they first met me and that an Asian American
women's group at UCSE decided that I was "woman enough" to he their faculty
advisor.
I have chosen to focus on Chinese American masculinities for political reasons.
The term Asian American has been used since the 1960s as a way to unify the dis-
parate Asian groups in America and to empower a community by rejecting the term
"Orientals" and adopting Asian Americans as a panethnic coalition. Howevel; the
impulse to homogenize Asian A~nericansa s a monolithic group has been questioned
by Lisa Lowe in her seminal book, Imwzigmnt ~cts.'A lthough there may he simi-
larities in the ways in which representations of Asian men from other ethnic sub-
groups are contained and controlled, the historical specificity of each group differs
significantly. I would like to posit that Asian American studies has reached a criti-
cal moment in the field in which it would he more theoretically or politically appro-
priate to focus on more specific monikers oriented towards particular racial or eth-
nic categories. As Richard Fung points out, "there are contradictory sexual associ-
ations based on nationality. So, for example, a person could he seen as Japanese and
somewhat kink!; or Filipino and 'a~ailable.'T he very same person could he seen as
'Oriental' and therefore sexless."' Fung's observation points to the uniqueness in
the ways each ethnic group is percei~edb ut these perceptual differences are also
collapsible and easily reduced to an "orientalist" generalization that Asian
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
American Inen are desexed. At the risk of being limited in scope, I helieye that the
discourse on ethnic specific masculinities needs to be articulated in a historically
specific context before a more comparative analysis is made.
NOTES
1. Lisa Lowe, Iininigrant Acts (Durham: Duke University Press, 1996).
2. Richard Fung, "Looking for My Penis: The Eroticized Asian in Gay Video
Porno," in How Do I Look? Queer Video and Film, ed. Bad Object-Choices
(Seattle: Bay Press, 1991), 147.
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
Acknowledgments
T
he stories behind the production of this boolz read like a mystery novel. I
am glad that the plot is coming to an end. Thanlzs to Mark Henderson and
Franlzlin Ng for having enough faith in my work to publish it. Michael
Kimmel's comments and support have been invaluable: his own writings have stim-
ulated my intellectual endeavors, which rely heavily on his theoretical framework
and its activist underpinnings. I am also grateful to my colleagues at the University
of California, Santa Barbara, Sucheng Chan, JOII Cruz, Diane Fujino, Kip Fulbeclz,
Paul Spiclzard, and Nolan Zane for giving me the support I needed at critical
moments. In particular, Sucheng Chan has been a mentor and a friend. Through
many twists and turns, Sucheng has been my anchor. I truly appreciate her honesty
and constructive criticism. Peter X. Feng, lilzewise, pointed out mistakes and weak-
nesses. This boolz is better because of his insights.
To Vince Aihara, Tim W L ~an,d Robert Sams, I thank them for the laughs, con-
versations, and martinis. Ed Park's enthusias~nf or the field of Asian American
Studies and for fishing has been infectious. Steve Ino, thanlzs for listening.
When I was at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I met some fellow Asian
American graduate students who introduced me to Asian American literature. If it
had not been for them, I would have missed out on the intellectual and emotional
rewards of Asian American studies. Many thanlzs to Leslie Bon7, Elena Creef,
Barbara Ige, and Nora Cobb. Thanks also to my advisors Michael Cowan, Forrest
Robinson, Paul Slzenaz!; Julia Simon-Ingram, and James Clifford.
Part of the reason I enjoy teaching so much is that my students at U.C. Santa
Barbara have made my job meaningful and enjoyable. They have energized me with
their enthusiasm and passion for learning and I thank them for reminding me why
I teach for a living.
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
xii Acknowledgments
On a more personal note, I thank my partner Gladys for reminding me that no
matter how much I may talk about gender equalit!; I still do not do enough at
home. When Casey (two years old) and Jamie (5 months old) smile and laugh for
no particular reason, I know that I'ye been blessed. My Aunt Helen has given me
sound ad~icesi nce I was a kid and I thank her for putting a positive spin on eyery-
thing. My Uncle Walter continues to serye as my role model and I only wish that
he had set the bar a little lower. And finally, I have to thank my Inom and sister for
pushing me towards the finish line.
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan
Contents
Preface
Xclznowledgments
Part One
1. American Inheritance: Chinese American Male Identities
2. Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu: Scrutinizing the Inscrutable
3. Charlie Chan: X Model Minority Man
4. Bruce Lee: A Sexualized Object of Desire
5. Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu
Part Tlvo
6. From Eoyhood to Manhood
7. Toward a Masculinity of Inclusion
Epilogue: Contemporary Asian Ainerican Men's Issues
Bibliography
Copyright 2001 by Jachinson Chan