Duchess of Sussex criticises 'over-sexualised' caricatures of Asian women in film

The Duchess of Sussex has criticised the “over sexualised or aggressive” caricatures of Asian women portrayed in films such as Kill Bill and Austin Powers.

In the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, Meghan explored the “Dragon Lady” trope and the accompanying unconscious bias which she said could be “incredibly dangerous.”

“The power and the impact of these stereotypes that have the ability to strip away the humanity of entire groups of people… it cannot be underestimated,” she said. 

“People, all people, are multidimensional and layered.”

She warned that such “toxic” stereotyping in films did not just end when the credits rolled.

The latest episode of the podcast, featuring conversations with journalist Lisa Ling and comedian Margaret Cho, was released on Tuesday after a four-week break following the death of the Queen.

The Duchess began by recalling her experience of growing up in Los Angeles which was "full of culture that you could see, feel, hear and taste on a daily basis".

She said she used to visit a Korean spa in Los Angeles with her mother, Doria Ragland, which at the time was one of the only parts of Asian American culture that she knew.

"It's a very humbling experience for a girl going through puberty because you enter a room with women from ages nine to maybe 90, all walking around naked and waiting to get a body scrub on one of these tables that are all lined up in a row,” she said. 

“All I wanted was a bathing suit… you’re not allowed [to wear one], by the way.

"Once I was over that adolescent embarrassment, my mom and I, we would go upstairs we would sit in a room and we would have a steaming bowl of the most delicious noodles.”

'Those stereotypes weren't familiar to me'

The Duchess said that it was not until many years later that she learnt about “all the stigmas and archetypes” that so many women of Asian descent faced.

“Those terms, those ideas, those stereotypes… they weren’t familiar to me,” she said. “Like the ones we see in so many movies and throughout pop culture.”

Brief clips from both Austin Powers and Kill Bill, each involving actresses of Asian descent, were played to illustrate Meghan’s point.

In Kill Bill, the character O-Ren Ishii, played by Lucy Liu, removed the head of Japanese crime boss Tanaka with a samurai sword, before stating: “The price you pay for either bringing up either my Chinese or American heritage as a negative is: I collect your f------ head.”

In Austin Powers, Austin was asked by a character called Fook Mi, played by Diane Mizota, for his autograph. 

When she told him her name, he replied: “Oh behave baby.”

The Duchess said: “Movies like Austin Powers and Kill Bill presented these caricatures of women of Asian descent as oftentimes over sexualised or aggressive. And it's not just those two examples, there are many more.”

'The mystery and exoticism is part of it'

She discussed the impact of “unconscious bias” which she said could come from headlines even if you did not read the story.

Ms Cho said the Dragon Lady trope was similar to the femme fatale, in that it portrayed women who were both beautiful and deadly.

“It is so pinned to this idea that Asian-ness is an inherent threat, that our foreignness is somehow gonna get you,” she said. 

“The mystery and the exoticism of it is part of it. And unfortunately that trope has really stuck to film but also to Asian women.”

A colleague drew slanted eyes over my picture, reveals Lisa Ling

Journalist Lisa Ling described what happened when she was named "hot reporter" in the Rolling Stone’s Hot List when she was a broadcaster at Channel One. 

“Someone at my place of work cut out that article, drew slanted eyes over the eyes and wrote ‘yeah, right’ and then put it back in my mailbox,” she said.

“It was like every kernel of excitement that I possessed just withered away. It was so devastating that someone that I would see every day in my place of work where we’re supposed to feel comfortable, just harboured those feelings about me and had the nerve to make it racial.”

The Duchess urged her listeners to be their “best and true self”.

She ended the episode with the words: “You want to be weird or be sponge-like, be silly or fierce, be curious, or even self doubting or unsure some days and strong and brave on others. Whatever it is, that’s up to you.

“Just be yourself no matter what any societal framework or archetype or loud voice coming from a small place tells you that you should be. Be yourself –your full complete whole layered, sometimes weird, sometimes awesome, but always best and true self. Just be you. You’re so much greater than any archetype.”