“There are dangers we risk in running with this article: putting too much emphasis on the importance of race in relationships, fostering ill-will toward our own community (how could she be okay being a trophy wife?!), or making girls overly paranoid about their relationships. Just because a white guy has an Asian girlfriend doesn’t mean he has ‘yellow fever’ — and I don’t think it’s healthy to always be suspecting this.” —   Christine Wei, deputy editor

“The fact that the article brings to light something that perhaps the public hasn’t really been outwardly acknowledging is very brave. The only time I had heard the term ‘yellow fever’ was when I got to college, and even now I feel like I’m only comfortable talking about that concept with close friends. I get the sense that the topic is sort of a taboo, since it kind of gives off a bad impression of both the guy and the girl involved. But having the article put out this concept in the open is a good thing for the Asian teenage population, because there is definitely this perception of Asian women that they should be aware of.” —   Jessica Wen, health blogger

“Everything Ying brings up does exist, but the truth is that many modern biracial relationships are based on compatibility and love rather than fetishes and stereotypes — even when the couples in question are famous. Sorry if that doesn’t make for an exciting article, but let’s judge case by case instead of lumping all of these women’s private lives together. If being Asian means I can’t date a white guy without people suspecting that something funny is going on, I wouldn’t want to be Asian — thankfully, it doesn’t, and that’s where Ying’s article falls short.” — Angela Chen, blogger

And here are some viewpoints from Asian American guys on Marie Claire’s article:

“I don’t really understand why interracial couples are so scrutinized. There are stereotypes to each race and assumptions that can be made, but is it really such a big deal if two people of different races decide to get together?… It’s ignorant to assume that all white men go after Asian women for the same reasons. In my opinion, their relationship is the same as a couple where the man is white and the woman is Asian, or if both the man and woman are white or Asian. There is no reason for such a taboo to exist around a couple’s race.” — Alexander Liang, fashion market director

“I actually agree with this article. There are a lot of Asian girls who are submissive and white guys like that. I think ‘the fever’ is in these days.” — Arthur Lee, George Washington University student

“I think maybe it’s not so much the difference in race but the difference in age that makes the situation seem strange to me. When you see an old guy with a young girl, you can’t help but think that one or both parties has some ulterior motive for the relationship.” — Chris Kwan, Boston University student

What are your reactions? Do you agree or disagree with those we’ve spoken to?

In a recent Marie Claire article, beauty director Ying Chu poses the provocative question, ”why are the West’s most powerful men coupling up with younger Asian women?”

Chu cites many Hollywood couples as examples, such as Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim, Zhang Ziyi and venture capitalist Vivi Nevo; and most famously, Woody Allen and his once-adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. And while these couplings aren’t exactly breaking news (nor is the concept of “yellow fever” for that matter), the article investigates the concept of an Asian trophy wife — are these older men dating younger Asian women as an exotic status symbol?

“After two or three failed attempts at domestic bliss with women of like background and age, these heavy hitters sought out something different. Something they had likely fetishized,” says Chu.

Furthermore, Chu goes onto to speculate why the women go along with it regardless:

“Maybe these outsized, world-class moguls are stand-ins for emotionally repressed Asian dads (one cliché that is predominantly true). Or… are these women just glorified opportunists?”

Chu points out that many of these Asian trophy wives are highly educated and successful, which goes against the idea of a traditional trophy wife who is much less educated than her husband.

As you probably can tell, this article has incited some pretty strong comments both in the blogosphere and in the articles comments section. There are some out there who don’t take too kindly to Ying Chu’s generalizations. Read TheFrisky.com’s rebuttal to Chu’s piece here. The popular relationships site argues that this article needlessly marginalizes the interracial relationships that ARE genuine:

“Not all interracial relationships between whites and Asians deserve to have doubt cast upon them,” says Frisky writer Jessica Wakeman. “Lots of men simply think Asian women are beautiful — just like lots of men simply think blondes are beautiful —which doesn’t necessarily qualify as a fetish.”

I tend to agree with Wakeman. Sure,  there are a handful of men who fetishize Asian women according to the most stereotypical terms, but isn’t there a difference between dating an Asian because she’s submissive/hypersexual/whatever and merely finding them more attractive?

For more commentary on this article, check out Disgrasian, 8Asians, Jezebel, doubleX, Korean Beacon, and You Offend Me You Offend My Family.

Here are some of the many negative reader comments from this article on Marie Claire’s website so far:

“This article does nothing but drum up the same awkwardness that Spike Lee and other closed minded people in the media have used to make Asians, Blacks Whites and Latinos feel ashamed for “dating outside of their race.” — katty852

“This is embarrassing, both for the writer and the editors. As a piece of written work, this would be laughed out of a freshman gender studies class. As an Asian-American female, I read the comments regarding “emotionally unavailable fathers” and “always respecting our elders” with disgust. Really? All of us fit into this box? I used to be a huge fan of Marie Claire, but the level of this article makes it clear why the magazine has lost its draw.” — saracee1

“As an Asian American woman in my late thirties, I was disturbed at how immature and insecure Chu’s writing was an extension of her own self image. Is she speaking about herself, asking if she could not understand why a white man would want to date her? ” — missmodern

“Who are you to judge whether or not people are in love or not just because two people are of different ethnicity?” — mp314

“Although I too have rolled my eyes at some of the aforementioned pairings of late, this piece really does a disservice by recycling hackneyed stereotypes without offering any real analysis, insight or even basic facts. It reads like the rant of someone taking a freshman course on race, gender and identity politics.” — d7253

What do you think readers? Is Chu hitting on an uncomfortable trend or she hitting a career-low with this article?

Photo via Marie Claire