Your Preference Is Prolly Problematic... with Kaila Yu

Before Kaila was old enough to fully understand her body she became the target of an old racist myth spread by a classmate, about the sexual anatomy of Asian girls. Like many of us who encountered harassment this early, she’d soon learn his comments were only the tip of a bigoted iceberg. Do you remember the first time you were confronted with a stereotype that would resurface throughout your entire life? Kaila Yu is the author of Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism and Beauty. Formerly an import model and lead singer of the all-Asian American pop-rock band Nylon Pink, Kaila joins Janicia for a conversation on the origins of "yellow fever," why your "type" preference might be a problem, the “raunch era” of the late 90's & 2000's, plastic surgery, the underground car scene that inspired the Fast & Furious series, and more. Content warning for references to SA from 23:08 - 24:35 0:00 Intro & where the heck I've been 3:18 Atlanta Spa Shootings 5:01 Beginnings of Asian fetishization in Western media 6:29 Colonization and sex work in Asia 7:50 Trafficking, “Yellow Peril”, and the Chinese Exclusion Act 11:20 Bride Schools & the War Brides Act 14:08 90s media, whiteness & model minority myths 16:03 Role models, self-esteem and Sung-Hi Lee 20:00 Representation 21:21 Pin-ups and the Raunch Era 23:08 - 24:35 CONTENT WARNING SA discussion 26:02 Import modeling & the Fast & Furious import car scene 29:27 What is the Asian fetish 31:10 Racial awakenings 34:58 Preference vs. fetish vs. BOTH 40:45 Can you be complicit in your own fetishization? 43:26 Sobriety, self worth & therapy 47:56 Sex icons and role models 50:39 Plastic surgery, whitewashing & erasure 1:00:38 Book release drama Archival audio: @ameyamarieokamoto 2022 Today Show reports, 2021 Jackie Fernandez, Asian women are not your fetish - TT @jackiefern IG @jackie_fern @soogia1 2025 Viola Davis, The View 2022 Sung-Hi Lee, The Girl Next Door, 2004 @AsianHappyHour 2022 Watch the full video version of this episode on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/teawithqj/posts/your-preference-165112637?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Send your inquiries, thoughts and advice letters to [email protected] If you'd like to support this work, please share it with a friend and/or join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/teawithqj To donate: www.paypal.com/paypalme/JaniciaF Cashapp: $JaniciaF Venmo: @Janicia-Francis xo