Dangerous Subjects, Sexual Objects

I’d like to briefly continue a topic that was brought up in class on Monday. I think the connections between Tori from The Cheat and the population of Filipino nationals Ngai discusses in Impossible Subjects are particularly interesting. Tori and the male Filipino population are both viewed as dangerous subjects because of their ability to successfully assimilate into American culture. The resulting threat to Americans is, of course, most frequently associated with the interactions between Asian men and white women. However, in terms of these interactions, Tori and the Filipino men are actually constructed as two rather different types of dangerous subjects.

Tori is an active threat to a white woman, Edith, whom he physically brands and attempts to sexually manipulate. Based off of the evidence in Ngai’s book, however, Filipino men were perceived by white men as sexually threatening to their white women (many of whom actually found the Filipino men to be sexually desirable) rather than as truly dangerous figures (Ngai 113). Of course, this comparison is problematic because Tori is a character constructed by a white director, screenwriter, etc. and the Filipino nationals are a real group of people presented in a scholarly text. Despite these gaps and generalizations, I think this comparison is a useful basis for some questions and random thoughts that I have regarding the sexual desirability of different Asian races and how assimilation (or apparent assimilation) affects that desirability.

First of all, though Tori and Edith have what appears to be an intimate relationship (he catches her when she trips, she pats his hand, etc.), none of Edith’s actions reveal a sexual interest in Tori, though he clearly desires her. As for Filipino men, sexual interest in white women is evident, as is white women’s interest in them. Ngai quotes a social worker in California who says, “Filipinos are easy prey for women who can pick up any Filipino on the street” (Ngai 113). Though the character of my two sources problematize these questions, I wonder if this difference in the sexual desirability of Asian men is perhaps a question of assimilation?

After all, though Tori presents an Americanized veneer in public, each scene in his home – his private space – reveals that he has not fully assimilated. He still wears a kimono and his decorations are strongly evocative of Japan and his pagan heritage. On the other hand, Filipinos “could not be considered heathen or steeped in ancient traditionalism: they were Christians; they went to American schools and spoke English; they wore Western-style clothes; they were familiar with American popular culture” (Ngai 109). Additionally, Filipinos were nationals, a status that, though not as elevated as that of a US citizen, would certainly be superior to Tori’s status within the United States.

Perhaps Filipino men were more desirable because they were constructed as more honestly assimilated than Tori? Perhaps white women found them to be more sexually desirable and viable because of their status as nationals? These are questions I cannot answer, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.