By Olivia Yin
In Atlanta, Georgia on March 16, eight people were killed in a shooting rampage in three different spas. In the first shooting, four people died in “Young’s Asian Massage.” Three more were killed in “Gold Spa.” The final victim was killed in “Aromatherapy Spa,” not far from the second location. Six out of those eight were women of Asian descent.
The shooter, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with eight counts of murder. He denied the killings being a hate crime, instead saying it was motivated by a “sexual addiction.” The murderer says he shot at the massage parlors to “eliminate” the “temptation” it presented. Long had been a frequent customer to two of the spas.
Many around the nation are outraged at the clear signs of an Asian-American hate crime. However, some officials like Captain Jay Baker, the sheriff who previously was the spokesman for the investigation, are hesitant to label it as such.
Baker seemed to be giving subtle excuses for the shooter saying that Long had “a really bad day.” It was also found that he promoted the sale of an anti-Asian shirt on his social media account. The captain has now been removed from his spokesman position on this case.
This shooting has brought up the issue of how Asian discrimination is deeply connected to sexism. Asian-American women were targeted in this incident, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated by the shooter, and Asian-American women have been the main targets of hate crimes during COVID-19 as well.
The group Stop AAPI Hate recorded last March and February 2.3 times more hate incidents to Asian-American women than men. This is more than just a coincidence.
It is an issue that has been ingrained into the system through the media, Hollywood, and sexism. A perfect example is in the movie Full Metal Jacket, a Vietnam War movie, where an Asian prostitute delivers the famous line, “Me love you long time.” The GIs in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, stayed in camps in Vietnam. Like in most of wars, there were sex workers (Asian in this case).
This stereotype of the Asian prostitute displayed in this movie, fetishizes and hypersexualizes Asian women. Through this movie’s depiction, Asian women are shown as submissive and exotically different in a way that makes them seem like an easy target. Women have been harassed because of this stereotype, specifically being addressed using the “Me love you long time” bit.
On its own, Hollywood has limited amounts of Asian representation in movies, the most common fitting into strict stereotypes like this one. It makes harassers think all Asian women are like this when that is the only way they are shown.
Even by the shooter claiming that the murders are motivated by a sex addiction, which on its own is terrible enough, he wants to “eliminate” the temptation by killing the Asian women. It objectifies women, simmering down their worth to a temptation. It promotes the idea that to eliminate the man’s temptation, it is not the job of the man to tame himself. It blames the victims.
What’s more, to target women in their place of work, killed because of his disgusting ideas is unnerving. If Asian women are targeted because of this stereotype in a workplace, it’s scary to think of the danger this puts them in outside of it.
As an Asian female, it makes me uneasy to think of the unsafe situations I may be put in outside of our protected town. I have grown up with my image of Asian women being highlighted by Mulan, the strong and driven young woman who defies the limits set by society. I am surrounded by women who promote the importance of education and heritage, who mirror the characteristics in Mulan and set a standard for who I want to be.
I was shielded from the knowledge of this fetishized stereotype of Asian women until six were killed and every news channel was broadcasting the crime. This is not the first time Asian women were attacked for their identity, and it will not be the last.
This shooting is a terrible crime, and it has stirred up the issue of racism meeting sexism. This is important, not just for the lives of Asian women. Stereotypes affect every unique intersection of race and gender out there. One group’s cry of outrage should be mirrored and carried by other groups as every step forward is for the better of all.
I hope this will not be an event we just acknowledge, but then simply let it settle into the dust. We must learn from it and work to make this country a safer place, a better place, for everyone.
