Asian men don’t get a good deal in Hollywood. When was the last time that you saw an Asian leading man in a Western movie treated as a sex symbol in the same way as a white actor?
Leela Rose set out to challenge this.
We sympathise. Many foreign female residents in Japan face problems: sexism and harassment by both Japanese and foreigners as well as romantic issues (foreigners may not be interested because there are so many Japanese ladies to pursue while local men may be too intimidated by a confident Westerner).
She did it by going around Roppongi and essentially forcing herself on various random guys. True, they don’t seem to mind too much but isn’t this a little too much?
Now if a guy did this he would probably (and rightly) be condemned as the next Julien Blanc. There is a fine line between nampa (picking up) and sexual assault.
Leela Rose’s intentions are perhaps sincere enough but many have pointed out that her actions have the opposite effect. They confirm Japanese as “passive” and prey for a Westerner.
Moreover, white woman are a sexual fantasy in Japan and fetishized in fashion. Dressed very provocatively in a revealing red outfit, Rose’s antics in Roppongi — admittedly, hardly the most outrageous things those mean streets have witnessed by any stretch of the imagination — arguably play up to that image.
The video has certainly ignited a lot of debate online but now it’s time for our readers to decide: is it all a lot of fuss about nothing? Or worth
