Thread by @catcontentonly

Thinking abt Chanel Miller, reading G. Cho’s ethnography of Korean women/militarized sex work during the war & wondering if her rape—along w. sex. violence against E. Asian women in general & certain dating “preferences” —can ever be disentangled from US imperialism in E. Asia

Ofc the answer is no. These imperialist encounters animated orientalist stereotypes of E.Asian women as "geishas," "china dolls," submissive, passive&obedient. Follow the logic of this fetishization/sex. objectification, you know why 41–61% of us experience physical/sex. violence

But back to Chanel Miller—the fact that she’s an Asian woman adds an entirely new dimension to the case.

Any analysis of it must seriously contend with these histories of imperialist contact and forced sexual labor. We’re still reckoning with these ghosts.