Gender Stereotypes In Music

When analyzing or studying the lives of Asian/Asian American musicians, it is important to note how much race and gender are in effect. Race is not of such importance when it comes to only Asian/Asian Americans being compared to each other but instead can put them at a disadvantage if being compared to other races and ethnicities when it comes to their musical careers. From that comes an sub-cultural issue: gender stereotypes. Asian/Asian American men and women both suffer from their own type of stereotype; women are often perceived as timid, shy, loyal, aggressive, over sexualized, the list could go on forever, really; and Asian American men are often seen as hypo masculine, geeky, as masters of kung fu or as tech friendly computer guys.
When asked how their cultural identity shapes them, Junah Chung and Jennifer Koh, both Asian American string players, said they identified closer with other musicians than with their own 'people' and that when they were nothing else, they were musicians (Yoshihara 62-3). Along with other freelance performers, teachers and some other successful musicians, these represent a group who believe their identity is not important because racism does not play a major part of the hiring portion of their careers (Yoshihara 64). Yet other successful performers such as Seiji Ozawa and Yo-Yo Ma can thank part of their fame to their heritage and they acknowledge it which proves that not all Asian/Asian American musicians can be lumped together. Take for example the situation of Japanese American, Tamaki Miura. One of the instances where racism and discrimination came into play was in the case of Tamaki Miura. Miura was not afraid of going against her parent's wishes or straying from Japanese traditions. Her performance as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly seemed a great success at first but she faced negativity from American audiences. She was referred to only in terms that reinforced Asian stereotypes associated with Japanese women. They called her the "'real thing' so dainty, so Japanese, was she that we were reminded of a cute, quaint little doll" (Yoshihara 24). Race and ethnicity
Dorinne K Kondo speaks of the same matters within M. Butterfly: "A close examination of M. Butterfly has profound implications for our assumptions about identity, including anthropological theories of the self or the person, the ways gender and race are mutually implicated in the construction of identity, and the pervasive insidiousness of gender and racial stereotypes" (Kondo 5-6). She later continues in detail about why she believes these issues are all represented in M. Butterfly and even brings the idea of an essentialist identity that I believe can be easily compared to the work of Yoshihara because they share similar notions about such