"The worst thing I heard is, 'You're pretty good-looking among Asians'. I try not to treat these uncomfortable compliments as insulting words, after all, some people are still learning how to get along with Asians."

Huayu News According to the American Overseas Chinese News, the spread of the new crown epidemic has incited people's prejudice against Asians, and many Asians have been scolded in public and even suffered even worse attacks. However, Bernard Bach, a Vietnamese man born in Tennessee, is an exception. The stranger he met at New York Times Square not only has no malice, but also cannot suppress his appreciation for his bodybuilding figure.

《《Hong Kong Post 》 reported on June 22 that the stranger Bach met at midnight that day exclaimed: "Your calves are so strong!" Although Bach, 35, responded with a smile, he still felt at a loss.

"It's been hard for me to accept praise from others because I don't know if people say it comes from sincerity," Bach said in an interview. "The worst thing I heard is, 'You're pretty good-looking among Asians'. I try not to treat these uncomfortable compliments as insulting words, after all, some people are still learning how to get along with Asians."

In fact, these more or less racially biased compliments are just a microcosm of Asian men's troubles this year.

On the one hand, Asian men have recently won unprecedented popularity: Korean male actor Steven Yeun was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards and successfully appeared on the cover of "GQ" magazine; Chinese actor Liu Simu (Simu Liu) has created the first Asian superhero in Marvel's history with his developed biceps and pectoral muscles; UCLA Asian basketball guard Johnny Juzang helped the school win the last four spot in the NCAA basketball league with his wonderful performance; K-pop men's group set off a craze in the United States; Andrew Yang won the candidate for the New York mayoral election; Asian male model Kevin Kreider showed off her good figure in the reality show "Bling Empire", with her abdominal muscles and buttocks fully exposed...

The picture shows Simu Liu, a Chinese actor who starred in the Marvel superhero movie "Shangqi". (Picture from Liu Simu Twitter)

However, on the other hand, a series of cruel anti-Asian hate crimes broke out across the United States. Asian elderly people were beaten, and employees of the massage parlor at Atlanta and Indianapolis Sikh FedEx were shot on a large scale; more subtle violence was also hidden in people's sight at the level of daily life.

The exposure of Asian men in the spotlight alternates with violent incidents against Asians. This contradiction has become the heart knot of many Asian men. They realize that society has a "weak, feminine, unattractive, and lack of masculinity in Asian men. The temperament of Asian men does not conform to the ideal male image in the mainstream American white thoughts," said Brian Keum, professor of social welfare at UCLA. He specializes in research on body image and mental health of Asian men.

Kum explained that these stereotypes can be traced back to the mid-1800s, when Chinese male immigrants were forced to pursue careers such as laundry workers, chefs and domestic workers. Because Chinese workers are very efficient in mining and construction work, people are angry and dissatisfied with their job opportunities, so they are excluded from these occupations. By the 21st century, racism still exists. On the online dating platform, Asian men have the lowest probability of successfully matching. Koum said every Asian male involved in his study said, “I can’t stand this shame.”

The condemnation of Asian discrimination and celebrities in society is quite upright and honest. Bowen Yang, a permanent Chinese actor of NBC's ace variety show Saturday Night Live, called for "come Asians"; Phil Yu, a blogger of the popular blog "Angry Asian Man", warned the world with the slogan of "stay angry".

"Some Asian men often feel that they must be more masculine, stronger and more perfect in their behavior and appearance than those around them. They are overcorrecting this behavior just to prove that Asians can also become mainstream recognized male image."Jeff Yang, 53, said he co-authored the book "Rise: The History of Asian Popularity in the 1990s to the Present".

"This psychology is particularly common among Asians. "Jeff Young said," this is the reaction of Asian men to the denial, irony and indifference they have suffered. "

He added: "Doing this will not make Asian men feel better in themselves. Instead, they enhance their self-esteem by increasing their perceptions in the eyes of others. ”

Clyde, who is 37, who starred in "Bright Empire", also agrees. "We are busy being others and are not even really focused on being ourselves." "

The picture shows Asian male model Kevin Kreider. (Picture from Kevin Clyde Twitter)

Kum said that if Asian men do not have a healthy way to vent, they have to digest this stigma on their own. Some people will use drugs, and some people will have suicidal thoughts or have aggressive behaviors. (Original title: Asian men gradually get rid of the impression of "weakness", but over-care to the mainstream is prone to lose themselves)