Amejo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amejo, pronounced a méjō, is a Japanese derogatory term meaning American-(loving) girls and is directed to young Okinawan women who date male members of the U.S. armed forces, specifically white. Okinawan women who date primarily Black men are included under this term, but are usually referred to as kokujo or Black-(loving) girls.
In her book Asian Mystique, author Sheridan Prasso speaks of the fetishizing that goes on between non-Asian males and Asian females:
“ | In Asia, the East-West cultural divide, gender divisions, as well as economic disparity make it hard to figure out who is playing whom in the games of sex and power between Western men and Asian women. Misimpressions, stereotypes, and cultural misunderstandings color the perspectives of both sides, and the spaces were the perspectives meet are blurred. | ” |
Prasso explains the kokujo:
“ | These are girls who sit under tanning lights are decline to sit--as most Asians prefer--in the shade at the beach. They cornrow their hair like Snoop Dogg or kink it like Beyonće; get surgical implants in their buttocks and breasts; learn dance moves by watching MTV; and wear the skimpy hip-hop fashions that they see in specialty magazines dedicated just to them. Some are big girls, heavy-set, and even tomboys, who find that Japanese men—who generally prefer baby-doll cute as their sexual aesthetic—aren’t attracted to them, and vice-versa. | ” |
[edit] References
- Prasso, Sheridan. Asian Mystique. New York: Perseus Books. 2006. 296-307.
- Amejo. MSN Encarta. 15 May 2008. <http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=amejo>
- Kokujo.MSN Encarta. 15 May 2008. <http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=kokujo>