Actress Jamie Chung, 35, struck a chord with popular opinions in the Asian American community on the topic of Asian women being typecast as submissive “damsels in distress” needing to be saved by White men.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Chung opened up on the changing roles of women in professional communities with the onset of the #MeToo movement.
“I think the whole movement of #MeToo is not just calling out the sexual harassers, which is really important, but also crying out that we want equal pay, equal representation, equal opportunities and that we want to see more female directors and photographers.
“We want to see women in more power positions, not just in front of the screen but behind the screen as well.
“We as Asian women are having this conversation on striving for roles that aren’t just written for Asian-Americans… Instead of just complaining about the stereotypes, we’re just really supporting each other and crying out injustices and improper casting.”
Chung, who has been passionate about Asian representation in Hollywood, also added:
“The narrative needs to change. Asian-American actresses don’t want to be the damsels in distress anymore. We don’t want to be saved, especially by a white man.”
“There are a group of us (Asian-American actors), especially the women, who really support each other because we do know how hard it is. We don’t look at it as competition. It’s a community of Asian women that are rooting for each other.”
Chung, a Bay Area native, is the daughter of Korean immigrants who started their own restaurant.
