So are Korean women and other Asian women the new trophy wife? According to a Marie Claire article by Ying Chu, Asian women are it and the article starts off with Korean Soon-Yi Previn as the first face of the new trophy wives. In fact, they call this phenomenon of tycoons or successful men courting Asian women the “Woody Allen effect” since his was the most pronounced of relationships when he ended up marrying his adopted daughter. So who else has followed in the footsteps of Mr. Allen? Rupert Murdoch married Wendi Deng, Les Mooves married Julie Chen, Nicolas Cage married sushi waitress Alice Kim, Hedge Fund king George Soros hooked up with Jennifer Chun, and the list goes on and on.
The article brings up a very interesting question – but also some annoying points that undermine the article – and that is after numerous failed attempts at relationships with women that are similar to them in race and culture, why do these men seek after Asian women? Is it because they want someone who is different or is it to live out a deep inner fantasy. Well, in the case of Nicolas Cage, there were always rumors of him frequenting the Korean clubs in LA (Le Prive) so his reasoning is probably the latter. However, for the other men, who exactly knows. The author does bring up stereotypes of Asian women being “submissive, domestic and hypersexual?” We would be naive to discount that these stereotypes doesn’t come into play for a few of these gentlemen, though interestingly the women who are noted in the article are accomplished and don’t appear to be the submissive domestic types.
Asians (in addition to African orphans) are hot commodities right about now—status symbols as prized as a private Gulfstream jet or a museum wing bearing your name (neither of which goes so well with a frumpy, aging first wife).
Tellingly, most current trophies of choice are far more than exotic arm candy. They are accomplished musicians and journalists, they have Ivy League MBAs and hail from prestigious political families (Mrs. Wasserstein’s older sis is former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao). Why, then, are these women falling for rich white patriarchs? Why be a target for headline comparisons to concubines? When Wendi Deng was described as “The Yellow Peril” in a recent magazine profile, it only marginalized her achievement: As chief strategist for MySpace China, she has become central to News Corp.’s expansion into the elusive Chinese market—something Murdoch himself had attempted, and failed to do, before she came into the picture.
We’re going to have to get used to this new international power family—aging mogul and foxy Asian wife flaunting a double-wide with newborn and adopted Malawian tot. What’s next—the token trophy pet? I hear endangered Burmese rabbits are exceptionally cuddly.
Asian women dating white men may never really know if it’s a fetish thing. [Full Article]
Perhaps the author is misguided to think that there’s a trend when there really isn’t one. We should accept the fact that we live in a multicultural world and that these men are probably married to these ladies because they connect with them and not because they’re good looking arm candy.
