Victoria’s Secret’s Asian mannequin

By John | Thursday, April 10, 2008 | View Comments

I was walking around the Embarcero with a friend this past weekend and noticed as I passed by a Victoria’s Secret that one of the mannequins is Asian. I was so shocked, I just had to take a photo with my camera phone.

I don’t normally shop and visit Victoria’s Secret, so I did a quick Google search – apparently the Victoria’s Secret Asian mannequin has been around since July 2006, since I saw a Hyphen blog posting on the very subject as well as on this blog posting.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Victoria’s Secret had signed up their first Asian model over a year ago – Jarah Mariano, of Hawaiian, Korean, and Chinese decent. I approve! I was thinking when I saw the Asian mannequin modeling the black lingerie would look awfully nice on my girlfriend… my imaginary girlfriend.

What next?

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Ben

I don’t normally shop and visit Victoria’s Secret…

Sure you don’t, John. Sure you don’t.
Ben

I don’t normally shop and visit Victoria’s Secret…

Sure you don’t, John. Sure you don’t.
jen

i get about 50 million victoria’s secret catalogs every week, and the first time i saw their asian model, i was so excited. she was only modeling a few items, but i had hope, since she was so pretty. but i noticed that in recent catalogs (this year) she’s disappeared. all the items that she was modeling are now on other models.
jen

i get about 50 million victoria’s secret catalogs every week, and the first time i saw their asian model, i was so excited. she was only modeling a few items, but i had hope, since she was so pretty. but i noticed that in recent catalogs (this year) she’s disappeared. all the items that she was modeling are now on other models.
tas

Asian women are so accepted in American society they’re not even viewed as a real minority. There uniqueness is marginalized and it’s not even considered interracial dating when you see white guys with Asian chicks, Asian girls lost their identity as Asians in the eyes of whites and I think they (Asian girls) enjoy it when it’s actually an insult to who they are. So why would anyone be surprised to see an Asian chick in VS? It’s marketed for white men, not Asians….Just like Asian porn.
tas

Asian women are so accepted in American society they’re not even viewed as a real minority. There uniqueness is marginalized and it’s not even considered interracial dating when you see white guys with Asian chicks, Asian girls lost their identity as Asians in the eyes of whites and I think they (Asian girls) enjoy it when it’s actually an insult to who they are. So why would anyone be surprised to see an Asian chick in VS? It’s marketed for white men, not Asians….Just like Asian porn.
tas

Case and point – http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1D7103DF93BA25754C0A96E948260

Asian women face less discrimination in corporate America then Asian men and white woman and all other minority.
tas

Case and point – http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1D7103DF93BA25754C0A96E948260

Asian women face less discrimination in corporate America then Asian men and white woman and all other minority.
Bo

tas,

I can’t believe you are using that article to defend your extrodinarily sexist views about Asian women. The data in the study is from the 1980 census. Do you realize how different the asian community has become since then? You can hardly apply what is outlined in that article to today’s Asian community.

Here is more recent data based on the 2000 census:
$40,700
Median income for Asian men in the U.S. in 2000 – higher than the national median of $37,100. For Asian Indian men, the median income is even higher still: $51,900.

$31,000
Median income for Asian women in the U.S. in 2000 – higher than the national median of $27,200. For Asian Indian women, the median income is even higher still: $35,200

You will also notice that things have changed significantly for Asian Indians.

Finally, none of these studies take into account that Asian-Americans earn bachelor and graduate degrees at a higher rate than any other racial group – which would help explain the overall income advantage. However, when you compare racial groups based on educational levels, white men still earn the most.

Based on the prevelance of horrendously stereotypical depictions of Asian women in mass media, I would hardly say that Asian women have lost their identity in the eyes of white people.

And what exactly do you know about the Asian female psyche? You presume so much about how we feel and what we like and don’t like. Unless you’ve actually lived as a woman, please don’t speak for us.

Personally, I could care less whether VS uses Asian or Black or White mannequins. My big beef with VS is their continual promotion of a standard of beauty that is unattainable by 95% of the women in the world. I think some nutritionist once said that if the VS mannequin was an actual woman, she’d be dangerously underweight, borderline anorexic and probably have severe health issues due to malnutrition.
Bo

tas,

I can’t believe you are using that article to defend your extrodinarily sexist views about Asian women. The data in the study is from the 1980 census. Do you realize how different the asian community has become since then? You can hardly apply what is outlined in that article to today’s Asian community.

Here is more recent data based on the 2000 census:
$40,700
Median income for Asian men in the U.S. in 2000 – higher than the national median of $37,100. For Asian Indian men, the median income is even higher still: $51,900.

$31,000
Median income for Asian women in the U.S. in 2000 – higher than the national median of $27,200. For Asian Indian women, the median income is even higher still: $35,200

You will also notice that things have changed significantly for Asian Indians.

Finally, none of these studies take into account that Asian-Americans earn bachelor and graduate degrees at a higher rate than any other racial group – which would help explain the overall income advantage. However, when you compare racial groups based on educational levels, white men still earn the most.

Based on the prevelance of horrendously stereotypical depictions of Asian women in mass media, I would hardly say that Asian women have lost their identity in the eyes of white people.

And what exactly do you know about the Asian female psyche? You presume so much about how we feel and what we like and don’t like. Unless you’ve actually lived as a woman, please don’t speak for us.

Personally, I could care less whether VS uses Asian or Black or White mannequins. My big beef with VS is their continual promotion of a standard of beauty that is unattainable by 95% of the women in the world. I think some nutritionist once said that if the VS mannequin was an actual woman, she’d be dangerously underweight, borderline anorexic and probably have severe health issues due to malnutrition.
uRB4N

Ummm, let me see if I get this straight.

This is a post regarding a mannequin that might be an Asian woman? What’s next? You’ll start talking about a potato chip that might look like an Asian woman?
uRB4N

Ummm, let me see if I get this straight.

This is a post regarding a mannequin that might be an Asian woman? What’s next? You’ll start talking about a potato chip that might look like an Asian woman?
http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com Ernie

uRB4N: Have you SEEN those potato chips that look like Asian women? They look HARDCORE. I always seem them next to corn chips though, for some reason. *rimshot*
http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com Ernie

uRB4N: Have you SEEN those potato chips that look like Asian women? They look HARDCORE. I always seem them next to corn chips though, for some reason. *rimshot*
http://www.8asians.com John

Ernie, OMG, that was funny. Let’s put those potato chips on eBay
http://www.8asians.com John

Ernie, OMG, that was funny. Let’s put those potato chips on eBay

8 Asians