The term has also referred to the belief and fear that East Asian societies would "invade and attack" Western societies, "wage war with them" and lead to their "eventual destruction, demise and eradication." During this time, numerous anti-Asian sentiments were expressed by politicians and writers, especially on the West Coast, with headlines like "The 'Yellow Peril'" ( Los Angeles Times, 1886) and "Conference Endorses Chinese Exclusion" ( The New York Times, 1905) and the later Japanese Exclusion Act. Such perilism stems from a claim that whites would be "displaced" by a "massive influx of East Asians" who would fill the nation with a "foreign culture" and "speech incomprehensible" to those already there and "steal jobs away from the European inhabitants" and that they would eventually "take over and destroy their civilization, ways of life, culture and values."
The term "Yellow Peril" refers to white apprehension in the core Anglosphere countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States, first peaking in the late 19th-century. Strong and domineering women may be stereotyped as Tiger Moms, and both men and women may be depicted as a model minority, a phrase often associated with hard work and socioeconomic success. These stereotypes results in reducing East Asian women to either being sexy, coy, and mysterious, or quiet, submissive, and subservient to the male ego. This contrasts with other depictions of servile "Lotus Blossom Babies", "China dolls", " Geisha girls", or prostitutes. Moreover, East Asian women are portrayed as aggressive or opportunistic sexual beings as well as being predatory gold diggers or cunning " Dragon Ladies". Įast Asian men would often be represented as misogynistic predators, especially in war propaganda, such as the propaganda which was disseminated during World War II. Notable fictional stereotypes include Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, which respectively represents a threatening, mysterious Asian character as well as an apologetic, submissive, "good" East Asian character.
East Asian Americans have experienced discrimination and have been victims of bullying and hate crimes related to their ethnic stereotypes, as it has been used to reinforce xenophobic sentiments. Media portrayals of East Asians often reflect an Americentric perception rather than realistic and authentic depictions of true cultures, customs and behaviors. Largely and collectively, these stereotypes have been internalized by society and in daily interactions, current events, and government legislation, their repercussions for Americans of East Asian descent and East Asian immigrants are mainly negative. Many of these stereotypes are largely correlative to those that are also found in other core Anglosphere countries, such as in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians, like other ethnic and racial stereotypes, are often portrayed in the mainstream media, in cinema, in music, on television, in literature, on the internet, as well as in other forms of creative expression in American culture and society. Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians in the United States refers to ethnic stereotypes of first-generation Asian immigrants as well as Americans with ancestry from East and Southeast Asian countries that are found in American society.
1899 editorial cartoon with caption: "The Yellow Terror in all his glory.", stereotyping peoples of the Far East (East and Southeast Asia) as an economic and social threat to the United States