This condemnation of White men and Asian women in romantic relationships is nothing new. I remember this attitude from my childhood, the sense that these men were preying on these women, exploiting them in some way. Nowadays this is often expressed in accusations that these men are looking for a “subservient Asian woman” as a form of sexist dominance. That accusation is simultaneously sexist and racist.

It is sexist because it presumes that the White men are making all the moves and making all the choices—and then it condemns them for it. It trades in hyperagency and hypoagency.

It is racist because it is a plain expression of White supremacy in two ways. First, it casts the White men as some kind of all-powerful predators, and second, it casts white women as the default object of White men’s attractions, so that if a White man is attracted to an Asian woman, there must be something nefarious or deviant about it.