Performing Race in Costume: Possession and Agency in Sexualized Representations of Asian Women in American Entertainment, Early-to-Mid Twentieth Century
Sandy Ing
Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
About this Item
- Title
- Performing Race in Costume: Possession and Agency in Sexualized Representations of Asian Women in American Entertainment, Early-to-Mid Twentieth Century
- Contributor Names
-
Ing, Sandy (Author)
-
Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice (Degree granting institution)
-
Yao, Felicia (Thesis advisor)
- Date
- 2026
- Degree Information
- M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York 2026
- Department: Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
- Advisors: Felicia Yao
- Committee members: Hilary Davidson; Brooke Carlson
- Abstract
- The trope of the hypersexualized Asian woman in American media is well acknowledged in academic and public discourse. A number of academics and an even greater breadth of online bloggers have written on the topic, often referencing Golden Age Hollywood films to understand the development of the "Dragon Lady" and "Lotus Blossom" tropes. A lesser known chapter of Asian American history was the "Chop Suey Circuit," a network of nightclubs most active in the 1940s and 1950s, located predominantly in San Francisco, which showcased a primarily Asian American cast of dancers and performers who presented popular American-style songs and dances.This paper examines costume as a tool for creating narratives about Asian femininity, surveying representations of Asian women in popular American films of the early-to-mid-twentieth century as examples of epistemic violence, and then comparing these representations with those of performers of the "Chop Suey Circuit" who, through a combination of costume and choreography, exercised agency and reframed preconceived notions of their sexuality, cultural identity, and personhood.
- Subject
- Asian Americans--Study and teaching
- Fashion
- Film criticism
- Women's studies
- American fiction--Film adaptations
- Asian American women
- Costume
- Keyword
- Asian American studies
- Fashion
- Film studies
- Womens studies
- American film
- Asian American women
- Asian women's representation
- Chop Suey Circuit
- Hypersexual
- Performance costume
- Rights
- In Copyright
- The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
- This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
- Identifier
- FIT Repository ID: etd_001068
- URN: ISBN:9798252432281
- Related Materials
- Also available from ProQuest
- Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 87-12
- Masters Abstracts International
- Language
- English
- Publisher
- Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Citation
Ing, S. (2026). Performing Race in Costume: Possession and Agency in Sexualized Representations of Asian Women in American Entertainment, Early-to-Mid Twentieth Century [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/676694
Ing, Sandy. Performing Race in Costume: Possession and Agency in Sexualized Representations of Asian Women in American Entertainment, Early-to-Mid Twentieth Century. 2026. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Institutional Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/676694
Ing, Sandy. "Performing Race in Costume: Possession and Agency in Sexualized Representations of Asian Women in American Entertainment, Early-to-Mid Twentieth Century." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2026. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/676694