GRAPEFRUIT
Grapefruits. (2022). inkjet on acetate. photography by Mara Blaise Willis and Ida Du
Grapefruit is a mixed-media light + sound, projection + film, narrative + photography immersive installation that calls out society’s perverse and deeply ingrained sexualization and fetishization of Asian women. From Orientalism to “Me So Horny” to current sexual violence against the Asian female body, we are always “having a conversation” on something, but I want to actually, really talk about the taboo things, the things we shy away from. SEX. I want to know why talking about sex makes us uncomfortable. I want to know why I don’t feel uncomfortable talking about sex. Maybe it’s because I’m also an evolutionary biologist and sex is somewhat clinical. But maybe it’s also personal. As an Asian adoptee, how did I come to exist? How did we all come to exist? Sex is full of pain and pleasure, beauty and disgust. And why, why, why aren’t we talking about it?
film stills from Child (2022)
February 2022
Sexual violence, Asian eroticism, and its traumatic memory is an ugly consequence of Orientalism, sociopolitical instability, and ongoing conflicts in East Asia. Yet, these atrocities are globally widespread. The international human rights group, Walk Free Foundation, reports two thirds of the world’s human trafficking victims are in or from East Asia & the Pacific. On any given day, that is around 25 million victims. The United Nations Report over half of these victims are adult women and a third are children. Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the rates of human trafficking as massive surges in unemployment have bred opportunistic environments for traffickers worldwide. The demand and consumption of Asian pornographic and fetish material has notably increased during lockdown phases over the past two years.
While evident on a global scale, the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women lives closer to home than we typically realize. A 2018 survey conducted by Michigan State University reported that 89% of Asian women experienced sexual harrassment, racial harrassment, or both in their workplace over the past year. Yet, sexual violence towards Asian women doesn’t end after business hours. The SafeHorizon Organization estimates that 1 in 5 Asian American women are victims of domestic abuse. A Resource Navigator at Rice University’s SAFE Office, reports that 75% of the Asian American female students they counseled mentioned fetishization as an issue they either had firsthand experience with or witnessed others experience on campus. Moreover, Asian hate crimes have sharply increased on average by 333% in major U.S. cities since before the pandemic, says California State University at San Bernadino in a preliminary 2022 Report to the Nation. From the workplace to home life to college campuses, Asian women live in an inescapable world of objectification and the feeling of being exotic.
Sexual violence against Asian women ravages how we perceive femininity and womanhood, both in art and in real life. Exacerbated and sustained by common ignorance mixed with complacency, our erotic obsession with Asian women is harmfully stereotyped and disrespectful. Enough is enough. This exhibition, Grapefruit, is a vehicle to call out our perverse and deeply ingrained sexualization and fetishization of Asian women. It is a vessel to begin a conversation on sexual violence, but broadly, sex in general. We must confront the uncomfortable in order to grow, and from these discussions, may we build stronger, more intimate, more trusting, and more respectful relationships.
Sources
The Global Slavery Index. (2018). Walk Free Foundation. Executive Report.
Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. (2020) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Annual Report.
Caballero-Anthony, M. (2018). A Hidden Scourge: Southeast Asia’s refugees and displaced people are
victimized by human traffickers, but the crime usually goes unreported. International Monetary Fund
Finance & Development, 55(003).
NiCole T. Buchanan, Isis H. Settles, Ivan H. C. Wu & Diane S.Hayashino (2018) Sexual Harassment, Racial
Harassment, and Well-Being among Asian American Women: An Intersectional Approach, Women &
Therapy, 41:3-4, 261-280.
Domestic Violence Stats & Facts. SafeHorizon Organization.
Hate Crime Statistics. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime Data Explorer 2020 & 2021.
Report to the Nation. (2022). Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University in San
Bernardino. Preliminary Annual Report.
selected Grapefruit works in TIED IN NOTS group show:
Spermatozoa (2021)
epoxy resin and human semen
Child (2022)
digital film, 8 min
Bitter (2022)
digital film, 12 min
Grapefruits (2022)
inkjet on acetate
photography by Ida Du & Mara Blaise Willis
This exhibition spans multiple disciplines and people from all different cultures, backgrounds, and narratives. Thank you for making Grapefruit possible.
Will Fowler
Ryan Crowley
Mara Blaise Willis
Ida Du
Antonio Sanz Escallón
Dr. Jamie Catanese
Lauren Eveland
Dr. Scott Solomon
Jenny Pruitt
Elise Gibney
Dr. Mike Gustin
Bruce Hainley
Maria Martinez
David Krueger
Lee Clark
Kurt Stallmann
Dr. Anthony Brandt
Keshav Wagle
Dr. Anne Chao
Martin Gonzalez
Christopher Sperandio
Judy Nyquist
Rice University Visual & Dramatic Arts Moody Center for the Arts
Rice University BioSciences
The Shepherd School of Music
Weiss Tabletop Theater
The SAFE Office at Rice University
