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Japanophilia

(Asian Women in Advertising)


Published: April 15, 2007 Modified: Feb. 11, 2025

There is a trend of capitalizing on sexual stereotypes and racial exoticization in advertising that can be seen in the Corona Beer ads in addition to this Skyy Vodka ad.

The woman in the Skyy ad may or may not be Japanese, as she is wearing traditional Chinese dress, but as the the stereotype would suggest, she is serving the master, in this case a beautiful Nordic blond woman.

Both women are sexually appealing, the blond woman is disrobed and ready for a massage and cocktail while the Asian woman is wearing a form-fitting, short cheongsam dress. The blond's breasts are exposed and her bottom is barely covered by a towel. While fully clothed, the Asian woman's body is put on display as well, even her face is elaborately made up (for someone else's gaze).

Even though there is no obvious sexual exploitation of either women within the context of the ad, the ad itself serves to sell a product and must be looked at to do so. Therefore, the women in the ad are not free of the male gaze and sexualization by male consumers. The Asian woman, again, is docile and subservient and plays her role perfectly.


race sex in advertising

Part of this album

Japanophilia
This collection brings together student work from a seminar held at Occidental College, titled "Japanophilia: Orientalism, Nationalism, Transnationalism." The class examined the relationship between collecting/appropriating Japanese cultur…
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