‘It’s pinned to this idea that Asian-ness is an inherent threat’: Meghan Markle and Margaret Cho discuss ‘dragon lady’ stereotype

Journalist Lisa Ling also shared her experience of racism in the workplace

The Duchess of Sussex has discussed the stigmas faced by East Asian women in the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast.

Following a brief hiatus due to the death of Quen Elizabeth II, the podcast returned with guest appearances from comedian Margaret Cho and journalist Lisa Ling.

Meghan said that while she grew up visiting Korean spas with her mother as a teenager, she was unaware of the stereotypes East Asian women faced until she became much older.

“The dragon lady, the East Asian temptress whose mysterious foreign allure is scripted as both tantalising and deadly,” Meghan said. “This has seeped into a lot of our entertainment, but this toxic stereotyping of women of East Asian descent doesn’t just end once the credits role.”

Explaining the “dragon lady” stereotype, Cho said there is a tendency for Hollywood to present East Asian women as an “evil exotic force” – such as in Austin Powers and Kill Bill.

“It’s actually a character that is similar to the femme fatale, in that a woman who is beautiful and deadly because we can’t just be beautiful, it has to come at a cost,” Cho said.

Discussing the implications of the stereotype, Cho said it amplifies a false perception that East Asian people are a “threat”.

“It’s kind of like evil queen adjacent but it’s also pinned to this idea that Asian-ness is an inherent threat. That our foreignness is somehow going to get you.”

Racism, xenophobia and hate crimes against East Asian communities increased during the pandemic by as much as 80 per cent in London, according to End Violence and Racism Against East and Southeast Asian Communities.

Data showed that hate crime against East and Southeast Asians has been rising year-on-year since 2018 across England. There was a 27 per cent increase in hate crimes from 2019 to 202 during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ling recalled feeling “devastated” by some of the racism she has faced in the workplace. Ling said the incident occurred after she was named in Rolling Stone’s Hot List for her reporting at Channel One.

“Someone at my place of work cut out that article, drew slanted eyes over the eyes and wrote ‘yeah, right’ and then put it back in my mailbox’,” Ling recalled.

“It was like every kernel of excitement that I possessed just withered away.

“It was so devastating that someone that I would see every day in my place of work where we’re supposed to feel comfortable, just harboured those feelings about me and had the nerve to make it racial.”