Winter Olympics: top Asian-American women struggle to deal with duality of racism at home and adulation on the global stage
- The Winter Olympics highlight the crude reality of the plight of Asian women: of only being seen when they have something to offer
- Eileen Gu and Chloe Kim are among a number of Asian-American women who have suffered racist abuse in the United States
Across two pandemic Olympics set in Asian countries, Asian-American woman fronting the Games have encountered a whiplashing duality – prized on the global stage for their medal-winning talent, buffeted by the escalating crisis of racist abuse at home.
The world’s most elite and international sporting event, which pits athletes and countries against each other, underscores along the way the crude reality that many Asian women face: of only being seen when they have something to offer.
“It’s like Asian-American women can’t win,” said Jeff Yang, an author and cultural critic. “Asian-American female athletes, like most Asian-American women in many other spaces, are seen as worthy when they can deliver … and then disposed of otherwise.”
The issue is playing out at the Beijing Winter Games, the third straight Olympics set in Asia and the second held during the unrelenting global coronavirus crisis – and playing out, too, during a rise in hate crimes against Asian-Americans.
Here, US snowboarder Chloe Kim and China’s freestyle skier Eileen Gu are the latest additions to the list of American women of Asian descent who have been “It Girls” of the Winter Games, joining icons such as American figure skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan.
