Over the past year, a peculiar phrase has begun to appear on Asian women’s social media accounts: “Oxford study”. Commenters use it to criticise Asian women who date white men, often citing a supposed academic study from Oxford University. However, the research they reference does not exist in the way they claim.
Sophia, a 22-year-old woman of mixed heritage, first noticed the comments on other women’s videos. She posted a satirical video making light of the trend, only to receive serious backlash. “I was shocked at the amount of people that took it seriously, and took it seriously in a bad way,” she said.
The phrase taps into long-standing stereotypes about Asian women, who have been historically portrayed as submissive or hyper-sexualised. Wendy Sung, assistant professor of race and digital culture at UCLA, notes that after the second world war, Asian women were often depicted as either the ‘Dragon Lady’ or ‘Madame Butterfly’ in Western media.
These stereotypes persist today, fuelling online harassment. Sophia has experienced criticism from Asian male friends when dating white men. “The first time I dated a white guy, a lot of the Asian guys in my friend group did say stuff to me – ‘Another case of a hot Asian girl dating an ugly white dude,’” she recalled.
The “Oxford study” myth has heightened anxiety among Asian women about their dating choices and self-image. Despite the study’s non-existence, the phrase continues to be used as a shorthand to police interracial relationships.
