Ricecels in Australia? Asian men and the hazards of heterosexuality

“Ricecels”: a play on the term, “incel”, which is used to describe a type of cisgender heterosexual man who considers himself unable to attract women sexually and as a result, becomes a radical misogynist. Except here, “ricecels” refers to the subsection of incels who are Asian men.

Firstly, I hate how “rice” and “yellow” have become signifiers of the Asian identity. Secondly, the concept of a “ricecel” deeply unsettles me.

It’s clear that there are legitimate issues and disadvantages Asian men face when it comes to dating. However, this is never an excuse for Asian men to weaponise these racial biases into misogyny - whether it’s feeling like they are entitled to Asian women, or characterising Asian women as “race traitors” when they date non-Asian men.

Misogyny has no place in society, but nor does unfair racial prejudices against Asian men. We must tackle these dual issues, but never at the expense of the other.

- Isabella