Asian America has done a sufficient job in masking a lot of its internal tensions. The absence of gender as a lens for Asian America activism and resistance is one of these internal tensions. Many Asian activists refute the label "feminist". Their work most certainly primarily deals with the issues of women, but there is an overall fear of alienating men. And it goes without saying that if men are privileged enough to escape the realities of gender inequality, then there is a need for feminism in Asian America.
Since the beginning of the Asian America community, women were primarily brought to America for the purpose of serving men.
They would serve as prostitute, home makers, house wives, and they would fill the stereotypical female position. The overall perception of women at the time was colored to generalize all Asian women.
Police enforcement officials specifically singled-out Asian women prostitutes as opposed to their White counter parts because they were thought to be the women who were spreading all types of venereal disease.
In the early 1900s, the population of Asians in California was less than three percent, but they still encountered their fair share of racism in Asian America. During this time, the most popular form of women coming to America were "picture brides". These women were already married or betrothed to marry Asian men who were already in the United States. Asia America as well as Americans in general looked down upon the acts, as it was just added to the list of how horrifically Asian women were treated.
At this time, employers also thought it was not necessary to may Asian men an equitable salary to that of White men, because in Asian culture it was the responsibility of the women to care for the children as well as the elderly.
And if you were "lucky" enough to be a women in Asian America you were usually given cheap labor. Before World War II, almost half of all Asian women acted as servants. Once the World War II internment camps went up, the exploitation of women was even easier. Since they had all established some sort of work, they were forced to become inmates at the internment camp.
Finally by the 1960s Asian America and its women decided to organize which was inspired by the American civil rights movement going on simultaneously. However many Asian men at the time did not feel the same way. They did not believe in the rights of women in Asian America.
Asian America women also wanted to help the women that were still in their home country. Because women who have made their way in Asian America are less concerned with finding work, but women in Asian countries would have a hard time advancing themselves because of their daunting husbands or men in their life.
Recent Asian immigration laws have changed so that an Asian immigrant is not educated, but rather makes up the working to poor classes. But this means when Asians came to America, they would more often find themselves in demeaning jobs for very little pay.