Dragon lady stereotype

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The dragon lady stereotype is a stereotype of Asian women seen in many works including SF. The stereotype was particularly popularized by some types of pulp fiction, but arguably existed before the pulp era.

Dragon ladies are beautiful and seductive, and dangerous and often deceptive. Specifically, they use their beauty seductively and deceptively, often against men. The stereotype relies on the exoticization and fetishization of Asian femininity.

This character may be contrasted with the Black warrior woman: both characters are dangerous, but the dragon lady stereotype very specifically sexually fetishizes the character, whereas the black warrior woman character may or may not be an object of sexual fetish for the creator and presumed audience. The Dragon lady often has or is implied to have sexual arts and skills.

Her dangerousness is typically through martial arts, poisoning, treachery; any kind of lethality which is not seen as muscular or necessarily masculine. She is often a spy or otherwise secretive or clandestine, activities that feed back into racist depictions of Asians as "sly" or "inscrutable".

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