Appreciating the 'Asian Persuasion'

"Mr. Asian Sensation," held this Friday, marked Harvard's first attempt to uncover the Zoolander of the far East.

The first annual beauty pageant, held by the Harvard Radcliffe Asian American Association, sought to determine "Harvard's most attractive boys of the Asian persuasion." The winner—Christopher A.T. Van '12—trumped the others in the talent, formalwear, and swimsuit categories, winning a free haircut and the honor of representing Harvard at Wellesley's Mr. ASU Pageant.

According to AAA President Austin Chu '10, the event "subverted" the notion of the asexual Asian male: the dweeb who never gets the girl.

"Asian males usually wouldn't be considered very high in the pecking order...supposedly all the Asian girls want to date the white guys," Chu mused, citing the stereotype of the Asian girl-white boy pairing. "It was great to see these guys come out and be ridiculous and be overly masculine."

From rapid shirt folding techniques to drunk-singing, the contestants performed a variety of tasks designed to showcase their social acumen. But Chu is hesitant to be overly optimistic.

"I don't really know if there's Asian fever [towards] guys," Chu said. "If there is, it's fine."

Just fine? We at flyby need a prescription.