Asian Girlhood in the Shadows of US Empire

How the "Asian girl" is central to the story of US imperialism and the formation of Asian AmericaRepresentations of the "Asian girl" as lucky objects of humanitarian rescue and rehabilitation have been used to advance America's imperial ambitions from World War II to the wars in Korean and Viet Nam.In this compelling work, Sharon N. Tran traces the production and instrumentalization of this figure through an examination of state documents, military newspapers, documentary photographs, and other archival materials.Theorizing "Asian girlhood" as a technology of imperial power, Tran exposes how the Asian girl is invoked as a shield that protects the innocence of US empire while she is excluded from innocence herself - relegated instead to a precarious position between child and adult, human and nonhuman, plaything and laborer. Offering fresh insight into how imperial power operates, Tran analyzes figures such as the Japanese American school-girl in the context of World War II incarceratio