Erotic ‘Year of the Dragon 2024’ calendar of Asian women challenges harmful ‘dragon lady’ stereotypes
- Hong Kong-born photographer Alexandra Leese’s calendar honours how each model wants to express their sexuality and create something joyful and liberating
- Leese feels it turns the often derogatory ‘dragon lady’ stereotype – of East and Southeast Asian women as fierce, cunning and sexually alluring – on its head
Ahead of the Year of the Dragon, which starts on February 10, Hong Kong-born, London-based photographer Alexandra Leese has published a striking calendar intended to both challenge harmful stereotypes of Asian women and celebrate the beauty of their differences.
Thirteen Asian women from a variety of disciplines and identities struck erotic poses for the calendar. They include Kiko Mizuhara, an American model with Korean-Japanese heritage; Beabadoobee, a Filipino-English musician; John Yuyi, a New York-based Taiwanese visual artist; Xoai Pham, a Vietnamese transgender writer; and Minami Gessel, a Japanese-American plus-sized model.
“I’ve always been interested in gender, stereotypes and questioning the norms we’ve been told are true,” Leese says of the selection. “I’m curious: what are these boxes? What makes them true? How do we push up against them and dismantle them?
“Every culture has its beauty standards which are ever-changing, but even the West has quite narrow views of what’s beautiful.”
Unlike a common wall calendar, Leese’s “Year of the Dragon 2024” is made up of a series of photographic prints that can be displayed in any sequence according to one’s preference. All 350 copies sold out within a week of its mid-November release.