dragon lady

A term used to describe a stereotype of Asian women found in literature and film from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. A "dragon lady" was a woman of Asian heritage who was thought of as being sexually powerful and generally of a cunning, underhanded, conniving nature, who would use her beauty and sexuality to get what she wanted. Often accompanied in fiction with an opium pipe, jade jewelry, and wearing a Chinese dress, usually with dragons on it. They were usually depicted as snide, assertive, aggressive, sneaky and explosive in temperament. The term is now generally used as a descriptive in a negative context, often to describe a non-Asian's misconception of Asian women. It is also used to describe a manipulative Asian woman, though this is less common.