Last week, the world was spinning as fast as always. A persistent famine killed thousands of Somalis. A partisan stalemate in the wrestle over the debt cap was pushing the US government to the edge of financial delinquency. A crazy gunman opened fire on a tranquil island in Norway and killed 68 young campers. And two bullet trains collided in China killing more than 40 people.

Yet Wendi Deng got as much attention as any of these events. From China to the US, everyone seemed to be talking about the moment when she nimbly leapt off her chair, and swung her right arm to protect her husband Rupert Murdoch from an angry pie tossing comedian during a hearing in the British Parliament at which the media mogul was questioned about the mounting phone hacking scandal at his now shutteredNews of the Worldnewspaper.

She was approvingly dubbed a "tiger wife" by the media in the US. And in her home country, China, the response was even more enthusiastic. The image of a 43-year-old Chinese woman defending an 80-year-old American man may have been a perfect symbol of the relationship between a rising China and an aging US.

In fact, the respect Deng got from her heroic action is probably good news for all Asian women, especially those who live in Western countries where they have long been labeled as being tender and submissive, serving the fetishes of Western men who pursue them partly because of these expectations.

And, not long ago, amid the rising trend of mixed marriages in the US, "gold digging" was added to the qualifications of Asian women who are believed to be more likely to marry older, rich, white men.

This was reinforced by a commentary piece in Marie Claire in 2009, which listed many high profile couples with husbands more than 20 or 30 years older than wives, including director Woody Allen and his Korean wife Soon-Yi, the late investment banker Bruce Wasserstein and his Chinese wife Angela Chao, and, of course, the Murdochs. The article was titled "The New Trophy Wives: Asian Women."

Thanks to the smackdown, Deng helped correct some of the stereotypes that she was responsible in creating. "Tiger wife" certainly sounds more flattering than "trophy wife."

But I won't be surprised to see Asian women start to complain that instead of asking whether they can make sushi, their dates now ask them whether they know how to do the "left hook," as Deng's volleyball smash was named by a British Labour MP who witnessed it.

Stereotypes can sometimes cling on for a long time. The role American-Chinese actress Anna May Wong played in the 1930s film Daughter of the Dragon more or less created the image of the "dragon lady," and strong Asian women from Madame Chiang Kai-shek to the restaurant owners in Chinatown all had to wear this hat for decades.

But what's more intriguing is what happened between "Asian trophy wife" and "Asian tiger wife." Indeed, nothing more than a misnamed "left hook." And will what may have just been the instinctive reaction of a former volleyball player completely change her own image, and possibly that of all Asian women overnight?

It's safe to assume that most people who helped to spread the word about the "tiger wife" have never met Deng. And their knowledge about her comes mainly from sporadic media reports and photos, and the 10-second video segment that became a live version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the British Parliament.

Yet, few of us can conquer the desire to draw meaningful conclusions from what might actually be meaningless. This game isn't hard. It's inclusive - you don't have to be an expert to play. It's rewarding, since when people pick up your words, you get self satisfaction. It's a relaxing game and you don't have to be responsible for what you say most of the time. The tip of the iceberg is all that matters and trivia is blown up to something that is bigger than its own life.

This is how Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan became spokespersons for a spoiled generation, Wendi Deng became the poster girl for Asian women, and why stereotypes never die.

Related

• Murdoch's Achilles' heel
• James Murdoch under pressure
• Protester attacks Rupert Murdoch at hearing
• Murdoch says he's staying
• Man rushes at Rupert Murdoch in hearing
• Murdoch denies responsiblity for scandal

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