Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing racial population in the United States. There are roughly 18.2 million of us living here, a number that grows vastly every day. We now make up 5.6% of the American population. This means that roughly 9.1 million Americans, or 2.8 percent of the total population, are Asian females. We aren't the majority, but we definitely aren't small, and regardless of number, we deserve to have a voice.

But when you look at U.S. American media, this is not the picture you see. Asian-American women are missing from films. There are over 9 million of us living in America, and yet barely any of us grace the big screen. There are plenty of Asian actresses to choose from; supply is not the problem. Whitewashing is. Asian roles in U.S. films, especially leading ones, are exceedingly rare, and those that do exist are being filled by white actresses in modern day yellow face. Only 5.percent of speaking roles (not even leading or supporting -- just speaking) in 2014 were given to Asian performers. Yet Scarlett Johansson is playing the Japanese character of Motoko Kusanagi, Emma Stone is cast as the mixed-race, part-Chinese character Allison Ng, and Tilda Swinton dons Tibetan robes for the role of the highly stereotypical Ancient One.

Meanwhile, Asian actresses are constantly overlooked. It's not that they don't exist or aren't talented; it's that they're never given any sort of chance. Look at the facts. No Asian-American has ever won the Oscar for Best Actress; in fact, only one Asian woman has ever won an Oscar for acting, period. Miyoshi Umeki did win Best Supporting Actress, back in 1958. That's right-- since 1958, no Asian American actress has won a single Oscar. In fact, more white women have won Oscars for playing Asian characters than Asian women have.

Although Miyoshi Umeki was an amazing actress and was well deserving of her awards, she is not the only Asian-American actress who is worthy. Asian actresses like Margaret Cho, Lucy Liu, Mindy Kaling, and Brenda Song are all extremely talented and hardworking performers. There are also countless other Asian American actresses who have yet to be discovered because they've never been given a chance to shine. If we open up good Asian roles to actual Asian actresses, we will finally get to see more of the great talent the few well-known Asian-American performers have given us a taste of.

White actresses have plenty of roles; they are portrayed in films as well-round, three-dimensional characters with interesting backstories and well-developed plot lines. Meanwhile, Asian actresses are turned away from good lead roles and cast as overused stereotypes and background characters. Asian actresses are capable of playing roles well beyond geishas, samurais, and ninjas; they, like all other women, are people with many dimensions and facets, and should be shown in films as such. The only people who can play Asian women to their full, realized potential are Asian actresses; all they need is to be given the chance.