Can we please stop calling it a ‘honey trap’?
When Jensen Huang told Nvidia employees on November 8 that he had been “unfaithful” to his wife , there’s a phrase that quickly became omnipresent in the media: Huang had been the victim of a “honey trap”, laid by Alice Huang (no relation), a Singapore-based tech executive identified as a Chinese spy by U.S. intelligence agencies. “Honey trap,” seriously? The story behind the phrase is that a…
When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed on November 8 that he had been unfaithful to his wife, the media quickly dubbed him a victim of a "honey trap". The phrase became ubiquitous in coverage, despite its problematic origins and implications. The concept of the "honey trap" is rooted in outdated stereotypes and sexist tropes, where a cunning woman lures a man into compromising situations through deceit.
This idea not only reinforces harmful gender stereotypes but also unfairly portrays women as manipulative danger to men, while absolving men of any responsibility for their actions. The term originated from spy fiction, popularized by John le Carré in 1974, and has since been associated with Asian women, dating back to the 19th century in the United States.
Its use in the Nvidia story not only portrays Alice Huang, a high-level business executive, as a manipulative seductress but also diminishes her professional accomplishments. The phrase does not accurately reflect the conflict of interest involved, as the relationship between Huang and Huang's business partner presents a serious issue of misconduct and potential espionage.
It is time to abandon the outdated and harmful "honey trap" phrase and instead use language that acknowledges the actions of all parties involved as responsible and accountable decisions.
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