As you may know, May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage month. I only learned of AAPI Heritage month two years ago but immediately fell in love with it. Not only do I value learning so much about Asian American history, media, and more during this month, but I always feel a sense of pride as an Asian American myself. This year, with the rise of anti-Asian and anti-Asian American racism following COVID-19, AAPI heritage month felt slightly ironic. However, this irony simply made AAPI heritage month this year even more important, as we Asian Americans must unite to combat this racism and continue to find pride in who we are. We must not stay quiet and let the racism continue like we have done all throughout history. This is not the time to be passive.
Thus, in honor of AAPI heritage month coming to an end, I asked 27 of my friends the following two questions:
1. What do you think of when you hear the term “Asian American?”
2. When did you first hear the term “Asian American?”
Each of the 27 individuals have different backgrounds– some Asian American, some Asian but not American (i.e. live overseas), some American but not Asian (i.e. Caucasian). Reading the responses was really interesting. In this post, I will share my reactions to the responses that stuck out to me, as well as my own answers to the questions. I want to emphasize that these are my opinions/reactions; I am by no means trying to represent all Asian Americans.
Although all distinct, there were many shared ideas throughout the responses. Lots of my Asian American friends tended to speak about the cultural aspect of being Asian American– of how, to them, being Asian American is mixing Asian culture with American culture. Personally, this is also one of the first things I think of when I hear the term “Asian American.” Feeling like you have to choose between being Asian or being American as a child only to realize later on that you can be both is a revelation I will never forget. To me, the ability to incorporate the beauty of my Asian culture into the “normalcy” of my American one, to finally resolve the ongoing identity crisis I faced every day, is part of the definition of “Asian American.”
Most non-Asian Americans emphasized how Asian Americans are indeed still American even though we are often seen as perpetual foreigners. It’s interesting how non-Asian Americans chose to emphasize our American-ness. To me, it shows how my non-Asian American friends are extremely inclusive of different types of people. However, a counter argument may be that non-whites subconsciously always seek white validation. Although deep down we “know” we are American, it doesn’t always seem true unless a white person confirms it. When white Americans explicitly state that we Asian Americans are just as American as them, it can seem like they are letting us into the “club” of being American. This membership of the club confirms we are “actually” American. We are American seen through the eyes of others and not just our own.
Another commonality among the responses is the association of Asian Americans with only East Asians, thus completely disregarding South Asians. Affiliating “Asian Americans” with East Asians is not rare among the vast majority of people. Even in the Asian American student organizations at both my high school and college, there was an obvious lack of South Asian representation. It wasn’t that the student organizations were purposely excluding South Asians, but rather they weren’t attracting them as much. This is likely due to the fact that the majority of the student organization members were East Asians. Being in a room full of people who don’t resemble you can feel unwelcoming. However, I believe that by reaching out more to South Asian communities and incorporating more parts of South Asian cultures, this can be resolved. It’s important to recognize that “Asian American” includes more than East Asians. We neither want to minimize the diversity of this population nor exclude the accomplishments and history of South Asians.
One of the responses that surprised me the most was my friend who said he thinks of “an Asian person, often female, around my age.” When I read that he associated a specific gender with being Asian American, I was shocked. I gave him the benefit of the doubt by assuming most of the Asian Americans he knows are likely females our age. However, part of me could not help but wonder if he associated women with the term “Asian American” because of the portrayal of Asian/ Asian American women in the media as being submissive and passive. As an Asian American women myself, I felt slightly uncomfortable reading this response because I immediately thought about the fetishization of Asian/ Asian American women and the “Yellow Fever” concept where Caucasian men take a particular interest in Asian/ Asian American women due to their history of being portrayed as acquiescent and obedient. Although I’m sure my friend meant no harm, it was hard to stop my mind from making that connection. On top of this, when I googled “Asian American,” I was surprised to see that most of the images were of women– I guess this answers my question, as clearly the media groups women with the term “Asian American” more than men.
Another controversial response was from a friend who said, “The first thing that comes to mind is hard working. There isn’t a single Asian American I know who doesn’t work their butt off in both a physical and emotional way.” The typical stereotype of Asian Americans being hard workers immediately came into my mind. I felt like this response completely feeds into the model minority myth, as it assumes that all Asian Americans are successful as a result of their hard work. However, this brings up the question of whether stereotypes can be a good thing at times. Does being viewed as hard workers result in positive biases in people we don’t know yet? However, at the same time, this may result in Asian Americans being viewed as lacking other personality traits, specifically that we are boring and cold because we are only focused on work.
Finally, one of my Asian friends from abroad expressed how she believes the term “Asian” in Asian American “in a sense bridges the two parts of the world and helps change the perception of what we think of as the stereotypical 'American,'" where the term “American” evokes ignorance and for non-American affairs and cultures. Before reading her response, this idea had never even occurred to me. This is because as an Asian American, although often feeling like an “other,” I ultimately still see myself as “American.” Thus, I assumed all non-Americans would also associate the stereotypical “American” qualities with me even if I’m Asian, as I associate such negative “American” qualities with my American nationality.
I really only began to understand the term “Asian American” on a personal level during my junior year of high school. Although I had likely heard it in passing when I was younger, it was only during my freshman year of high school at an assembly about Asian Americans when the term registered in my mind. It was in that assembly when I realized that I am Asian American.
From the responses, it is evident that the time when my friends first heard the term really varies. On one extreme, some of my friends heard it in elementary school, but on the other end, I have friends who first learned about it in college.
It makes sense that my non-American friends only heard the term later in life, as it isn’t as applicable to them, and Asian American representation in media is only recently becoming more prominent. Although the current surge of Asian American representation in media can explain why my American friends may only be hearing the term more recently, it is not as “justified,” as Asian Americans have been part of American history for over a century. This goes back to the idea that the history of the U.S. includes many different stories, including that of Asian Americans. Thus, as products of American society, we should be taught these different stories. Unfortunately, this is not the case, which is why many Americans may only be hearing the term later in life.
Ultimately, learning about my friends’ experiences with the term “Asian American” was extremely enlightening. As an Asian American who is still developing this part of my identity, hearing about other peoples’ experiences just makes me value that part of my identity even more. The term “Asian American” now has even more sides to it than it previously did. From this mini project, I was able to see how many of us Asian Americans have distinct but common experiences, which for me, emphasized the importance of community. Community often results in a deeper understanding of one’s identity, which is why finding community is extremely valuable. Given our current times, this idea of community is even more powerful.
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