Generality:“Yellow”. 123
Claire | 18 | she/her | nationality: American | ethnicity:Chinese
“Yellow”.
Sunshine, warmth — paint, even. Race doesn’t come instantly to mind. I
haven’t heard ‘yellow’ used to reference Asians much,growing up, but
when used it does always tend to be referring to Chinesepeople. Then
again, Chinese culture does self-identify as 黄种人.Anyway, we have
blanket terms like white people, black people, brownpeople, but for
Asians it’s just. Asian people. Not really ‘yellowpeople’.
“Asian”.
There’s technically no stopping people from identifyingas however
they wish. Ancestry is pretty fickle; someone canbe 1/16 Asian for all
we know, and for all intents and purposes they cancall themselves
Asian if they want. My personal opinion is that identifyingas Asian
entails Asian culture having played a significantrole in your lifestyle
and upbringing, and was a genuine aspect in shapingyour identity.
Otherwise, why exactly are you identifying as somethingwith no
substance to who you are?
Ethnicity|part1.
It’s hard to pinpoint what being Asian is like. Ifwe’re talking positives,
Asians value traits like dignity, self-sufficiency,and perseverance. We
believe the best way to have control over your lifeis working for the
things you want and having the nerve to take initiative.For negatives, I
feel we tend to be very...distant. Despite our strongvalues of
community and family, I always got the sense thatAsians keep to
themselves and typically choose to turn the otherway rather than
speaking up or stepping forward. We don’t seem tolike being assertive
or drawing attention.
Ethnicity|part2.
My perception of my ethnicity is most influenced bymy household (a
fairly traditional one) and other Asians around me.My opinions
definitely aren’t fully representative. I avoid describingAsians with
generalized terms such as ‘smart’ and ‘good at studying’.Maybe it’s
natural that those are the words that come to mindmost, seeing as
those were often our most stand-out/memorable traitsgrowing up and
going to school. Those who knew us from afar onlyknew us for those
qualities.
Differ from Asian stereotype(s).
I’m no good at math, not planning on pursuing STEMeither in general.
Honestly, if it were feasible I’d love to pursue theperforming arts.
Naturally, I was steered away from those interestsever since I was
little, but not even by parents alone. Just reflectfor a moment on the
way our education system values STEM over humanitiesover art. Those
who know that Ted Talk, good on you. Regarding socialstereotypes, the
most prevalent one seems to be that we’re silent workerdrones with no
mchaos
(mchaos)
#1