I’m not some stereotypical loser who feels inferior because of their Asian facial features. Then you may ask, “what the eff is wrong with your title, then?” I don’t hate my heritage; I’m actually very proud of my rich heritage(yes, even my creaseless eyelids!), and hope others feel the same way about their heritage. Okay, I can sense your impatience now, so I’ll start from here: I don’t hate my ethnic background; I just hate the way people treat me because of it.
And if you’ve already assumed that I’m some paranoid minority with a victim mentality, you’re pretty wrong.
What sucks about being an Asian American? Well…
1. People assume that you’re Chinese.
Nothing wrong with being Chinese-rich history, yummy foods, beautiful people, I can go on and on about the rocking Chinese culture. But hello, there are other ethnic groups out there! I don’t want to be recognized as something I’m not, so I hate it whenever people ask me dumb questions like “Soo liek OMG liek are you liek Chinese?” So annoying. Do you not understand the meaning of the word, “Asian”? Assuming all Asian-looking people out there as Chinese is like assuming all Caucasians as Germans, or all Hispanics as Mexicans.
2. People assume that you’re not American.
I heard that things are different in California and Hawaii -and thank God, I’m moving to SoCal!-, but what about all the other states? I’m constantly asked where I’m from, and if I were to tell them “St. Louis,” they would always drag me to the dreaded question, “no, where are you ORIGINALLY from?” Usually at that point, I’m about to scream, “I’m originally from St. Louis so stfu and mind your own fucking business!” but I just tell them some random country’s name, and they shut up.
”Where are you originally from?”
”Estonia.”
”Are you for real? You’re from Europe?”
”Absolutely. I’m European x 100,000.”
There are Asian AMERICANS out there, why can’t they ever understand that? I was born and bred in this country; I didn’t get off the boat three days ago. I am American; I just don’t have blond hair and blue eyes. “American” can’t be a race since this country is made up of millions of different people from different backgrounds. I call myself an American, but they just give me weird looks whenever I do that, so I have to add that stupid hyphenization crap before that. “Asian-American.” Then they give me a stupid lecture about not assimilation enough into the mainstream American culture.
3. People assume that you have small eyes.
Again, nothing wrong with having small eyes. In fact, I don’t even like to call stereotypical small Asian eyes “chinky,” because I consider the word derogatory. However, I don’t have those kind of small eyes, but people assume that I have them because I’m Asian. And even when they see me, they go, “Gee, girl. Wear some white eyeliner. Your eyes are small.” Well, they’re not, and I know this because people who are close to me always tell me how big my eyes are. You just expect all Asians to have those kind of eyes, and when you see one with non-stereotypical Asian eyes, you just decide to put them down anyway. Why do you not realize that making fun of Asian eyes is actually as offensive as calling African Americans the “n word”? Asians already take a lot of crap from others because of eye shapes/sizes. You don’t need to make us feel crappy any more by putting down our non-stereotypical Asian eyes. Well, people even do that “pull eyelids” thing in front of Asians with supersized round eyes, so who am I to complain?
So those are the three things that I think sucks about being an Asian American. I’m very much against generalization and stereotypes, although sometimes I use them for joke purposes. I don’t understand why some people think a certain group of people, whether they’re Asians or not, look and act all the same because of their ethnicity. Why can’t we all just live in peace?
Anyway, if you’re Asian American and want to add to the list, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
Written by SJFF
Do not take out!
hi, it’s me again xDDD
I told you I’ll come visit sometimes ;)
okay, back to topic…as I was born german and grew up german I can’t tell how you feel, BUT I think I somehow know what you’re talking about. Cause this happens the same way in Germany. Only it’s german-asian not american-asian.
Every asian pupil in our school is refered as chinese or japanese. Like there are no other asian countries.
When I’m at one of the bigger towns and someone asian looking passes by I’m always like “What roots does he/she have? Korean,Vietnamese,Chinese,Japanese,…?”
ROOTS…ROOTS…not “Where is he/she from.?” !!!
Well I have a good vietnamese friend. And I have friends on the net with vietnamese roots but for me they are germans ^_^
It’s just another prejudice more in this world.
Well, look at me…yes, I have blue eyes. But hey, my hair is definetly NOT BLOND. So what am I? Russian? Polish? French? Hell, you can’t tell by the looks all the time. Still I can’t deny I’m always interested in the roots of some people. Anyway…one grandfather born in the Czech Republic. One grandmother born in Poland. One grandmother born in Denmark. All raised up in Germany. What Am I again? Just say european and it’s fine.
The world always will have prejudices…sadly.
Anyway.
I’m supporting your point of view (AGAIN).
Comment by keirafan — May 31, 2009 @ 4:01 am
Hai sjff…
I don’t know it just still happen in america,. I thought that just happen for a long2 time ago and I feel sorry ’bout it…
Btw,.do u know SHINee from SM too,.??I’m very glad if u do,.and i’m sorry my english is bad..^^
would u like to answer in my blog..thx b4..^^
Comment by Cha_BigSHINeeJunior — June 1, 2009 @ 8:26 am
Owh,.and I’m an indonesian girl definitely,.one of southern asia,.near vietname,.or thailand if u know,,.
It doesn’t matter what people think of u,.b’coz all they know is nothing…just cheer up…^^
Comment by Cha_BigSHINeeJunior — June 1, 2009 @ 8:31 am
@keirafan: There is a German race, at least according to Hitler and his bestseller Mein Kampf(sarcasm), but as far as I know, there is no “American” race unless you’re talking about Native Americans. Even though there is practically no “American” race, people still think Asians or Hispanics, or basically anybody who isn’t white, black, or Native American are FOBs and immigrants. It’s perfectly normal to be curious about one’s heritage, but it’s another thing to label me as a Chinese immigrant just because I look Asian. In my country, you just can’t go up to some stranger and ask him/her about his/her heritage, unless that stranger is Asian, because then you’re free to assume that the Asian person is just fresh off the boat. It doesn’t matter if your ancestors came here during the 1850’s; you’re still a perpetual foreigner.
Anyways…It’s great how you treat Vietnamese Germans as just Germans!:) We need more open-minded people like you over here. I like how you have progressive opinions on things like race relations and such:)
Comment by sjff — June 3, 2009 @ 8:57 am
@Cha_BigSHINee Junior: Of course I know where Indonesia is:) And hell yeah, SHINee! Love them!
It really shouldn’t matter what they think of me, but if you were to be asked what Asian country you just came from like 300 times a day, it gets really annoying:(
“Where are you originally from?” “Well, you never ask that question to non-Asian Americans, do you?” “Well, I’m not being racist or anything…” “Bitch, you are!”:)
Comment by sjff — June 3, 2009 @ 9:07 am
@ sjff: Mein Kampf *disgusted sound* is forbidden nowerdays in Germany and that’s a very good thing. I don’t even want to read it and I never will in the future. Hitler is a person I can’t really find the right words to express how the hell I hate him. You can’t really be proud being german because a lot people think we are still Nazis. Okay, Soccer World Cup in 2006 was really great because we could show a bit proud of having a good soccer team. There was this ‘proud of being german’ feeling and it was the best summer I had in the past 5 years (since I love soccer and my country). I hate to need to explain myself when people find out I’m german.
But I rememer one thing. When I was on school exchange to Guadeloupe (frensh) and the father of my partner was watching something about Hitler I was really a bit worried what he might thought about me. I didn’t say a thing only silently watching from the dorr as he turned around and only said:
“It’s not your fault”
Lovely family. Last summer is was there again for 3 weeks. Private this time. I really love the island and the people. Maybe because I met so many people without prejudices against me.
Comment by keirafan — June 4, 2009 @ 7:08 am
@keirafan: That isn’t fair that young Germans can’t even show pride in their country just because of some AUSTRIAN moron did 60 something years ago. I’m very aware of the fact that most Germans these days are not Nazis, and anyone making a prejudice against you guys are just as bad as Nazis.
Comment by sjff — June 4, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
This f****** Nazi shit….really hate people who still think that Hitler´s way of thinkin about humans is right….it´s so f****** annoying if you said you´re german and some of that crazy russian bitches or some else see you as an Nazi just because you said that you love your country (happened before)!! Hey how stupid is that?
I´m a girl who LOVES Asian guys and doesn´t think that they are a lower race since there´s just the Human Race!
so…that´s another opinion of mine….. ;)
Comment by Niritaya — June 6, 2009 @ 8:37 am
@Niritaya: Russian chicks? I mean, I thought Russia was the country with the highest number of Nazis(correct me if I’m wrong, Russian readers).
And since Germany is not a fascist country anymore…I mean, you’re saying that you love the modern Germany, not the Third Reich, so why do people get mad at that? I’m very proud of being American and if anyone calls me a, say, fatass snob for that, I will punch the hell out of their face. :)
Comment by sjff — June 10, 2009 @ 3:40 pm
oh and don’t forget the fact that Asians are suppose to be brilliant at math….funny, i must not be asian coz i SUCK! haha, not really i’m getting better but still…
Comment by kpoplover — June 14, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
@kpoplover: Hey, your ethnicity has nothing to do with your smartness. I’m not criticizing you;I know that you were just playing and I use that smart Asian stereotype for fun a lot of times too…:)So don’t take it offensive!:)
Well, high five! Another stupid Asian here! Haha. I’m (no bragging) good at biology and geography but I suck at everything else, and that includes math. I mean, we’re not going to use calculus/algebra in real world:) I don’t think my boss would fire me for not remembering the Pythegorean Theorem(sp?):)
Comment by sjff — June 16, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
Hehe… I know exactly what you’re talking about with this article. I have also had to face this in the past- on a daily basis, infact- and know what you mean. x_x
Now that I am a little older, the people around me have matured a bit and the teasing/stereotyping has died down substantially. But I have experienced my fair share of, “So you’re Chinese, right?” and let us not forget cries of, “Pearl Harbor!”
And of course, the most cliche and immature trick in the book: the whole eyelid-pulling thing. I truly do NOT understand this. Maybe I could if I actually had small eyes, but I don’t. It doesn’t apply to me. I am half Korean, half Caucasian, and have big eyes with natural double eyelids. But people are ignorant and only see the black-brown hair and my petite frame and assume that I am only Asian. I’m tall, even for American standards, so don’t you look at me like I’m crazy when I say I’m half white!!! Grrr…
Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about my culture and heritage. :]] Korea rocks! I am moving ther as soon as I… well.. am no longer a minor. XD
But yesss, people can be quite ignorant at times, especially when young. The boys who called me a Chink in the 5th grade, and shouted, “Vietnam! Vietnam!” to me in the hallways are now talking about how hot I am and asking me out– how easily we forget… XD
Those jerks should have taken into account that I might actually grow up to be pretty in High School… lol. But hey, I’m not complaining. Their loss. ^^
When I was younger, I used to wish that I had blonde hair and blue eyes like every other kid in the US (lol I know now that’s not even true, but whatever. ;D), so that people wouldn’t make fun of me for being different. But now, I am so happy and appreciative that I am different and unique-looking. It would be boring to look like everyone else in the US, and I’m glad I stand out a little. Now, I am glad and proud to be Asian-American. :]
Yet another rant from Sabrina~~ haha.^^ sorry that I get so carried away guys. XD Just got a lot to say, is all. :]
P.S. sjff: Have you ever experienced people going, “NO, she is not ASIAN, she is KOREAN.” And then had to explain to them that Asia is a continent, not a country? Happened (and, sadly, still continues occasionally.) to me all the time. Sad, isn’t it?
Much love <33
Comment by Saabs — June 17, 2009 @ 10:11 am
@Saabs: See, I don’t get it why people have no problem calling Eurasians(like you) Asians but not whites, unless they look super white. I mean, why is that? Some kind of One Drop Rule?
I haven’t met a single ugly Eurasian in my life. Y’all get the best of both worlds! And yes, you guys are way more unique and exotic than generic Hollywood fake blonde plastic beauties. I bet you are really gorgeous.:)
I’ve taken a lot of verbal attacks and that eyelid pull thing from ignorant freaks too. But I attacked back by calling them “mother raping Nazis”*cough* or simply by being racist back. If a kid was to pull his eyelids in front of me(which looks utterly gross because non-Asians don’t have much fat in their eyelids) I’d kick their asses and call them racist names back. By the time I was 8, I knew most all racist names from UK and America. Oh gosh, I was a horrible kid. But I wonder where little kids learn all these hatred from.
Comment by sjff — June 19, 2009 @ 8:52 am
I think it’s all about tolerance. Sadly, there’re many people who doesn’t seem to know this word… and it’s like that almost everywhere. My country (I’m Polish) is no exception. I live in a small town so there weren’t any people with Asian features in my high school but I know how the people I know react when I start talking about Asian stuff. For most of them Asian = Chinese, they don’t even bother to realise that there’re more ethinicities in Asia… I get really angry when I hear them saying something about Chinese eyelids or Chinese people in general -__- I’m Caucasian and I rather look like one (I have black curly hair, pale skin and blue-green-grayish eyes – well, maybe my hair colour doesn’t really match the rest but who cares) but I don’t care about anyone’s ethnicity (and it doesn’t matter to me if someone has Asian/African/other features, really nice and friendly people are everywhere!), being honest I’m fond of Asian people (sadly, I’ve never met any personally…) and I think I wouldn’t make any stupid comments about their looks. It’s the same with Germans – I’m not very proud of it, but here, in Poland, there’re many people who really don’t like them because of the WW II… But hey, it’s all in the past now, we can’t blame all the Germans for everything that happened! Well, maybe Polish people are not tolerant in general… That’s why we’re not very well thought of -__-
Sorry for this little off-topic, I just had to write it… Well, maybe I won’t say anything really smart but the best thing is that you’re proud of being American. And that should be what really counts;)
Comment by May — June 21, 2009 @ 3:36 pm
@May: I think a lot of Polish people are actually good at heart and that they’ll be more tolerant when they learn how to be. It’s good that you’re way more open-minded than your peers though:) How did you come to know Super Junior then, though, if there were no Asians in your area? Just curious:)
Eh..I hate it when people think Asian=Chinese though. Nothing against Chinese people. Wouldn’t a French person get mad if I called him English? I don’t have any Chinese blood in me and I’d rather have people calling me “American” than “Chinese”.:)
Comment by sjff — June 21, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
Being honest, maybe I don’t hate my country, but I’m not really proud to be Polish either… Of course there’re many tolerant Polish people – but the stereotypical Pole is intolerant and xenophobic -__-” For many Poles Asian = Chinese (as I said before) and the Chinese people are the ones who sell cheap clothes on bazaars – I don’t know, is it really that hard to understand that there’re many different kinds of people in China (or Asia in general)? I really don’t get it… Not to mention that Japanese anime = Chinese cartoon for kids/Chinese porn (O.o”) for most of peoople in Poland ._. No matter how much one try to explain everything, the masses “know better” -__- But I have nothing against Chinese people, why should I? Of course, I too don’t like some nationalities, it’s not on the ethnic background, though, I just can’t stand their lifestyles and ways of thinking… But I don’t go and say how much I hate them again and again ._. They’re my personal feelings. I don’t know if I’m open-minded, it’s more like I just like having my own opinion^^
How did I come to know SuJu?^^ I wrote a little about it before but I don’t mind telling you again ;D Well, honestly I’m the kind of person who spends most of her free time on using computer… From about 2 years I’ve been an user of some Polish forums – it’s mostly the manga/anime oriented one but there’re also lots of different stuff in there;) I’ve been into j-boybands lately but one day my friend showed me the Sorry Sorry MV (because her friend from university loves Asian music in general and sometimes shows her some songs again and again xD) and that’s how everything started;) I think when someone can use the Internet, everything is possible…
Comment by May — June 22, 2009 @ 6:58 am
@May: Haha:) Your country’s pretty interesting!!:) I might want to visit there someday.
Probably the reason why many people in Poland think we’re all Chinese clothes sellers:)is because the Polish culture is umm, sorry for the generalization, resilient. Maybe it wasn’t so easy keeping the culture alive under the Russians(during the 18th~19th centuries I think?) and eventually the Nazis during WW2. Maybe people are too afraid to accept other cultures in fear that the Polish culture might disappear, I don’t know. Gosh I sound like a fake historian trying to generalize:) But I mean, as you said, everything is possible with the Internet! The world is currently being globalized thanks to it. Maybe some years later people will be more tolerant toward other cultures :)
Comment by sjff — June 22, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
Well, I don’t really think Poland is that interesting but whatever xD There’s nothing special to see, you know ;p
Hmmm, maybe you’ve got a point… But from the other hand, for some years now our culture’s been mixed with different ones, for example now it isn’t anything weird to see places (shops and such) with foreign names or people from all around a world there (mostly in big cities, though…). But I think the problem is with our mentality – Polish people have always been like that, or so our history says^^” Maybe that’s why some of Poles still believe in the “Chinese” stereotypes… But who knows, maybe in some next, I don’t know, 50 years even those will disappear… As long as the older generations won’t teach the young ones such stupid things;) World changes after all, and so do people^^
Comment by May — June 23, 2009 @ 9:00 am
@May: Yeah, I hope everything sorts out by the time I’m 70 so that I can live in peace:)
Well, I mean, people change. 50 years ago, American schools were segregated and people were lynching black folks for no reason other than the color of their skin. Now we see people practically worshipping Lil Wayne and Kanye West. 100 years ago, stereotype on black people was that they’re stupid and naive(not true!). Now a lot of people think African Americans are athletic, cool and good at dancing:) I mean, still stereotypes, but far better than the former ones.
Racism is for lameos!:)
Comment by sjff — June 26, 2009 @ 9:31 am
@ sjff: I’m going to answer on the comment you gave to Niritaya.
Well the thing is Hitler and Stalin hated each other. I don’t know how it is in Russia, but the thing is germans back than were social-nationalists and russians were communists. That’s a difference,not to say a kind of contrast. Then after WW2 there was this split and Germany ended up in the democratic part of the west (BRD) and the communistic (and Russian supported) part of the east(DDR).
Comment by xKeirafanx — June 28, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
@xKeirafanx: That’s exactly what happened in Korea!!! Haha!
I was talking about neo-Nazis by the way. It’s not even funny. Go onto neo-Nazi websites and a lot of people that are on there are Russians. It’s sad because they don’t acknowledge the fact that Hitler hated Slavs.
Comment by sjff — June 29, 2009 @ 7:48 am
I’m not an Asian American, but I’m an Asian living in Europe (which makes me an Asian European I assume..? o.O). Anyways, if there’s something that I can add, then it’s the words that those non-Asian throw at us Asians. Examples; CHING CHONG, Nihao, Konichiwa, etc, etc. ETC !!!
Now, I have kind of big eyes for being an Asian (I’m actually serious O.O), so ppl don’t really say those kind of things to me – but whenever I’m with my co-asian friends, we always get those words.
But whatever. When ppl say things like that to me, I always reply “ching chong”, “NIHAOO, MJAOOO, HIIII-YAAA!”, etc! I’m damn proud of being an Asian, so I just luuuuuv to freak those non-Asians out! ^_^
But.. What bothers me a lot is that there’s some people who think that there’s something wrong with being an Asian. Once I saw these two girls fighting (total bimbos, both of them 8-) ), and then the other one (who weren’t Asian) said “Well at least I’m not CHINESE like you!”. And man… I wanted to smash that girl’s face into a wall of bricks, and then drown her to death. But ofc, I didn’t, because I’m Asian, huhuhuhu.. (totally not being a racist to my own race now.. :O).
But seriously; WTF?!?!?! WTF is wrong with being Chinese?! >______<'
ASIAN PRIDE FOR LIFE!
Comment by sweetattention — August 7, 2009 @ 3:39 pm