Do you use this term to describe yourself? If not, what feels more authentic to you?
If you can’t make our live Reading Group sessions, or find it easier to share in text form, comment below. All stories welcome. Please keep this a safe and supportive space!
Of course! For me, it is several reasons. First, the term “Asian-American” is ill-defined. I echo everything everyone else has said about this term. Or as Cathy Park Hong says, “The paint has yet to dry on ‘Asian American.’”Second, all these racial constructs are for the benefit of white people, who created race. I refuse to subjugate myself in this regard. Third, as an immigrant, I feel more solid ground with my Chinese identity. I was born in Beijing and came here when I was five.
Hi! I just did a mini talk on this but being a “new” American (born in US for political insurance but only just started living here) I really struggle with this term. Some talking points from the talk…
“ being Asian American is complex….
Asia is a continent that represents 48+ countries (from India to Afghanistan, from Vietnam to Japan, from Russia to China). With incredibly rich and complex relationships and histories with each other. In fact, when we examine China alone, we need to acknowledge that there is 56 recognized ethnicities, Chinese is split into many dialects, and arguably separate languages all together (I remember when I first moved to Beijing. I grew up speaking Cantonese, but in China, the official language is Mandarin. And I remember every time I got lost or struggled to tell a taxi driver where I was going, I’d have to find a foreigner to help me translate…in my own country!). On top of that…the identity of being Chinese is further separated to whether I’m from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau due to HISTORY and POLITICS…then to add in colourism, racism, the caste system…then on top of that, the incredibly different identities, experiences, understandings that I (as an immigrant) have with someone who fits the same demographic category as me but is 2, 3, 4 generation…I feel that one broad category limits us. In a corporate setting using the EEOC categories, “Asian” could look to be increasing for some industries, but when we dig deeper into those numbers, we see it’s i.e. Indian men and Chinese women in tech.
Hi GChui! I am also Chinese and grew up speaking Cantonese, and even saying that out loud is difficult because I identify more as Hong Kong Chinese, which isn't an identity that I even comfortably say, because I think technically my family is from Guangzhou! AH! By the time I get through all that, I am pretty sure whoever asked is no longer listening. :(
I relate a lot to not speaking Mandarin in China and feeling a real disconnect with being "Chinese" due to my inability to communicate...I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.
How has all this complexity made you feel about identity?
P.S. I agree that it is really limiting and the disaggregation is really helpful, and I wish it was done more.
Today, “Asian American” resonates with me as a political coalition, though I question whether I have any “right” to claim it in that way. When referring to myself, I usually describe myself as “Korean and American”, and depending on the context and how safe I feel in the space, might add that, for me, that means that I was born in Korea and taken to the United States as an infant, to be raised by white people. For a long time, I think this experience conditioned me to believe that “Asian American” meant being Asian on the outside and white on the inside. I’ve only started unpacking this within the last couple of years and still have so much more to figure out.
Thank you for being honest about that questioning, Amanda. I agree so much that safety and context affect the answer, and I very much find myself changing my answers depending on who I'm talking to. I hope you feel seen on your journey of unpacking...my therapist always tells me how courageous it is to do the questioning, even though I often *don't* feel courageous, I want to pass along that thought :)
Not really, because Asia as a geography is so big, and so is America. I never say it out loud because it wouldn’t make sense to most people, but in my mind—as far as geographic identities go—I very identify far more with being “Hong Kong Californian” than anything else I’ve seen or heard. (Born in Hong Kong and spent most of my life in California.)
I love the specificity of "Hong Kong Californian", and I really admire that you choose that specificity. I get afraid to claim that specificity sometimes! Your comment made me think about whether I employ broader terms like "Asian America" to hide behind....thank you for making me think about this!!!!!!!
I consider myself Vietnamese first -- likely because I take issue with how hyperfocused America is on the good ol' immigrant narrative and the widespread assumption that most folks are here because they want to be. Y'know, for "better opportunity" if you just pull yourself up from your bootstraps.
As a daughter of refugees who's slooooowly beginning to learn about and unpack what US imperialism is, how it affected my family, and how it contributes to ongoing destabilization and displacement throughout the Asia Pacific region in attempts to influence how APAC develops, I'm learning that choice is illusory in the face of oppression. Or at least that choice is severely limited by oppression and the US's military agenda.
I tend to feel like the nuances of my identity and my family's story get lost in "Asian American". Because "Asian Americans" already struggle with invisibility and are often treated as monolithic under model minority myth, identifying as Vietnamese feels like a pushback on the parts of the term I don't feel seen by and a reclamation of an identity that's too often reduced down to a war that the US views as a tragic and shameful "failure".
I agree with the loss of nuance in "Asian American"! I feel like you, Wilda, and Nina all have this confidence in claiming specific identities and I really admire that!
I like to identify as Karen, even though that name is honestly the worst name to have right now, ha! When I'm writing a "bio", I find myself saying that I identify as a child of immigrants, but never specifying my nationality or saying "Asian American". I think the experience of being born in the US to immigrant parents is far from singular, but I find myself drawn to people who also have that experience. I don't meet many people with my specific experience, and perhaps that's why I don't claim it -- born in South Carolina to child of immigrants from Hong Kong by way of Guangdong -- I've never met anyone with that specific identity, to date.
So perhaps I broaden it in the way that one widens their net to catch more fish (bad analogy), but I am driven by this desire not to be "alone" in my experiences, as I felt so much growing up. One of my closest connections is with a person who was born in New Orleans but his parents are immigrants from Suzhou, China. So while our "Chinese" identity is actually not so similar, being even from the region of the South was enough to make me feel very connected.
As second-gen born in U.S. and having specific ancestral roots in the Woo and Leong Clan villages of Hoi'San in the southern part of China, I identify as Hoi'San American. That is how and where I draw my pride from. China is so diverse and the immigration experiences are so vast.
I describe myself as East Asian American. I add the "East" part to recognize the privilege I have compared to Southeast, Central Asians, and South Asian Americans. I don't usually introduce myself as Chinese American because I feel very disconnected from my culture. I was born in the US and grew up in predominantly white-middle upper class spaces as a middle class first generation kid. Sure, I understand and can speak a little Cantonese, Taishanese, and Mandarin, but I tend to associate my Chinese family with sexism, homophobia, anti-Blackness, emotional neglect and trauma. I feel little desire to work on those languages to communicate with elders and extended family when I expect them to not accept me in my full queerness and neurodivergence and desire to get leave college and academia. The one way I always feel connected and sometimes proud to be Chinese is through food - and even that always connects to fatphobia within Chinese culture, white-washing of Chinese food, and ignorance of the diversity of Chinese cuisine. But Chinese food is also my parents' and grandparents' language of love and how I share my love with my friends and chosen family. Now it's also become a way to give myself love in relearning hunger cues and intuitive eating.
Having been born in the US and growing up speaking Korean at home, and English at school, I've always identified with "Asian American." I understand the term is extremely broad and attempts to characterize millions of people with varying ethnicities/cultures/beliefs, and also that I may not identify with it in the future, but up until now, I've felt it's authentic to me.
I think about this question a lot, and I have loved reading through everyone's answers! It continually amazes me how the entirety of Asia and all its counties is so reduced; as someone mentioned below, being Asian-American is extremely complex.
In my case my father immigrated from Vietnam to the US, and my mother is white. When asked on surveys or for data collection purposes, I will select Asian-American, or mixed race. When asked by other people I will say Vietnamese-American or Asian-American. I think mixed race children often struggle to have identify with both cultures that we come from; I feel like there is a marked difference between me and my siblings experience in the US, versus my cousins (both of their parents are Vietnamese) and I know our experiences can be very similar but also vastly different.
I also recognize my experience is very different from other Asian/Asian-American/AAPI/children of immigrants, but it is wild to me that I've been told multiple times by other people that I'm either "too white" or "too Asian" and people don't feel like both of my backgrounds can be true at the same time
I came across this description by Shengxiao/Sole on the AARISE website (https://consciousxchange.kartra.com/page/AARISE), which I resonate with, and it's often how I feel about claiming the term "Asian American" as someone who has Singaporean and Canton roots: "Sole uplifts the legacy of activists who coined the term “Asian American” while also problematizing the term for the ways it has perpetuated oppression in marginalized communities." So, while I am proud of the term, I also find that it's not all encompassing of the nuance that this community has, and unfortunately often leans towards representing East Asians in mainstream media.
For the first few weeks I did. But then I stumbled when I want to write about it. I realized I can't really carry this big flag of 'Asia". I then settled with being an Indonesian American.
I consider myself Chinese.
thank you for sharing that certainty, Nina! If you're up for it, I'd love to hear more about why Asian America doesn't resonate with you!
Of course! For me, it is several reasons. First, the term “Asian-American” is ill-defined. I echo everything everyone else has said about this term. Or as Cathy Park Hong says, “The paint has yet to dry on ‘Asian American.’”Second, all these racial constructs are for the benefit of white people, who created race. I refuse to subjugate myself in this regard. Third, as an immigrant, I feel more solid ground with my Chinese identity. I was born in Beijing and came here when I was five.
I love your clarity, Nina, and I LOVE the line "I refuse to subjugate myself in this regard"!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi! I just did a mini talk on this but being a “new” American (born in US for political insurance but only just started living here) I really struggle with this term. Some talking points from the talk…
“ being Asian American is complex….
Asia is a continent that represents 48+ countries (from India to Afghanistan, from Vietnam to Japan, from Russia to China). With incredibly rich and complex relationships and histories with each other. In fact, when we examine China alone, we need to acknowledge that there is 56 recognized ethnicities, Chinese is split into many dialects, and arguably separate languages all together (I remember when I first moved to Beijing. I grew up speaking Cantonese, but in China, the official language is Mandarin. And I remember every time I got lost or struggled to tell a taxi driver where I was going, I’d have to find a foreigner to help me translate…in my own country!). On top of that…the identity of being Chinese is further separated to whether I’m from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau due to HISTORY and POLITICS…then to add in colourism, racism, the caste system…then on top of that, the incredibly different identities, experiences, understandings that I (as an immigrant) have with someone who fits the same demographic category as me but is 2, 3, 4 generation…I feel that one broad category limits us. In a corporate setting using the EEOC categories, “Asian” could look to be increasing for some industries, but when we dig deeper into those numbers, we see it’s i.e. Indian men and Chinese women in tech.
Hi GChui! I am also Chinese and grew up speaking Cantonese, and even saying that out loud is difficult because I identify more as Hong Kong Chinese, which isn't an identity that I even comfortably say, because I think technically my family is from Guangzhou! AH! By the time I get through all that, I am pretty sure whoever asked is no longer listening. :(
I relate a lot to not speaking Mandarin in China and feeling a real disconnect with being "Chinese" due to my inability to communicate...I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.
How has all this complexity made you feel about identity?
P.S. I agree that it is really limiting and the disaggregation is really helpful, and I wish it was done more.
Today, “Asian American” resonates with me as a political coalition, though I question whether I have any “right” to claim it in that way. When referring to myself, I usually describe myself as “Korean and American”, and depending on the context and how safe I feel in the space, might add that, for me, that means that I was born in Korea and taken to the United States as an infant, to be raised by white people. For a long time, I think this experience conditioned me to believe that “Asian American” meant being Asian on the outside and white on the inside. I’ve only started unpacking this within the last couple of years and still have so much more to figure out.
Thank you for being honest about that questioning, Amanda. I agree so much that safety and context affect the answer, and I very much find myself changing my answers depending on who I'm talking to. I hope you feel seen on your journey of unpacking...my therapist always tells me how courageous it is to do the questioning, even though I often *don't* feel courageous, I want to pass along that thought :)
Not really, because Asia as a geography is so big, and so is America. I never say it out loud because it wouldn’t make sense to most people, but in my mind—as far as geographic identities go—I very identify far more with being “Hong Kong Californian” than anything else I’ve seen or heard. (Born in Hong Kong and spent most of my life in California.)
I love the specificity of "Hong Kong Californian", and I really admire that you choose that specificity. I get afraid to claim that specificity sometimes! Your comment made me think about whether I employ broader terms like "Asian America" to hide behind....thank you for making me think about this!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing your reaction!
I do think there’s power in community so when people say “Asian American” I have both positive and negative feelings about it…
I consider myself Vietnamese first -- likely because I take issue with how hyperfocused America is on the good ol' immigrant narrative and the widespread assumption that most folks are here because they want to be. Y'know, for "better opportunity" if you just pull yourself up from your bootstraps.
As a daughter of refugees who's slooooowly beginning to learn about and unpack what US imperialism is, how it affected my family, and how it contributes to ongoing destabilization and displacement throughout the Asia Pacific region in attempts to influence how APAC develops, I'm learning that choice is illusory in the face of oppression. Or at least that choice is severely limited by oppression and the US's military agenda.
I tend to feel like the nuances of my identity and my family's story get lost in "Asian American". Because "Asian Americans" already struggle with invisibility and are often treated as monolithic under model minority myth, identifying as Vietnamese feels like a pushback on the parts of the term I don't feel seen by and a reclamation of an identity that's too often reduced down to a war that the US views as a tragic and shameful "failure".
I agree with the loss of nuance in "Asian American"! I feel like you, Wilda, and Nina all have this confidence in claiming specific identities and I really admire that!
I like to identify as Karen, even though that name is honestly the worst name to have right now, ha! When I'm writing a "bio", I find myself saying that I identify as a child of immigrants, but never specifying my nationality or saying "Asian American". I think the experience of being born in the US to immigrant parents is far from singular, but I find myself drawn to people who also have that experience. I don't meet many people with my specific experience, and perhaps that's why I don't claim it -- born in South Carolina to child of immigrants from Hong Kong by way of Guangdong -- I've never met anyone with that specific identity, to date.
So perhaps I broaden it in the way that one widens their net to catch more fish (bad analogy), but I am driven by this desire not to be "alone" in my experiences, as I felt so much growing up. One of my closest connections is with a person who was born in New Orleans but his parents are immigrants from Suzhou, China. So while our "Chinese" identity is actually not so similar, being even from the region of the South was enough to make me feel very connected.
I consider myself Chinese first but I have no problem with generic Asian American since white people can’t tell the difference
As second-gen born in U.S. and having specific ancestral roots in the Woo and Leong Clan villages of Hoi'San in the southern part of China, I identify as Hoi'San American. That is how and where I draw my pride from. China is so diverse and the immigration experiences are so vast.
thank you for sharing your heritage with us, Ellery!
CW: disordered eating
I describe myself as East Asian American. I add the "East" part to recognize the privilege I have compared to Southeast, Central Asians, and South Asian Americans. I don't usually introduce myself as Chinese American because I feel very disconnected from my culture. I was born in the US and grew up in predominantly white-middle upper class spaces as a middle class first generation kid. Sure, I understand and can speak a little Cantonese, Taishanese, and Mandarin, but I tend to associate my Chinese family with sexism, homophobia, anti-Blackness, emotional neglect and trauma. I feel little desire to work on those languages to communicate with elders and extended family when I expect them to not accept me in my full queerness and neurodivergence and desire to get leave college and academia. The one way I always feel connected and sometimes proud to be Chinese is through food - and even that always connects to fatphobia within Chinese culture, white-washing of Chinese food, and ignorance of the diversity of Chinese cuisine. But Chinese food is also my parents' and grandparents' language of love and how I share my love with my friends and chosen family. Now it's also become a way to give myself love in relearning hunger cues and intuitive eating.
Having been born in the US and growing up speaking Korean at home, and English at school, I've always identified with "Asian American." I understand the term is extremely broad and attempts to characterize millions of people with varying ethnicities/cultures/beliefs, and also that I may not identify with it in the future, but up until now, I've felt it's authentic to me.
I think about this question a lot, and I have loved reading through everyone's answers! It continually amazes me how the entirety of Asia and all its counties is so reduced; as someone mentioned below, being Asian-American is extremely complex.
In my case my father immigrated from Vietnam to the US, and my mother is white. When asked on surveys or for data collection purposes, I will select Asian-American, or mixed race. When asked by other people I will say Vietnamese-American or Asian-American. I think mixed race children often struggle to have identify with both cultures that we come from; I feel like there is a marked difference between me and my siblings experience in the US, versus my cousins (both of their parents are Vietnamese) and I know our experiences can be very similar but also vastly different.
I also recognize my experience is very different from other Asian/Asian-American/AAPI/children of immigrants, but it is wild to me that I've been told multiple times by other people that I'm either "too white" or "too Asian" and people don't feel like both of my backgrounds can be true at the same time
I came across this description by Shengxiao/Sole on the AARISE website (https://consciousxchange.kartra.com/page/AARISE), which I resonate with, and it's often how I feel about claiming the term "Asian American" as someone who has Singaporean and Canton roots: "Sole uplifts the legacy of activists who coined the term “Asian American” while also problematizing the term for the ways it has perpetuated oppression in marginalized communities." So, while I am proud of the term, I also find that it's not all encompassing of the nuance that this community has, and unfortunately often leans towards representing East Asians in mainstream media.
For the first few weeks I did. But then I stumbled when I want to write about it. I realized I can't really carry this big flag of 'Asia". I then settled with being an Indonesian American.