I’m sure all of my fellow Asian Americans under a certain age have seen this — a non-Asian person with tattoos in different Asian languages like Chinese and Japanese because they’re in an exotic language that they don’t understand. It’s kinda painful when someone who’s fluent in these languages have to point out that the words in the tattoo can sometimes be completely wrong — and mean something totally different and offensive (like our esteemed leader once wrote).
Turns out Asians in Asia are doing the exact same thing — getting tattoos in European languages because they’re considered exotic, and not caring if the meaning is incorrect.
The McClatchy news website talks about the increasing popularity of tattooing among China’s younger generation, despite many of the cultural taboos that go along with getting tattooed in China. Many of the taboos are similar to those here in the mainstream US: tattoos only belong on criminals or prostitutes. Those serving in the military or for the police must have no tattoos.
However, thanks to globalization and the extreme popularity of the NBA in China, tattooing has become more and more popular, especially among women. And because “the foreign is exotic”, as the author states, many are getting tattoos in different European languages, like Greek and English because they look cool — even if the meaning might be completely off.
Sound familiar?
And while I’m proudly tattooed myself, it is a bit concerning to see that many people on both sides of the ocean are getting tattooed because it’s a fad, not realizing that a tattoo can’t ever be completely removed and lasts forever. I agonized for years before starting to get my tattoos and other body modifications which include a body piercing and a scarification, choosing to get my bodmods in places that can’t be readily seen. Also, all my tattoos and other bodmods have pretty deep personal meaning for me. I loved getting all of them done and haven’t regretted getting any of them.
Oh, and if you ask me to show them to you, I’ll probably decline. Unless we’re swimming — or I find you hot.
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For those of you living in the Bay Area and interested in learning more about Taiwan and it’s “official” diplomatic status with the United States, you might be interested in attending this event:
- 30 Years of the Taiwan Relations Act
- Saturday, April 25 at 2:00 PM
- Stanford University, Braun Hall (Geology Corner), 320-105
After recognizing the People’s Republic of China, the United States was forced to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, however, set up the framework for unofficial interaction between the two governments and laid the foundation for America’s commitment to Taiwan’s security and safety. While the TRA has allowed Taiwan to develop into one of the most robust democracies in East Asia, Taiwan’s international status remains in a precarious state of limbo.
- Dr. Gerrit van der Wees, Formosan Association for Public Affairs
- The Origin of the Taiwan Relations Act
- Professor June Teufel Dreyer, University of Miami
- The Rise of China and America’s Commitment to Taiwan
- Mr. Stephen Yates, American Foreign Policy Council
- Taiwan’s Future in the Stability of the Pacific Rim
This event is free and open to the public.
Parking on the weekends is free in the Oval and Tressider lots.
Braun Hall is in the Main Quad west of Memorial Church.
Shopping With GASP!
A few weeks ago I wrote about the upcoming graphic novel, Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. The book released on April 15, but you’d be hard pressed to know that if someone didn’t already tell you. According to the editors of the book, many bookstores are declining to carry the book for varying reasons from the economy to confusion about what category the book fits in.
How can you help? The editors are asking everyone who is inclined to help out:
So I’m finding myself having to appeal to the Asian American Community once again in an open letter as I did 6 years ago for “Better Luck Tomorrow” – asking that readers request the book at their local bookstores and/or order copies online through: Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com.
I’ve already ordered my copy from Amazon.com (I am an internet junkie after all) and am eagerly awaiting it. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow! Spread the word, if you can, and let’s see if we can make Asian American Superheroes something everyone sees in their local bookstore.
I never thought I would be blogging about Bai Ling, since — believe it or not — we have never mentioned her on the site. But in a recent post by another blog, websites like ours were called out for talking about Paris Hilton and Bai Ling. Well, their facts were wrong on that one, so as a homage to the Fighting 44s, I am fulfilling their wish and interviewing Bai Ling for 8Asians.
Bai Ling is in the upcoming release of Crank: High Voltage in the role of Ria, a “scantily-clad, fast-talking Asian call girl.” (For the record, not a role originally written for an Asian, says Bai Ling). I spoke to her a couple of weeks by phone about this movie, and a bunch of other topics. Fielding questions from 8Asians bloggers, Bai Ling talks about her image in the media (too much emphasis on the nipple shots!), the Asian American community (if you don’t feel like she’s “one of us,” don’t worry! Neither does she!), and of course, her character in Crank: High Voltage (she did her own stunts!).
And of course, you can always check out what’s new with her on Bai Ling’s blog, Naked Seduction.
Yan’s question from China: Are you aware of image in the media? What do you think of it?
Bai Ling: To be honest with you, I don’t read much — I’m not good at the computer, I don’t watch movies, I don’t even own a TV. I’m in my own world, living in the reality of life, in the moment. So I’m not exactly sure in the serious aspects, but I know that through gossip magazines or newspapers they tend to accentuate [images] that are eccentrically crazy — my nipple shots, all of that stuff — I think that things being too emphasized. They’re just a very, very little part of me. It’s like I have this little spirit, that just one of the girls – a tiny girl wearing miniskirts with advanced fashion sense; a crazy, open, eccentric show-off living in her own world. That’s what you see on the red carpet sometimes. But that’s just the very little mischievous little girl’s spirit in me.
But there’s so many other aspects … like the film Dumplings, I won four Asian Academy Awards. Four [of the] most important acting awards [in] one movie. So I hope people can more concentrate on my work. They’re all very different roles; I play very extreme from each other, and they are equally brilliant. I’m just like naturally … a very talented actress. I think that people cannot deny if you look at my work seriously. So I just hope they can shift their little bit weight [when] looking at my work.
And really, that’s why I have this blog there; [for] my writing and so you can know my heart, my soul a little bit more, instead of just those pictures [that] emphasize like my nipple shot; you see those pictures everywhere. Sometimes I look really elegant — I don’t see those pictures. Sometimes there are people who are there to trash me; but some are there to celebrate me.
Moye from Los Angeles: Do you feel like you’re part of the Asian American community? Do you feel like you’re part of a larger community?
Bai Ling: I feel like — you know, it’s like I’m a different creature. That’s why I think I really I landed from the moon. I don’t even think that I’m Asian American or Asian actress or something. I think I’m just one of the brilliant, nature-made creatures in the world — I don’t think otherwise. I think I just lucky to be here to serve, to give, to enjoy, to dance, to smile, to have fun, to make love; I’m just a free spirit.
Joz from Los Angeles: About your character in Crank: High Voltage, you said this role allowed you to show more of your own spirit. You’ve said that “Ria is just wacky, crazy, and the role allowed me to be extremely funny.”
Bai Ling: It gives me the stage because the two young directors [Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor] are really free. They allowed me to say [and] do whatever I wanted. So it encouraged this crazy little girl [to] go extreme. Because that’s the character — they want her to be funny. They want her to be crazy and extreme and [she] serves the style and energy of the film. I just think she’s so much fun. And everything I say, people laugh … whatever she says doesn’t make sense, but in her character make perfect sense. She’s just a funny, fearless, and bold crazy character, and I like that energy — so advanced, modern, careless, and bold. I just enjoy that spirit and doing [this role] all the time was fun, pure fun. Hopefully [this] will lead to some big comedy or craziness because extremes just make people laugh and gives them joy.
[This movie is] like a roller coaster. It’s basically Jason [Statham]’s movie, [and a] really, really fun concept. [An] hour and a half seems like 20 minutes. You know, I did my own stunts — hit by a car but didn’t die. Then I had a cat fight with Amy Smart’s character… just hilarious. My role is silly, but it’s fun.
Bai Ling was actually quite honest during our interview and willing to answer any questions, so I’ll save some of the other parts of the interview for another post, but until then, you can catch her in Crank: High Voltage or the upcoming Love Ranch, and of course, at her blog. She says she’d love it if you’d leave a comment there and tell her you got there through 8Asians.com!
Hello, I hope everyone is enjoying their April. Been busy playing live shows over at Soompi Radio and screening documentaries at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival. Look out for my reviews in 88 words or less coming soon.
New music from M-Flo and After School plus a wee preview for films you can check out at Hot Docs this coming April 30th to May 10th in Toronto. If you like what you hear, please show your support by supporting the artists and buy their CDs and DVDs using the links provided on this site.
For any requests, comments, suggests, dedications or feedback, feel free to leave a comment at Popcast88.com or send an email.
- Popcast88.Ning.com
- POP 88′s Official Facebook FAN Page
- POP 88 Merchandise
- Soompi Radio Club
- Join us in the Soompi Chat @ Rizon Network - channel #soompi.radio
This past week, ABC’s Nightline did a news segment on Genius School – Inside an innovative class for some of the world’s most brilliant kids (video: 7 minutes. 40 seconds) and profiled Raymond Zheng, a fourteen year old freshman at the University of Washington. The news segment also profiled current middle school-aged students — mostly thirteen year old’s — in a one-year program at the “Transition School,” officially known as the The Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars, which Raymond attended prior to entering college.
Young, precocious kids such as Raymond are fascinating, and sometimes I wish I were so bright. But why focus on Raymond? Maybe his parents were the only ones to agree to have their child profiled. But when Raymond says during his interview that “I find that I like math and science quite a bit,” I wonder if Nightline is reinforcing the stereotypical Asian American “model minority.” Raymond even performed piano recitals in kindergarten, currently has a 4.0 grade point average, and his favorite past-time is, yes, doing homework.
As an Asian American kid growing up in a white suburb in Western Massachusetts, I kind of identified with the model minority myth. Since moving to California, I understand much better the consequences and unfair expectations this myth imposes on Asian Americans.
The profile of the “Transition School” interviews students of this select sixteen student program that seemed like a fairly well balanced of students interested in a variety of topics beyond math and science, but I wonder also how kids like Raymond adjust socially to a college environment, given their age; do most of these kids adjust well? I have to imagine that there some social and peer issues that these Doogie Houser’s have to come to grips with.
Image Source: ABC News / Nightline.
If you’re some skinny emo white dude with an Asian fetish, keep a wary eye out for Kari Ferrell whom the New York Observer wrote up as the “Hipster Grifter” and is currently on Salt Lake City’s Most Wanted Fugitive List.
Who is this cute, tattooed Korean American girl and what the hell did she do? Apparently being an endearing, overtly sexual pathological liar with a pixie haircut and some pretty awesome ink can lead to over five arrest warrants and stealing $3,000 from friends and ex-boyfriends.
Don’t forget you can also get a job with Vice Magazine before they Google your name and realize that you’re a wanted felon (note to self: change names often while committing crimes so employers won’t be able to easily find you).
Here’s what I love about this story: let’s gloss over Ferrell’s personal insecurities, illegal activities and overwhelming mental problems. Let’s talk about how Ferrell can be deemed as the 21st century Dragon Lady — a woman who needs to be more adorable than devastatingly beautiful in order to easily pierce the hearts (and wallets) of those blogging, American Apparel t-shirt with my favorite tight black jeans wearing, Coachella attending hipster boy who I’m sure is totally about to update his Twitter account about the latest Lykke Li tickets he got.
Okay, so I’m generalizing a bit about this white hipster “diaspora” but let’s be honest.
You think dangerous Asian girls are going to seduce these men with a silk kimono and whip? Hell no. It’s 2009, and Ferrell is showing us what today’s Asian girls have: cute haircuts, access to music shows and a pair of Chucks.
And don’t forget the cute tattoos! Though, I’m disappointed that Ferrell decided to get such a huge design on her CHEST, which makes it not only immediately noticeable (hi, you shouldn’t aim for that if you’re lying your way around the country), but 100% identifiable because now there is no way Ferrell could use her best legal defense yet: not all Asians look alike! Just because she resembles the girl on the Wanted poster doesn’t mean they’re the same person, you racist!
As a diehard hoops fan, I was extremely excited when Yao Ming first entered the NBA. Not only did it mark the emergence of a new and potentially great basketball talent, it also thrust an Asian male into the media spotlight and broke barriers in a sport that Asians have not traditionally been good at (yes, I know that Wang Zhizhi got there first, but his play wasn’t really something you could brag about). And I felt a thrill watching the first time Yao matched up against Shaq, which turned into pride as he more than held his own.
Yet ever since that game I’ve been disappointed by Yao. I don’t mean that Yao is a bad player – he puts up 20 points and 10 rebounds night after night and shoots a high percentage, both on the floor and on the foul line. He is an all star and one of the few good centers in the NBA. But he is not transcendent, and watching him play doesn’t inspire confidence that he will lead his team to a championship (it’s telling that Kobe Bryant and Lebron James both have more jersey sales than him in China).
There are all sorts of explanations for why Yao has not truly lived up to his potential, and some of them are valid: he has gotten unlucky with injuries. He is forced to play during the summer with the Chinese national team. His teammates have been ball hogs and not let him be the centerpiece of the offense. But the explanation that I think is the most interesting is that he isn’t aggressive enough. He passes too often. He doesn’t demand the ball when the game is on the line. He doesn’t dominate a game the way Shaq does. And what is interesting about this explanation is that it’s usually followed up with, he isn’t aggressive enough because he’s Chinese.
For example, the New York Times ran an article that asks why doesn’t Yao dunk. Their answer came down to cultural factors: “If you think of how community-oriented most young people growing up in China are, it’s just a different way of being brought up … There’s a lot more unity, and it seems like it’s a culture that promotes a more unselfish, ‘what’s best for everyone is what’s best for you’ mentality.”
I think there are a couple of interesting points here: First of all, where does the line between stereotyping and legitimate differences in cultural values get drawn? If I flipped this article on its head and said that black players dunk because their culture promotes physical aggression, I think a lot of people would be offended, but when the New York Times calls out Asians for being passive and lacking in individuality, this is okay?
But more important than asking whether this argument is politically correct is asking whether it is true. There’s something to the claim that Asian cultural values don’t emphasize aggression. While there are exceptions, most Asian people I know don’t rock the boat; they tend to be less loud and rambunctious than my non-Asian friends. And having grown up with Asian parents who never emphasized the idea of asserting one’s individuality, I can understand why.
In Yao Ming’s case, I believe that yes, he would be a better player if he were more aggressive, and that yes, at least some of that lack of aggressiveness comes from his cultural background. What is really interesting here is that this line of thinking implies a normative judgment – within the realm of professional basketball, I am saying that there are aspects of Chinese culture that are straight up bad (although I don’t see it quite such black and white terms; for example, Yao is also probably a better passer because of his cultural background). Moreover, I think this judgment potentially extends way beyond basketball. I feel like I’ve observed many situations where an Asian person’s passivity ends up working against them.
- Say My Name: Changing my Adoptive Name – “Sitting down in a chair the other day, a funny thing happened: I turned a year older. It got me thinking about my name. Six months earlier I’d handed over some papers and a check for two-hundred dollars; just like that I became Chun-Soon Li.”
- Asian BMI: How I Became Obese in Ten Seconds – “I showed my reading, which indicated that I was overweight, to my doctor. ‘You can’t use that reading,’ he said. ‘You have to use the Asian BMI.’ He looked up my BMI on the Asian BMI scale. ‘You are obese,’ he declared.“
- Mixed Company of Yale’s “Single Asians” Isn’t Very Funny – “…my general rule is that if it’s really funny, a lot can slide me without being offensive. And guess what? This isn’t funny at all; it’s cringe-worthy and doesn’t pull off the irony and sarcasm of other parody videos. And the girl on the left is totally off.”
- NSFW: Justine Lai Paints Herself Having Sex with US Presidents – “…every single heterosexual Asian man is wincing by his laptop because, oh hey, if the image of the Asian female against a white guy is an uncomfortable one to begin with, there she is giving head to Abraham Lincoln.”
- Finding Religion – “With my mother’s passing this last year, we’ve been to Buddhist temple quite a bit, and we’ve also started going to a United Church of Christ. As a family I know we’ll continue to go to UCC for services, but how much do I expose [my daughter] to Buddhism, without adversely affecting her developing faith in Christ?”
My good friend kc! is one of the guys behind LEGENDmag, a magazine devoted to independent culture and living. Their latest issue features an interview with Una Kim, who worked in marketing, branding and trend forecasting in NYC before becoming co-founder of Keep Company, a skateboarding inspired, cruelty-free shoe brand. You can read the entire interview at LEGENDmag’s blog, or learn about how she formed the company from a recent video from WRG? magazine:
If you look at a lot of companies, there’s a men’s line and a women’s line, and a lot of times the way that they differentiate those two lines are totally whack; it’s really indicative of what those companies think women are, and we’re totally not into those bubbly shoes, the clown shoes, the weird pink shoes that totally misappropriate that beautiful color…
It’s always refreshing to hear about Asian Americans in the “indie scene,” whatever you define that to be. It’s also refreshing to hear the words “whack,” “indicative,” “misappropriate” and “clown shoes” in the same sentence as well.
One of my fondest memories of coaching The Daughter’s volleyball team was at a long tournament where we had a potluck lunch of tasty Filipino and Vietnamese food (the team was mostly Asian). Not just standard fare like lumpia but other stuff like ukoy, pate chaud, and bánh mì! Some of the other teams at the tournament looked at us funny. I figured that they were probably were either jealous, hungry, or both.
For those who don’t know, bánh mì is a Vietnamese sandwich. It blends elements of French food, such as a baguette and pate, with different kinds of pork, sliced peppers, and vegetables. I love bánh mì, especially how it is typically served on freshly baked bread. I am definitely not the only fan – check out http://battleofthebanhmi.com/, a web site dedicated toward these wonderful sandwiches.
This article from the New York Times talks about how bánh mì has evolved in the US and incorporated popular local elements such as kielbasa in New York and po boy baguettes in Louisiana. A notable quote about some of the New York creations, in particular a phở flavored bánh mì:
“I could never get away with this in San Jose,” said Mr. Hua, referring to the city with a large Vietnamese-American community in Northern California, where he grew up. “New York has a history of being open to creative ideas.
This San Jose resident can’t agree. Bánh mì is at its core a fusion, and there are what seems to be a growing number of fusion Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose and the Bay Area.
An underlying question to this discussion is authenticity – how much can something Asian be changed and still be considered to be Asian? What is a fascinating fusion and what is unrecognizable bastardization of the original? For me, as long as a sandwich keeps the freshly baked bread and the Vietnamese vegetables and herbs, it is still bánh mì.
(Hat tip: Tim ; photo credit: kennymatic)
As a college freshman, I learned two basic rules about the college life about half a week or so into my first semester. 1) Academics measures as a minor part of the college experience and 2) Alcohol is near inescapable on any campus. Now the first one might be specific to my college experience, but I can say with a near guarantee that the latter is a prevalent fact at all universities throughout the states. You can not hope to curb it, and you can hardly hope to contain it, and soon it becomes a strange ritual overlooked as a norm.
But once in a while, it rears its ugly head to show just why the legal drinking age remains at such an abnormally high age. Last Thursday, on the campus of Tufts University, there was a “bias incident” involving a very drunk freshman, a couple of students from the Korean Student Association, and violence. Which sparked a very mature response from the Tufts Student Body (via Facebook).
I’ve been trying to contact some personal friends at Tufts, but to no avail, to see what the general mood of the campus was. From what I’ve seen, the Tuft’s community as a whole was torn apart and is taking very active and progressive steps to rebuild itself for the better. Still, more troubling then the obvious abuse of alcohol is the prevalence and persistence of such incidents occurring at various college campuses across the United States (see Dartmouth, and Harvard in the last couple of months), add that on top of the recent surge of violence involving Asian Americans you’ve got a big, big problem for the APA community. I know that Harvard is planning a panel of discussions to address this exact issue, but being on a college campus forces me to be doubtful of its success.
I recently posed a question to all writers of 8asians.com to the effect of “Do you believe Asian/Asian American students across the United States are becoming more apathetic to Asian American issues?” We connected the accepted fact of a growing apathy to a couple of issues such as socioeconomics, geography (West Coast = Less interest; save Berkeley apparently), comfort levels, and so on but the general answer remained a yes. As a student interested in the progression of the Asian American Identity, I find myself in a small minority of students that seem to actually care and it only forces me to wonder why. I guess Asia America has become more comfortable with its role in society, but if these incidents have shown us anything, that comfort is nothing but a facade. I would love to attend the conference at Harvard because to solve such an issue seems difficult, especially because it seems like the only way to draw awareness and prevent future acts of bias is if such bias incidents hit close to home.
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Feb 9: (Los Angeles, CA) East West Players presents THREE YEAR SWIM CLUB
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Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
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