What is Asian America, Really?

By Edward | Thursday, April 29, 2010 | 7 Comments

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asianamerica 600x273 What is Asian America, Really?

Republished with permission from Projekt NewSpeak.

I recently attended a meeting for the city of LA’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Committee. I was very excited to get involved and see what great things were being planned. A heard that a group of dedicated community reps and city employees came together to organize a month-long celebration of Asian Americans. About twenty minutes into the meeting, my excitement turned into doubt, doubt then led into frustration and confusion.

What happened?

For one thing, their concept of how we as Asian Americans are to be perceived was something I couldn’t get myself to agree on. For the entertainment, their best ideas were to bring in traditional dancers and have the entire venue be devoted to Chinese dragon dances, bhangra, and other very cultural performances. When someone suggested bringing in youth performers, a committee member shouts: “Oh, we can bring in YOUNG Taiko drummers!” Wow. Fail. WOW. FAIL. What the suggestion actually meant was bringing in youth talent such as Kaba Modern, Quest Crew, and Bhangra Empire.

After that, I tuned out for the rest of the meeting and just had to wonder why the committee, the majority of them being Asian American, could not realize that the image they are portraying is not the complete picture of what Asian America really means. I’m not dismissing on these traditional dances as they are important aspects to who we are as Asians, but this is about Asian AMERICAN and the two — while inherently linked — are very different. Yet it is the pervasive idea that remains with us because they are catering to how the mainstream perceives Asians — cultural and non-mainstream. They are playing the easy and safe route; they are going with what is most familiar. I understand that, and I want to make sure that I get both sides of the argument. I understand that cultural festivities are are very exciting and new, and can pack an event.

I can’t help but ask myself: “Is being Asian all about our extravagant cultural dances, traditional dress and our tasty food?” Things went further downhill a week ago when the committee unveiled their design for the Opening Ceremony Invitation letter:

No disrespect to the committee, but the featured image is pretty, um, exotic? Geisha-ish? “Honoring Asian and Pacific-Islander American Angelenos.” Really? Is this all there is to what being Asian American is all about?

Other than the exotic image that the committee is sending out to the districts of Los Angeles, I also find an issue with this design because it does not speak to the diversity of Asian Americans. When I say diversity, this applies to the East, Southeast, South, and yes, even the Central Asian community. Far too often, when we say “Asian,” we seem to only talk about East Asians and occasionally Southeast Asians. Although centuries of Western imperialistic actions have driven the wedge between the East and South Asian communities in terms of who is Asian and who is not, let me just say this: I may be “yellow” and Desis may be brown, but we are all Asian, we are all considered model minorities in the eyes of mainstream America.

Yet you may ask me, “If you are so against this picture, do you have something that’s better?”

I’m glad you asked because, yes, there is:

Now, that’s a beautiful design. This is how I see Asia America and what I wish the LA City Council would’ve taken inspiration from. This poster encompasses both the diverse Asian traditional heritages and the Americans that we are now. By having both, I believe this is the strongest way to show our roots and our pride of being Asian and American.

I must then go back to the question of what the frak “Asian America” means; that’s the thing that troubles me the most, because even now, the idea of Asian America is still relatively invisible to the world. Personally, I think of the foundations we laid out in this country as railroad workers and sugar cane plantation workers back in the 19th century, the 1960′s political movement that allowed Asians to fight against the “Oriental” label, the first pan-Asian civil rights movement in American history that mobilized after Vincent Chin was murdered in 1982, the JACL being the first civil rights organization to support gay marriage, artists and scholars like David Henry Hwang, Beau Sia, Yellow Rage, Edward Said, Ronald Takaki, and Helen Zia making a stand and having their voices heard. But not many people know this and what they do know are the images of geishas, dragons, kung fu experts, yakuza thugs, and the untrustworthy and inscrutable foreign menaces as we are often delegated as, even in 2010.

We are more than that. We are everywhere. And not just in the fantastical Asian movies that you watch, the take-out food from strip malls, or your liquor store clerk. We are the nation’s fastest growing minority and it’s time that we show everyone what being an Asian American really means.

And no, it does not just mean being a geisha holding a pretty umbrella.

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LifestylesObservationsSouthern California

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Facebook Comments (Beta)

sanjaybay2la

AGREED! Thank you, there is so much more to our community than “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Apu from the Simpsons.”

Its almost like I have trained my self to tune out of any municipal ‘Asian American Celebrations’ because all I expect to see is the same thing– Chinese Dragon Dance, and Japanese Taiko Drummers (and MAYBE some fan dancers).

What is sad is, that its US- the Asian American community that is putting this together, and pasting up the stereotypes, rather than taking this as a great opportunity to showcase our true culture.

I dont know if its laziness, or us just reverting to “being the model minority” and putting up what we think the non-Asian community would be most pleased to see. Its disappointing.

As an Angeleno, I would love to get involved in this committee, is it open to the general public?
http://www.facebook.com/sotaro Sotaro Shibahara

Well said. I think part of the problem is that Asian-American means something different to different people, depending on the degree to which they’ve assimilated or when they got off the boat, so to speak. A recent immigrant’s view of what it means to be Asian-American might be closer to the traditional multicultural view (particularly prevalent in Canada) whereas a ‘banana’ who is several generations American might have so thoroughly embraced American culture at the expense of their ethnic heritage may feel more inclined to be seen as an American first, and Asian second. Regardless of how one may feel about assimilation, it’s undeniably a part of the Asian-American experience, as is the experience of re-discovering (‘getting in touch with your roots’) your cultural background.
http://flipfob.giftedcreations.com Gene P

Could it be possible that part of the problem is that there is so much diversity within all the various groups from Asia? I can’t think of any other group (“Latino”, “European”, whatever) that can claim such a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds. Even before you consider the “American” part of Asian American it would be hard to pick out one single image that could possibly encompass all of that, even though that’s what people try to do most of the time.

Because you can’t boil it all down to one single image I really like the use of a collage. This may sound cheesy but isn’t that what the image of an Asian American would be? So many different backgrounds coming together to form a new whole. Varied in history, but a common future.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560327202 Sophie Liu

18 years ago (1992), we organized the Asian American Renaissance Conference in the Twin Cities to tackle this problem, & we were already way behind the rest of the county. It saddens me to hear that stereotypes–or self-stereotypes?–among our community is alive & well, & in California! I agree, our diversity is immense. The divide between activists, young & old, and the so-called “new immigrant” population may be another. In my time (1980′s & 90′s), we talked endlessly of coalitions, & bridging the gap between academe and community. Education, reaching out to build bridges across diversities is an endless effort. Even for this first-generation immigrant (a FOB from then British-Hong Kong), learning the history of Asian America, knowing our “roots” and our collective struggles in America is key. Salute to you all!
http://www.tellthaiheart.blogspot.com/ Lani

You know what is interesting is I asked a friend if he considered me Asian American (I’m a first generation American) and he said no. He meant no disrespect but he said that because I only speak English.

So that raises another question I think. As a blogger writing about my experiences as an Asian American in Thailand and now Ecuador, I started to tweak the term Asian American and wrote instead American Asian.

I’m not saying I agree that what makes someone Asian is the language but – in some ways I consider myself more American than Asian. Or perhaps a healthy blend of both?
http://www.facebook.com/eddlyhong Edward Hong

Expression is for the individual and if I declare myself that I am this, then I have the right to say so. I may be Asian American, Asian, or American, and I apply to all of those.

The real question is, what does it mean to be American? What does it mean to be Asian? People like linebacker Scott Fujita add to the dynamic complexity of what makes a person’s identity and in this day and age, it is becoming a reality that things are not so simple as they seem. Is it our skin color or is it our cultural and environmental upbringing that makes us who we are? Where do we draw the line?

I believe that in the end, you are whatever you think you are. If you say you’re an American, you’re an American. If you say you’re a Munchkin and you GENUINELY believe that you are, you are a Munchkin. (This is a reflection of what race and self-identity means to me as I work for the Census Bureau and ask people what they are for the Race question).

Race is a social construction, not a genetic or scientific one. At the end of all of this, as long as we keep in mind the simple truth that we are simply human and we pulse and breathe as one, we can stop being bogged down by our identity woes and have that be the reason why it divides us. While our differences as unique individuals should also be celebrated, it is only the beginning.
http://www.bittersweetasian.tumblr.com bsa

You should be able to identify however you want. Sometimes it doesn’t always work that way (your friend calling you out on your Asian-ness) but identity is your choice. Besides, you can be Asian in one instance and a American in another. The confusing fluidity of race. Good luck!

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