regretting one's Asian-ness

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

So I recently encountered a girl at UCLA who proudly puts down her Asian heritage and expresses disdain for her own race! yeah I know! what the heck?! who does that. but anyway that got me thinking about our own appreciation or lack therof for own culture. I realize this is a somewhat controverisal topic but I assure you I only bring this up out of curiosity because personally I can't imagination myself EVER turning against my Chinese heritage and outspokenly putting down who I am.

I feel that we all have great appreciation for our respectrive Asian cultures, but do you ever find yourself disrespecting your own heritage and perpetuating false sterotypes that would encourage such, should I call it, self-hate or prejudice?

I'll admit that I am guilty of reinforcing stereotypes about Asians by joking about "Asian time" (the trend that Asians are always late) and Asian "frugality" or characterizing particular Asian things as "yellow."

Also in addition to reflecting upon personal prejudice against particular Asian customs/traditions. . .what about non-Asian individuals who have offended you based on your race?

My parents raised me with an innate sense of "Asian" pride. My dad always points out particular achievements and principles that are unique and awesome to Asian cultures. So, I tend to take things more personally when people say and do things that offend that so-called "pride."

[Anonymous]

I'm taking an Asian American studies class this quarter, and this is one of the topics that came up during discussion. I think most second generation, or later generations, have to deal with "fitting in" into the mainstream society, and some individuals may find it a fault that they are Asians. Personally, I take great pride being a Vietnamese American, and my parents have always instilled that mentality in me. I can never imagine rejecting or "putting down" my heritage. Since I consider myself a 1.5 generation (I was born in VN and raised here for most of my life), I personally experienced the whole process of immigrating to America and trying to adapt to the new life. It's really difficult when other people speak offensively about my ethnicity, and thus it was very hard for me to try to see pass it and realize that it is their ignorance, not my heritage that I should look down at. So, growing up, I hated it when other people call others with certain racial names. I feel it is a shame that some people would actually speak ill of their racial heritage, but perhaps they might have experienced something that made them that way. I just hope that with the availability of ethnic studies here at UCLA and other campuses, young students can expose themselves to the rich and meaningful histories of Asian Americans as well as any other groups, so that there will be greater acceptance and appreciation for the various cultural heritages.

[Anonymous]

i've never seen or heard of anyone putting down his or her own race. WHO DOES THAT?!

truthfully, one of the things i like most about UCLA (compared to my high school) is it's diversity in ethnicities (again, this is a comparison to my hs). we do have a large percentage of asian students, but i think that is what opens my eyes to appreciate the many different asian cultures we have here. i am guilty of having too much asian pride, and was baffled when i got to know a caucasian friend who shares the same love for asian cultures and traditions. she's an active member of the VSU and VNLC, and i am in neither. how weird is that. as my friend puts it, this friend of ours is an asian chick trapped in a white girl's body. hehe.

[Anonymous]

I think during my younger years, I tried more to be like those I saw around me, who were mostly white. I think it's part of that psychological stage where children try to fit in with their peers and are afraid of being different. Maybe it was a result of the media which doesn't adequately represent Asians. I remember in Barbie commercials on TV, it was almost always a caucasian little girl playing with the doll. Things like this are bound to affect impressionable young children. However, as I entered middle school and later high school, I began to appreciate my culture more (asian pride). It's tough trying to find the balance between assimilating into American culture and maintaining one's heritage as well. [Edit by="yzhen on Jun 4, 11:33:55 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if I shared this before.... but when I was in the 2nd grade, I used to wish that I had blond hair & blue eyes like Cinderella every night my mother tucked me in. During school, kids would pull down their eyelids and say "Ching Chang Chong". I felt left out, and I wanted to just be like everyone else.
In high school, I became involved with a multicultural diversity club and worked with people from different socio-economics background, gender preferences, and ethnicities. I disliked how people would stereotype me and say things like "Oh, you're Asian. You must be smart and good at math". That is, until I participated in a Student Forum where an African-American girl said, "You know what people stereotype me as?? They say: You are black, you must be ghetto, shoplift, and listen to rap. I WISH I had a stereotype like yours......."
Ok, so maybe it's better to have expectation rather than to be put down.
It was a little difficult for me to adjust to UCLA. The school is diverse and I love it, but I couldn't help but notice how there were....so...many..... Asians! It nearly drove me crazy, because I would always notice when an Asian walked past me in high school & how we would always greet & how we all knew each other; only 10% at my school!
After a while I started seeing people as people. I found out that I enjoyed conversing with people more, and that I can use my Asian backgroun to my advantage inside and outside of the classroom. We're considered "exotic"!! Read Vogue, other fashion magazines, and even Time >>> This is the prime time to explore one's culture in such a supportive and interested environment!
-Ames

[Anonymous]

Growing up in a pretty white-dominated suburban town, I used to be embarrassed of my Asian ethnicity and I wondered why I wasn't as white as my friends. I remember being about 5 years old and asking my best friend Michelle Carter why I was so tan. My friend answered, "I wish I was tan like you!" And I answered back "I wish I were as light as you!" I guess I used to want to reject my Asian culture and not speak it nor acknowledge it.

But as I grew older and more aware of the world around me, I realized how proud I was of my ethnicity. I do get really offended when people make fun of my culture such as taking off the shoes in the home or the type of food I eat. The worst was during lunch at school, and my friends would ask me why I was eating something weird, such as the brown boiled eggs or rice for lunch. I always was really offended when someone would say "What is THAT!"

Anyways, I definitely have that sense of so-called "pride" in my asian-ness, and I can't imagine putting my heritage or culture down. [Edit by="mli on Jun 5, 11:14:53 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Michelle. . .We should make a t-shirt that says "What is THAT?!" I cannot tell you all how often I was asked that growing up, especially in high school, maybe the lunches my mom packed me just got a little more exotic. Among my group of friends I was always known for bringing the most "interesting" lunches. I think I harbor some bitterness about my lunches against the kids in my high school because soon I would just ignore their exclamations and sit there enjoying my food while they exclaimed over the look or smell of it; their disgusted reactions would almost be offensive! Regardless, I think the most effective channel of sharing my Chinese culture was through food because everyone eats and loves food and I would share my lunches with anyone who would be "brave" enough to be a little open-minded and try something new to eat.

[Anonymous]

As a little kid growing up in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, it was hard for me to accept the fact that I was Asian. In addition to that, the kids and teens that I admired on TV all seemed to be white. However, as I got older, I began to hang out with cliques of Asians (especially in middle school) and began to have a sense of "azn pride." I read somewhere that many kids who grow up Asian American dislike the fact that they are Asian at some point or another, but eventually reconcile with it. Personally, I'm happy to be Asian and do not mind the stereotypes that come with being Asian.

[Anonymous]

Growing up, i barely ever encountered anyone that has put down their race. I ran into many people who mimic other races, but i don't know if it is because they are ashame of their race, or they just like another race's culture. Most of the people i know are very proud of their ethnicity, and always seem to brag about it as well. I mean, whoever you are, thats you, even if you're purple, you should be proud of it, because i think its distinctive and different. So my message is, embrace your ethnicity and hold on to as much as you can, until it starts to fade away.

[Anonymous]

When i was younger, I didn't pay much attention to differentiating between myself and and other kids ethnically. As i got older and realized that the Asian community around me was extremely small, I became proud to show it off. whenever someone would call me Chinese or Japanese, I'd correct them and proudly tell them i was Vietnamese. One of my best friends was Asian, and her and I made up like 2 or 10 Asians in our highschool. So we had a lot of asian pride. We even made sweaters for this one saying would would use a lot : Ragin' Asian. And then we called our brand name FOBO (for orientals, by orientals)...even though that's not politically correct anymore. We anmed it after FUBU (for us, by us). hahah...good times.

[Anonymous]

I'm a fob and i'm proud of it! I mean i'm not saying that i never make fun of other asians and joke around with stereotypes of how "asians are bad drivers" or how "asians are all good at math" or whatever, but i am proud of my heritage and would never think of denouncing it. i think that it would be pointless to hate your heritage because it is something that you can never change, no matter how hard you try to be white by doing white things and dressing white or to listen to rap music and speak ebonics and be black. No matter what, you'll still be Asian. Asian heritage is actually one of the richest of heritages, with some of the most interesting traditions. I can't imagine turning my back on it and living in disdain of it...

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