*This article is by no means trying to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement. We, as Asians, ally with the Black community and support their fight toward a better and more just society. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the racism Asians receive, as the matter is often shrugged away all too quickly.
In light of the recent Black Lives Matter movement, many Asians have come forward to speak out about the racism that they too experience. As a Chinese-Malaysian residing in an Asian dominated country, mockery still exists here in general for my race. Not only do domineering cultures ridicule Asians’ appearance, they also appropriate clothing, and this is shockingly widely accepted; in fact, a majority of this racism is normalized and seen as a trivial matter.
Over the past decades, the Asian community has endured endless amounts of prejudice towards them from the ‘yellowface’ trend in Hollywood where white actors would smother makeup on their faces, to Chinese residents in America experiencing physical abuse and blame for the recent pandemic.
First of all, let’s talk about how racism towards the Asian community is incredibly normalized. When someone tries to speak up on it, they are either not taken seriously or are immediately silenced, saying that it has no relevance or that they are attempting to shift the attention to themselves, away from the Black Lives Matter movement.
Yes, the racism experienced by African Americans is certainly much more violent and prominent, but it does not change the fact that Asians receive a large amount of racism too. A Vine clip circulated in 2015, depicting a schoolgirl saying ‘Not to be racist or anything, but Asian people suck’, and this was accepted as humor when she was being evidently racist. One of the reasons for actions like these being normalized is because many celebrities and influencers have committed racist acts that were made out to be satirical and comedic, only to fuel the stereotypes we see today.
Recently, a 2016 video of celebrities David Dobrik and Liza Koshy resurfaced; it shows them mocking the Japanese language on a food packet. The fact that this took four years for the public to realize that it was racist is another clear example of the normalized racism against Asians which is reinforced again and again by major influencers. Just this year, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain posted a picture of her participating in the ‘fox eye’ trend, where people pull their eyes back as an ‘aesthetic’ pose. What is at first a seemingly innocent and stylish trend carries a huge amount of insensitivity behind it. For decades, others have ridiculed Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans for their typically smaller eyes, and for it to become some sort of trend with offensive connotations is blatantly racist.
Since January, Asians, particularly those of Chinese ethnicity, have been blamed and stereotyped for the outbreak of Coronavirus. Many, including President Trump, have labeled it as the ‘Chinese virus’ and generalized Chinese-Americans for carrying the virus and starting the pandemic, when in reality, the problem lies within the government not taking adequate action to flatten the curve and control the spread.
Although the virus originated in China, it is not fair to generalize every Chinese, especially if they have migrated away from their homeland, by assuming that they have the virus and by calling them ‘dirty’. Asian department stores in America have been vandalized; people have been stereotyping store owners for ‘eating bats’ and having the virus, and some of them have been forced out of business.
A BBC article published in May features an interview with a Chinese immigrant in America; she reveals that her Korean friend was physically assaulted and yelled at in a grocery store and was forced to leave just for her ethnicity and for wearing a mask. This is an example of racial profiling: ‘if he/she looks Chinese, they get attacked’.
A San Francisco State University advocacy group recently announced that it has received over 1,700 reports of discrimination due to the Coronavirus since its launch in March. Another demography by Pew Research Center indicates that at least four in ten Asian adults have been subject to racism from the virus, and 31% of Asian Americans have been harassed with racial slurs. This racism against Asians has existed for a long time, only to be brought out by the virus. Sadly, even with the increase in racist acts, the whole issue is still brushed off as normal.
The unfair generalization of Asians is not new; it has been going around for decades and has even been ingrained in children’s brains in some countries. Take Germany as an example: Students are taught songs meant to taunt the Chinese, with rhymes that stereotype them, and the act of pulling their eyes back in mockery. With this form of blatant racism becoming deep-rooted in young children’s minds, it can easily shape how they think and trigger a new wave of unjustified prejudice against Asians.
We have yet another fault in the system that is incredibly difficult to modify as these complex organisations have been in place for decades and the people in power are not willing to change their ways. Consequently, the casual racism embedded into the system would become more and more normalized with little to no action taken against it.
Another issue at hand is cultural appropriation. According to Lexico, cultural appropriation is defined as ‘the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society’.
Celebrities and people from other cultures constantly don traditional Asian clothings as a costume without understanding the complexities and histories behind them. In 2018, a white American girl wore a cheongsam, a traditional Chinese dress, to her high school prom. She then proceeded to pose with her friends while attempting to imitate Chinese traditions, such as clasping her hands together in a praying position. Although she received an enormous amount of backlash, many white Americans, including herself, still don’t understand why her behavior was offensive.
Major clothing brands such as Shein and Gucci were exposed for culturally appropriating several Asian traditions. On the Autumn/Winter runway in 2019, Gucci released an ‘Indy Full Turban’ as a Sikh community’s turban, which represents an extremely religious faith that cannot just be worn as a mere accessory. The brand later apologized and subsequently removed the item from its website. On the other hand, Shein was exposed for sexualizing the Chinese dress qipao, with an incredibly high slit and larger holes in the breast area. This reimagination of the dress is extremely offensive.
Asian dresses often follow a distinct style: A long, fitting dress that runs below the knee with high necklines – a style that pays homage to our more conservative culture. Public brands who have no intention of appreciating the traditional clothing have no right to be profiting off of it. This is not the first time that Shein has been accused of stealing traditional patterns to be redesigned, and they still have yet to apologize. The act of cultural appropriation today is a much smaller part of racism as it can often be mistaken for cultural appreciation and not an actual issue, but it can potentially be condescending because the underlying traditional purposes may be ignored and wrongly profited off of.
Racism towards Asians and their traditions have been practiced by dominating cultures for decades now; the voices of minorities should be heard and taken seriously rather than silenced. With the new generation taking this to light and heart, hopefully people of other races, especially those from a more dominating culture, will learn that mockery, stereotyping, and appropriation towards Asians is just as critical as racism towards other races.