I honestly was not surprised to find that Asian Americans were the fastest growing racial group while reading Theresa Senft and Safiya Umoja Noble’s “Race and Social Media,” Though I too noticed some of the issues in the way Pew Research Center categorized different Asian races into one, all-compassing racial group. It doesn’t accurately explain the proportion for each Asian community. But anyway, I digress…
As an Asian American myself, I never really understood the need to always identify myself as “Asian American” and not just “American” until I realized that identifying myself with the first label was important in explaining who I am. First-generation Asian Americans often find it difficult growing up in the United States because they’re trying to find a harmonious way to incorporate their ancestors’ culture while fitting into the American way of life. And honestly, it can be very difficult. For me, it was especially hard because I went to schools where the Asian population was not very large. I had a very few small friend group that could relate to my struggles (because we were all first-generation Americans in our family), but most of my friends did not experience the same upbringing as I did.
[Insert “The Internet” Here]
When I was in middle school, I was introduced to the wonderful, somewhat life-changing world of the internet. From Myspace to YouTube, I found comfort in watching videos of other Asian Americans who would talk about the same issues I was experiencing growing up as an Asian American. This community was then built among those who shared the same experiences. The internet became the place for Asian Americans to connect.
I realize now that much of the Asian-American dialogue regarding struggles and shared experiences can be found online. I could never find myself fully identifying with girls on TV or in movies. I now do social media for an online publication called Mochi, that strives to create a community for Asian-American young girls and women. Being part of this online publication helped me realize how wide-reaching the Asian-American community is online. YouTube and other online communities are still the place for Asian Americans to talk with one another because it’s still uncommon in mainstream media. This is why ABC’s new family sitcom “Fresh Off The Boat” is such a big deal for the Asian American community. It’s allowing their voices to be heard in a way that was not representative of their community before. I think the internet will always be the place for the Asian American community to connect and share, but hopefully this is the start of mainstream media incorporating more of what quickly growing minority populations within the United States need.
I agree that the Internet is a great place for communities to come together to thrive. I do have a question that I have been pondering ever since I heard about Fresh Off the Boat. I recently met the actor who plays the dad (as well as Kim Jong Un in The Interview) because I am in the same theatre company that he originally, which was actually the first Asian-American theatre company on campus. Seeing it from his point of view, I understand that the sitcom is very important because it is establishing a place for the Asian-American community within sitcom television. But is a problem created because it exploits Asian and Asian-American stereotypes? Is this merely a compromise that will eventually go away as Asiam-American television popularity increases?
I love Fresh Off the Boat for the exact reason that it expresses a common story that Asian American teens run into while growing up. The conflict of taking up your current settings’ culture all while still respecting your ancestor’s history is a tough one. The show does a great job in portraying that, and I’m just as happy as you are that the minority’s voice is being expressed. However, in response to the comment before me, I don’t feel that the show exploits any Asian American stereotypes at all–and that is a huge point that I’ve been trying to tell to my non-Asian friends. The show rather highlights common experiences that Asian Americans go through while growing up as the minority. You don’t see any of the negative stereotypes commonly seen on TV such as the “bad Asian drivers” or “Asians don’t speak English; although the show has parodied some things such as the “Tiger Mom,” it really is a true experience that, when taken with a grain of salt, is realized as what it is–a parody. I’ve never been to a Chinese Learning Center, but I can attest to my parents not being satisfied with straight-A’s and asking me if the school isn’t challenging me enough.
Sorry for the long comment. Asian American identity has always been a topic I enjoy talking about, so I’m glad that the topic is experiencing more dialogue in the mainstream with the internet and now the new sitcom.