Since I came to Chicago for college, I have become more aware of my Asian American background. I go to a school where Asians comprise only about 9 percent of the student body. On the other hand, I went to a high school where almost half the school was Asian and the community had a significant Asian American population. Because of the drastic difference that I was seeing in the college setting, I have become more aware of the little to no representation that Asians have in general society and how little society understands the Asian population.
Often, people still envision Asians as people from the three main Asian countries: Japanese, Korean and Chinese, when, in fact, the word Asian refers to a multitude of people from different countries. Indians, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan and the list could go on. I've encountered a greater level of generalization and a reductionist view of the Asian population since I've moved to an area where my Asian heritage is not as prominent as back home.
Although it is quite saddening that this still happens, I have recently encountered some hope on Instagram and Twitter that helps to educate people more on the Asian American community in numerous humorous, serious and interesting ways. They also help to advocate for pride and coming to terms with one's own Asian culture within the Asian community. One of the accounts that I enjoy and relate to as a Japanese-Korean American is @asiangirlsunited.
Her content makes me laugh (because I relate so much), makes me think about myself and my background in the context of the greater American population and makes me learn to appreciate my own culture at a greater level. Even if you're not Asian, I think it's a start to understanding the Asian American experience and what goes on in our minds as young Asian Americans.
The content is helping to raise awareness and that's great.
But this is not perfect. There are some posts and comments where I question at what point are we doing too much and imitating the oppressor rather than simply raising awareness about the issue. As a person of the community, I'm also trying to take part in helping people understand the representation issues that the Asian community faces in current American society and I think that anyone can take part in helping out in raising awareness, Asian or not.
