Asians in America. There are only two terms that people use to describe us: FOB or white-washed. FOB is an acronym for “fresh off the boat,” which is used to describe someone who didn't assimilate to mass culture; white-washed is a term that describes someone has completely “washed away” their previous culture for the mass culture. It’s weird how the culture makes it acceptable for such a broad group to be categorized into just two classes which you are then judged upon. When you take into consideration each and everyone’s appearance, speech, personality, perception and even palate, it becomes a lot more complicated than just a this or that answer. I cannot be summed up in just one of two terms; it is more of a complex spectrum.
When it comes to style and physical appearances, style is arbitrary. While there is a general consensus of what isn’t stylish, defining what is stylish is a different story. There are people who are stylish and unstylish at all stops of the gamut. There are FOBs who dress like Korean pop stars, yet there are also many white-washed people who dress as edgy. Style is not race or culturally dependent. It goes beyond what country you’re from, and what you like to wear should not reflect on who you are as a person.
There are also those who speak their native language and those who don’t. Those who can’t speak English, or prefer not to, are considered fob-by because they’re not embracing or assimilating to the American standard of communication. On the other hand, those who only speak English, and not their native language, and considered to be white-washed, distant from their ethical background. This also leads to the way people talk. Their accent, their diction, their eloquence changes based on their lingual prowess, and they get judged on it.
Along with appearance and language, culture representation is a biggie. Fobs are generally associated with otakus. Otaku is the Japanese term for people with obsessive interest, usually being anime or manga. The stigma is so bad that even the mention of you liking anime can stir up some judgment from others. The opposite of this would be obsessing over sports, celebrities, newest fads. But it’s not just what you like; it’s also what you eat. Growing up in school, there are always going to be kids that bring in some home cooked meals that their parents made. Whether it is curry, noodles or dumplings, they get labeled as the kid with the smelly lunch or the kid with Asian food. Most of us can agree that it’s a label that most of us would rather not have.
For instance – me. I grew up in the States. Born and raised in New Jersey. I am a mildly fashionable man, if I say so myself, I don’t know the native language of Cantonese all too well, but I love the culture, the history and the food of where my family comes from. Now does that make me either of the two labels given by society? No, not at all. Labeling of how far along the path of assimilation needs to stop. Whether we want to transition into the American culture or not is up to us, and we do not need to be placed into categories to tell us. I am not a fob and I am not white-washed. I am myself.
