tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post7427648660834058691..comments2024-01-04T04:31:00.481-05:00Comments on Mixed Race America: More questions about Asians in America -- who are we?Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13261371053113519712noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-26227682619034000262010-12-20T13:28:29.923-05:002010-12-20T13:28:29.923-05:00Excellent post. There are a few things I'd lik...Excellent post. There are a few things I'd like to add to, if it's alright:<br /><br />1) I see a potential analogy in the "Asian-Americans as (perpetual) foreigners" meme to the "Obama as Muslim" meme (let's call the structure "A as B"). Namely, that the statement may be construed as (or intended to be) some sort of put-down; if this is the case, it is based on the implicit assumption that B is bad. Of course, there are <i>major</i> differences in how these memes function and are manifested, but I feel it's necessary to point out that in addition to reinforcing stereotypes of Asians, the meme also attacks "foreignness". By simply refuting the statement, the speaker reinforces that B is bad (or at least that it's less valued than a more "standard" counterpart): Obama is not Muslim; he is Christian. A given Asian-American is not foreign; she is American. (Muslim < Christian; foreign < American.)<br /><br />2) I see a potential danger in American-born, "standard English" speaking Asian-Americans so strongly separating themselves from "foreign-born, pidgin-speaking, immigrants". Of course, I understand your intention to illustrate the stereotype here (from the POV of the person holding this stereotype), but American-born and raised people who are native speakers of Standard American English wield a significant amount of privilege, even those of Asian descent. This sort of privilege should also be recognized and called into question; Asian-Americans so vehemently separating themselves from foreign-born Asians is essentially endorsing that privilege.<br /><br />At the same time, I recognize that the primary function of refuting the "Asian-Americans as (perpetual) foreigners" meme is to call out the stereotyping. I also recognize that it is a fine line to walk: how to claim an identity that is both "Asian" and "American" seems like it might be the crux of Asian-American identity politics. A wild thought (and entirely separate debate), but I wonder if this problem might be addressed by claiming an identity that is framed as neither of those.<br /><br />3) Another extended analogy (that, again, has many major differences) is a fissure in the LGBT community. I'm not sure how common this practice is anymore, but back when I was single, I can't tell you how many times I read gay dating ads where men portrayed themselves as "straight-acting" -- and how infuriating that was to me. This can be traced to the meme of "Gay people as feminine-acting/flamboyant" (again, A as B, where the implicit assumption is that B is bad). There are many gay people who can easily pass as straight, which, in itself is not a bad thing, but (especially preemptively) claiming a "straight-acting" identity is endorsing the privilege of socially constructed gender-compliant behavior. In my mind, this is very similar to the scenarios above.<br /><br />4) I also wanted to point out another (potentially more subtle) way that white supremacy manifests. My partner recently told me about a Kaiser ad he had seen (a copy can be seen here: http://www2.gloriousgaydays.com/uploaded_images/KP-stick-around-things-get-interesting-799793.jpg). Here, though "minority status" people are represented, heteronormative whiteness functions as the pivot point (the older straight white couple in front) -- it is the standard that all other periphery existence is compared to and judged by.<br /><br />That's all. Open to further discussion, of course.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13748622697744911930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-44322909030087665032010-12-20T13:27:53.915-05:002010-12-20T13:27:53.915-05:00Excellent post. There are a few things I'd lik...Excellent post. There are a few things I'd like to add to, if it's alright:<br /><br />1) I see a potential analogy in the "Asian-Americans as (perpetual) foreigners" meme to the "Obama as Muslim" meme (let's call the structure "A as B"). Namely, that the statement may be construed as (or intended to be) some sort of put-down; if this is the case, it is based on the implicit assumption that B is bad. Of course, there are <i>major</i> differences in how these memes function and are manifested, but I feel it's necessary to point out that in addition to reinforcing stereotypes of Asians, the meme also attacks "foreignness". By simply refuting the statement, the speaker reinforces that B is bad (or at least that it's less valued than a more "standard" counterpart): Obama is not Muslim; he is Christian. A given Asian-American is not foreign; she is American. (Muslim < Christian; foreign < American.)<br /><br />2) I see a potential danger in American-born, "standard English" speaking Asian-Americans so strongly separating themselves from "foreign-born, pidgin-speaking, immigrants". Of course, I understand your intention to illustrate the stereotype here (from the POV of the person holding this stereotype), but American-born and raised people who are native speakers of Standard American English wield a significant amount of privilege, even those of Asian descent. This sort of privilege should also be recognized and called into question; Asian-Americans so vehemently separating themselves from foreign-born Asians is essentially endorsing that privilege.<br /><br />At the same time, I recognize that the primary function of refuting the "Asian-Americans as (perpetual) foreigners" meme is to call out the stereotyping. I also recognize that it is a fine line to walk: how to claim an identity that is both "Asian" and "American" seems like it might be the crux of Asian-American identity politics. A wild thought (and entirely separate debate), but I wonder if this problem might be addressed by claiming an identity that is framed as neither of those.<br /><br />3) Another extended analogy (that, again, has many major differences) is a fissure in the LGBT community. I'm not sure how common this practice is anymore, but back when I was single, I can't tell you how many times I read gay dating ads where men portrayed themselves as "straight-acting" -- and how infuriating that was to me. This can be traced to the meme of "Gay people as feminine-acting/flamboyant" (again, A as B, where the implicit assumption is that B is bad). There are many gay people who can easily pass as straight, which, in itself is not a bad thing, but (especially preemptively) claiming a "straight-acting" identity is endorsing the privilege of socially constructed gender-compliant behavior. In my mind, this is very similar to the scenarios above.<br /><br />4) I also wanted to point out another (potentially more subtle) way that white supremacy manifests. My partner recently told me about a Kaiser ad he had seen (a copy can be seen here: http://www2.gloriousgaydays.com/uploaded_images/KP-stick-around-things-get-interesting-799793.jpg). Here, though "minority status" people are represented, heteronormative whiteness functions as the pivot point (the older straight white couple in front) -- it is the standard that all other periphery existence is compared to and judged by.<br /><br />That's all. Open to further discussion, of course.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13748622697744911930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658138279766595241.post-46723158777462202582010-12-14T08:10:15.197-05:002010-12-14T08:10:15.197-05:00Hello,
tried to find a contact address to request...Hello,<br /><br />tried to find a contact address to request a exchange of links with my site. Link to this blog is here - http://www.mixedindifferentshades.net/web-links/blog-links/35-blog-links.html. Would appreciate a link back thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com