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Asian-GAF: We're all the same, like Stormtroopers |OT| |AT|

Ochi

Neo Member
I had a pretty funny weekend. I met a friend at a bar to meet some of her friends. Her friends were at the table along with her friend's friend, who's name was Sunshine. No lie, she busted out her ID to prove the name.

Anyways, as I was walking up to the table where they were seated, Sunshine immediately points to me and goes "You! You're Asian and automatically cute! You can sit with me!" Sunshine was a white lady. She asked me what I was and I say half Chinese and I was cut off before I can say the rest. She started busting out some Chinese and I said I only knew English. Ends up she married a Chinese guy and had two kids with him. I asked where they met and she said she was searching for what sounded like a mail order husband program online. No lie and I totally believe her.

She kept telling me how I should hook up with the friend I was with because mixed Asian babies are the cutest, especially black and Asain. She even wanted me to use that as a line to pick up chicks. "Hey, you're pretty. Asian mixes makes the cutest babies so what do you say? ;)" The lady definitely had a preference for Asian to the point where I'd call it a fetish.

Now I'm sure Asian girls are the targets of these fetishes a lot and are probably sick of it but as an Asian guy, I was thinking "Where are all the single gals with an Asian fetish and why haven't I met them yet?!" Lol it's a different perspective I'm sure.
No lie, I cringed reading through all that.

Very sorry to hear you had to go through it in real, too

:(
Oh god I read it so hard and cringed so much too!

Benevolent racism is still racism... still stereotyping.

On the plus side though, at least we have one instance of someone not buying into the idea of emasculated asian males you keep referring to.

as an Asian guy, I was thinking "Where are all the single gals with an Asian fetish and why haven't I met them yet?!" Lol it's a different perspective I'm sure.

Somewhere.... they're out there...maybe.
 

Ochi

Neo Member
Lol! Nice :) What field do you want to go into?

Speaking of stereotypes, I've been thinking about mutually reinforcing stereotypes.

For example, have any of you heard of someone saying "I did bad by Asian standards," or maybe even the more extreme "I did bad, like American bad" (referring to school performance)? I only ask because I've said these things before (I try not to anymore), and my friends and I have been before. I also hear this in school, even now, when Asians talk about tests and grades.

Something I read earlier prompted to me think about self-created cultures-- that is, Asians do well academically, and we perpetuate this culture of academic excellence. I attended American school systems, but even I, in that culture of the "model minority," bought into this idea that all Asians must be good students.

So.. it's mutually reinforcing. I grew up in a culture that pushed good grades, I knew the stereotype of Asians doing well in school, and I myself perpetuated that.

Sorry for the sudden SRSBUSINESS post, but it's something I was wondering. Can we break our own stereotypes if we are still perpetuating them, even if they aren't bad*** (academic achievement, in a vacuum, is a good thing and should be striven for, imo)?

***I do want to add that I do think that, while academic achievement is good and everyone should definitely do their best, we know how damaging it can be to have that sort of stereotype, especially when we don't meet it. So, while doing well in school maybe isn't such a bad thing, I would hope to break the model minority stereotype a little bit... but how do we, when it seems like we actually reinforce it as well?
A professor once devoted part of a lecture about the whole model minority stereotype, saying that the Asian population in America isn't representative of the overall Asian population. When the US started re-allowing Chinese and other Asians to immigrate to the United States in limited numbers (the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943), the government made sure that only the most qualified were able to come over - the ones who had gone to school and gotten degrees and contribute to the American economy. Obviously, these immigrants wanted their children to do well, and, like many American parents, encouraged their children to do well in school. The difference in perceptions about Asian and white parents (and their children by extension), then, is because the parents who emphasize education is a larger portion of the Asian population than the white population because of the restrictive immigration policies.

There's more, too, like how the government used the success of Asian Americans to shame other "under-performing" minorities. I could write a whole paper on the subject, but that the gist of it.

I kind of don't like that explanation. It gives the impression that... we have no choice but to embrace the stereotype. Sure, it implies that there are all types of Asians, but it's giving credibility to the stereotype by saying that the Asians in America are smarter than other racial groups in America. It's basically saying that the stereotype is true. Ugh.

I'd like to think that you can do well in school without contributing to the stereotype, but I honestly don't think it's possible. Stereotypes are too easily spread because of confirmation bias.

The thing where the "best" immigrants came in first is basically true, but it, like all things faded with time. The same was true of Cubans in the 50s, only the policies for Cubans are basically still in place due to the lack of genuine diplomatic relations with Cuba.

With the Chinese however the honeymoon period of "best" immigrants coming in first was also diluted with Asians of preferred groups, ie, those from Taiwan, Hong Kong, or those with strong ties to Christianity, etc.

Once relations normalized in the 80s ('78 was when it "happened" but it takes time for government apparatus to materialize) lots of Chinese from all walks of life began applying.

but getting back to stereotypes and model minorities...

As long as a lot of Asian countries live in poverty, Asians in the western world will never be able to escape that stereotype. 2nd and 3rd gen may be able differ from the stereotype a bit but the influx of new Asian immigrants who've had academic excellence is everything drilled into them since they were a child will start that cycle all over again.

There is a big and very practical aspect to it. Parents recognize that by immigrating they are offering their kids greater access to opportunity, but opportunity isn't free, everyone's gotta work for it.

That said, it should be noted that when we start drifting away from the major East Asian powers and communities, (ie, China, Korea, Japan) issues of poverty and lower educational outcomes tend to be more prevalent amongst Hmongs, Vietnamese, Laotians, and a few other groups.

The emphasis of "make something of yourself" or what have you is an important aspect of being considered an immigrant in general.

It's true that for those of a succeeding generation, or even those who grow up that it seems like an unfair burden to still live a life with the expectations of immigrant-ness when you don't explicitly identify as such, but sometimes that's life.

Believe it or not educational outcomes tend to follow class lines, and rich kids at fancy schools do tend to do well in school, but it isn't stereotyped.

For Asians to climb the socio-economic ladder, education is a very potent equalizer that can supersede class.
 

clav

Member
Red bean mochi isn't as good as I hoped. :(

Try a dorayaki.

Pancake sandwich with red bean filling.

gSCcIU9.jpg
 

Esch

Banned
seriously? I haven't heard that in ages. Are you Asian? I've never heard it referencing Asians. People suck

Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?
 
:(

I love green tea mochi and peanut butter mochi. Omnomnomnom.
How is the cream center in the peanut butter? I was really close to getting those because everything tastes good with peanut butter. And yeah, all the girls at work said the green tea is a lot better.
Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?
Weird, I've only heard it used with middle Eastern. I've only heard it used when my old boss would say it constantly referring to himself. Maybe I'm just sheltered but it always feels so word hearing people say stuff like they today. Sorry you have to put up with that crap.
 
Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?

so so so sorry to hear that you've been called that slur. people are assholes.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms? I loved it! My dad used to read it to me when I was a child. I dont have a good rec on the English translations though :< My dad's copy was in Mandarin, and it was super fab, it had illustrations in it, which was done in Chinese ink style.

How is the cream center in the peanut butter? I was really close to getting those because everything tastes good with peanut butter. And yeah, all the girls at work said the green tea is a lot better.

Weird, I've only heard it used with middle Eastern. I've only heard it used when my old boss would say it constantly referring to himself. Maybe I'm just sheltered but it always feels so word hearing people say stuff like they today. Sorry you have to put up with that crap.

oh it depends on the maker of the mochi :> Some mochis are meant to be gooey and kind of soft. But other mochi makers make them a bit more solid and chalky-ish. the peanut butter mochis that i like have medium solid chewy texture on the outside, coated by finely ground peanut sprinkles and the centre is like gooey...^____^
 

suzu

Member
Now I'm sure Asian girls are the targets of these fetishes a lot and are probably sick of it but as an Asian guy, I was thinking "Where are all the single gals with an Asian fetish and why haven't I met them yet?!" Lol it's a different perspective I'm sure.

I feel like maybe it's been on the rise lately (due to k-pop lol) with the younger crowd.

Red bean mochi isn't as good as I hoped. :(

I like green tea filling better.

Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?

People are dicks. :/

All I know is from movies or Dynasty Warriors. haha
 
That sounds delicious! I think your dish is already great that it doesn't need much improvement. I used to eat samosas with lentils. The lentils had a curry like taste and eating them with Samosas was amazing.

That reminds me of the lentil sambusas I had at an Ethiopian restaurant. I thought I would prefer the beef variety, but the lentils tasted so good.

Lentil's is a good idea. Maybe I'll just throw them into the sambusa. The it'll be potato, peas, and lentils. That's gotta taste good! I've never cooked with lentils so I should experiment before I go with it.


I mostly cook non-Asian dishes. One of these days I'll have to jot down my family's favorite recipes and have a go at them.

I mostly cook non-asian but that's only because I am vietnamese and I live with caucasian roommates. They're fantastic roommates, but as you might know, fish sauce is a dominant ingredient in many vietnamese recipes. If I made ca kho, a fish dish which features a reduction of sugar and fish sauce, the whole house will smell like fish sauce for a long long time. Not even my roommates powerful scented candles are strong enough. So i cook white-friendly cuisine like french or italian.
 
Don't worry, I don't really like mochi, either (and I've had them from the supposedly best places around LA).

Mochi ice cream, on the other hand...
 
Didn't find this thread till today. Hello, I'm Yvonne. :) Born in HK, raised in Toronto. Anyone have good YouTubers that cook actual HK-style food? I find it hard to search for recipes that haven't been altered to western tastes. I understand Cantonese but my reading and writing skills are minimal.

Also been reading some topics on the gaming side about representation and I find it disappointing that people seem to always leave out non-Japanese Asian representation in video games. I wish topics about racism or representation extended to more than just black minorities. Tend to feel excluded when I read them. :( In any form of media, people always act like we don't exist.
 
Didn't find this thread till today. Hello, I'm Yvonne. :) Born in HK, raised in Toronto. Anyone have good YouTubers that cook actual HK-style food? I find it hard to search for recipes that haven't been altered to western tastes. I understand Cantonese but my reading and writing skills are minimal.

Also been reading some topics on the gaming side about representation and I find it disappointing that people seem to always leave out non-Japanese Asian representation in video games. I wish topics about racism or representation extended to more than just black minorities. Tend to feel excluded when I read them. :( In any form of media, people always act like we don't exist.

Hi Yvonne! :)

HK-style food like steamed fish in soy sauce and congee with chinese bread and stuff? I think my dad saved a few youtube links. I'll look it up later at home...

...

ugh i love good congee

...

man, this thread is making me fat
 
Wow that.. is horrible. I'm sorry. I've heard it in reference to any brown person that isn't Hispanic. People are haters, also, scared.



NO. ONLY ASIANS CAN JOIN AND YOU'RE CHINESE.

<3 jk. Hello!



D:. Maybe you got bad mochi? Bad mochi is really gross. But good mochi is AMAZING. Still, those pancakes are also amazingly delicious.

I'm with YesNo... I LOVE peanut butter mochi and green tea mochi.

Dammit, I picked up green tea first but thought red bean was the safer bet. I forget what brand I got. I gave it away since I didn't like it.
 
Hi Yvonne! :)

HK-style food like steamed fish in soy sauce and congee with chinese bread and stuff? I think my dad saved a few youtube links. I'll look it up later at home...

...

ugh i love good congee

...

man, this thread is making me fat
Yeah, dishes like those would be great. Thanks! Now that you mention it, I'm starving for pork with preserved egg congee and &#27833;&#26781;. Sooo good.
 

squall23

Member
Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?
Define ideal. I've read 2 English versions and there are good and bad aspects in different ways. This is of course after I've read a Cantonese version.

Also, I'm new to thread.
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
Wooooo just discovered this thread hahaha. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver. Hello fellow Asians who may have similar life experience ! We got lots of awesome oil sticks and stuff here in Vancouver, Yvonne !
 

Esch

Banned
Define ideal. I've read 2 English versions and there are good and bad aspects in different ways. This is of course after I've read a Cantonese version.

Also, I'm new to thread.

Uhh.... Retold comprehensively but also with a bit of flair for storytelling?
 

Hastati

Member
So do I count if I'm mixed? Like, if I'm 1/4 Japanese should I post a quarter of the time? lol? Found this thread and currently living in Fukuoka, JP, skimming through y'all seem like a cool bunch of people. Nice to meet you!

EDIT:
Wooooo just discovered this thread hahaha. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver. Hello fellow Asians who may have similar life experience ! We got lots of awesome oil sticks and stuff here in Vancouver, Yvonne !

I'm from Seattle, we're like the dirtier and less fashionable sibling of you guys. Where's the best place downtown to get a drink if I pay a visit?
 
Hi Yvonne!

I'll respond to your second paragraph tomorrow. Right now I'm recovering from a small surgery and don't really have the energy to respond.
Awesome. Take it easy!

Wooooo just discovered this thread hahaha. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver. Hello fellow Asians who may have similar life experience ! We got lots of awesome oil sticks and stuff here in Vancouver, Yvonne !
I have some family friends who live in Vancouver. Visited them once there too. Peaceful place with good food! GTA here's got great Asian cuisine too. Definitely gonna go have dim sum with my parents back home when I'm done my exams later in December.
 
Asian-GAF? I'm in!

Filipinos count right?

Anyway, born and raised in the Philippines now living in DFW for reasons unknown. Seriously, out of all the places my parents decided to move to, DFW was our first choice and that was over 10 years ago.

I love it here though, everything about this metro is great, except tornadoes... fack that shit.
 

Ochi

Neo Member
Also been reading some topics on the gaming side about representation and I find it disappointing that people seem to always leave out non-Japanese Asian representation in video games. I wish topics about racism or representation extended to more than just black minorities. Tend to feel excluded when I read them. :( In any form of media, people always act like we don't exist.

To be fair, a lot of this has to do with who sells what games where.

In the west we get a surprising amount of japanese imports as a result of the 80s video game crash and japan spearheading some of the most major developments in consumer technology.

As for why Koreans and Chinese games don't make it out west, a lot of that again has to do with the country of origin. There are several Korean and Chinese MMOs out there that have been localized, but the only game traditional console game I can think of made by a Korean studio is Magna Carta, the only game by a Chinese developer being American McGee's Alice: Return to Wonderland (or whatever it's called), and the only Taiwanese developed game I can recall is Chaos Code.

China and Korea have very inward facing game markets, with many of them highly focused on MMOs or mobile games. China especially focuses on the PC side of things because major consoles were banned from being sold in some cases, or just out of the range of affordability for the average Chinese citizen.

As for why there aren't more Asians in games in the west, that's probably also an indication of the slowly changing diversity of Asians in computer science and video games out here in the west.

I'd like to point to sleeping dogs as one example of non Japanese characters and settings, and it was developed in Canada IIRC. There's other bits of representation here and there, for example Talim from Soul Calibur was ostensibly the first Filipino fighting game character to my knowledge.

I suppose the other factor is that the dynamics of race relations aren't quite as prominent in some of the major Asian countries because many of them have a sense of homogeneity, even if it isn't completely true.
In the US, Canada and even Europe, things are changing as representation slowly grows and the populace in these places becomes more diverse.
 

y2dvd

Member
To be honest, when the term "minority" gets thrown around, I think the general populace for the most part thinks of the black community and sometimes hispanics.

While I appreciate diversity, I don't really expect or demand it. As long as the representation of whatever is fair. I loved Big Hero 6, but I couldn't really tell if Hiro was supposed to be asian in appearance. His aunt looks nothing like an asian women. I just took it that the family was half white/half asian, but it was pretty annoying having to guess. Still, it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the movie. What I did like was a lot of asians "extras" in the background. You rarely get that in animated movies.
 

Kevyt

Member
Bubble like boba?

Not sure what boba is, but for them bubble are small jelly-like candy that they put in their tea. Cold tea of course. I remember thinking that they looked like fish eggs so I was like "ewww."

'


I remember reading about that last year, here's a link to one of the news articles that covered it, but I'm not sure if it links to the study proper:

http://goo.gl/OwQHBu

Edit: Apparently gaf doesn't approve of Daily Mail UK (presumably because they also have a lot of non-news material or bots)

A short link is pasted above

Thanks for sharing! I didn't know DMUK was banned here.

Lentil's is a good idea. Maybe I'll just throw them into the sambusa. The it'll be potato, peas, and lentils. That's gotta taste good! I've never cooked with lentils so I should experiment before I go with it.




I mostly cook non-asian but that's only because I am vietnamese and I live with caucasian roommates. They're fantastic roommates, but as you might know, fish sauce is a dominant ingredient in many vietnamese recipes. If I made ca kho, a fish dish which features a reduction of sugar and fish sauce, the whole house will smell like fish sauce for a long long time. Not even my roommates powerful scented candles are strong enough. So i cook white-friendly cuisine like french or italian.

Lentils are delicious and go well with almost anything, in my opinion. Good luck with your dish!

To be honest, when the term "minority" gets thrown around, I think the general populace for the most part thinks of the black community and sometimes hispanics.

While I appreciate diversity, I don't really expect or demand it. As long as the representation of whatever is fair. I loved Big Hero 6, but I couldn't really tell if Hiro was supposed to be asian in appearance. His aunt looks nothing like an asian women. I just took it that the family was half white/half asian, but it was pretty annoying having to guess. Still, it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the movie. What I did like was a lot of asians "extras" in the background. You rarely get that in animated movies.

Most of the time, some of the time. Minorities also include sexual minorities, and gender non-conformity minorities. In my opinion these are the two most overlooked minorities, especially the latter. When talking about minorities we always talk about the most prominent or the largest of ethnic minorities which are Hispanics and Blacks. But being the two most known ethnic minorities is not necessarily a positive thing because of stereotypes and racism.
 

mr.rager

Member
Yeah, I'm South Asian. It happens from time to time.

Hey Chinese/ lit gaf, I've been trying to read the three kingdoms epic for a while now. Is there an ideal adaptation for western readers that I can dig into?

I love the Three Kingdoms period. Got into it cause of Dynasty Warriors lol. As another poster have said the Robert Moss version is pretty good. I picked that one up as well. The translation can be pretty spotty from what I remember but I would also suggest going online to help fill out some details. Kongming is great for officer bios and stuff like that.

Didn't find this thread till today. Hello, I'm Yvonne. :) Born in HK, raised in Toronto. Anyone have good YouTubers that cook actual HK-style food? I find it hard to search for recipes that haven't been altered to western tastes. I understand Cantonese but my reading and writing skills are minimal.

Another fellow Torontonian! Hello! Drop by the Toronto-Age sometime and join us in the never ending war of best burger joints, bitching about the TTC and the eternal rivalry that is #TeamWinter vs #TeamSummer.
 
Good morning. Quick post before I head to work--

This is the store owner that was robbed by Brown, after the riots happened last night. His shop was wrecked again, though thankfully it doesn't look like everything was taken.

Does anyone know of any fundraisers for him and the other victims of last night's riots?

Innocent person caught in the crossfire :(
 

y2dvd

Member
Good morning. Quick post before I head to work--

eXaWAMN.png


This is the store owner that was robbed by Brown, after the riots happened last night. His shop was wrecked again, though thankfully it doesn't look like everything was taken.

Does anyone know of any fundraisers for him and the other victims of last night's riots?

Damn protesters, not like this. =\
 

Ochi

Neo Member
^Ideally insurance will take care of it.

But it's definitely a bummer about Ferguson and the Brown trial.

When the LA Rodney King riots happened in the early 90s, a lot of Asian American businesses (mostly Korean) were wrecked as a result of those riots.
 
Yep. I grew up around this area, so I remember.

Pretty iconic image:

58852252.jpg


From what I remember, police basically retreated to protect the rich areas (Brent and Bev), so some of the shop owners took matters into their own hands.

I don't know if it would have helped last night. I'm not sure you should be allowed to kill someone for stealing your stuff :/.

oh wow. i didnt know about this at all. Educational!




on another note, just curious, are most of us in this thread 2nd generation or 1st?

My parents didnt come over to Australia. I was sent on my own when I was 11 and I was living with relatives until I was 15, when I got my own place with a friend (under her older sister's name). So I guess I'm 1st generation.....

I've got still very strong ties with my family overseas. 2nd generation seems more acclimatized. Sometimes I envy 2nd generation's localised knowledge and accents :<
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
So do I count if I'm mixed? Like, if I'm 1/4 Japanese should I post a quarter of the time? lol? Found this thread and currently living in Fukuoka, JP, skimming through y'all seem like a cool bunch of people. Nice to meet you!

EDIT:


I'm from Seattle, we're like the dirtier and less fashionable sibling of you guys. Where's the best place downtown to get a drink if I pay a visit?

Heya, here's my recommendations:

Bin 941 Tapas Parlour
The Portside Pub
33 Acres Brewing
Craft Beer Market
Yaletown Brewing

Just places I thought of off the top of my head. People should feel free to add to this list :)

Awesome. Take it easy!


I have some family friends who live in Vancouver. Visited them once there too. Peaceful place with good food! GTA here's got great Asian cuisine too. Definitely gonna go have dim sum with my parents back home when I'm done my exams later in December.

I was in the GTA area for about 5 years studying university. They got some awesome variety of food like Lebanese and whatnot that you won't find here unfortunately :( I miss a good shawarma !
 

Kevyt

Member
To be honest, when the term "minority" gets thrown around, I think the general populace for the most part thinks of the black community and sometimes hispanics.

While I appreciate diversity, I don't really expect or demand it. As long as the representation of whatever is fair. I loved Big Hero 6, but I couldn't really tell if Hiro was supposed to be asian in appearance. His aunt looks nothing like an asian women. I just took it that the family was half white/half asian, but it was pretty annoying having to guess. Still, it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the movie. What I did like was a lot of asians "extras" in the background. You rarely get that in animated movies.

Oh, an Asian thread. Can i come in ?
I'm Vietnamese btw

Yes! Welcome!! :)
 
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