My Asian American Identity

Improved Essays
Arden Cho, Lucy Liu, and Sandra Oh: all of whom are Asian American descent. I think we can all agree that they are all beautiful women in America, but how do they stack up against other Asian and American actresses? All of these actresses have Asian parents who have taught them their culture's values and morals. America has also influenced their perspectives. What they deem beautiful is a fusion of American and Asian qualities. But where do I fit in? Throughout my childhood, I have struggled with my identity. I was born in China but was adopted by Americans. I learned American values although my visage is an "ethnic" person. Many people come up to me expecting me to act or behave one-way just because they think that my appearance dictates the …show more content…
I did have a couple Asian friends, but I usually shied away since I thought I wasn't really "one of them". Not until high school did I start to find myself. I became a floater between my old middle school friends and my new culturally diverse high school friends. I was intrigued with their language, values, behavior, and goals. I thought, "Why do they care about school so much? It's only high school." To me, school was just something you were forced to do. Later, when I got to know them better, I realized that they had to do well in school. Most of their families are first or second generation immigrants. When their parents came here, they had very little. They worked hard to prove themselves to society. Their children want to prove to them that their strife was not in vain. They want to make their parents …show more content…
Many Americans agree that she belongs on that list, but many Asians do not. Is it possible for someone to be beautiful someplace but unattractive in another? Many people of the Asian communities took to social media to convey how they felt about Oh placing on the 50 Most Beautiful People list. Many said that she was a poor representation of what Asian beauty really is and others complained about her appearance without providing insight on what they deemed to be beautiful. I was shocked at how another culture could vary so much in opinions. It was then that I realized that what people see beautiful is highly influenced by many factors such as environment, values, and culture. I recently learned that just like any other adjective, beauty is highly subjective. I also realized that just like American high fashion magazines, everything's fake. Although, I knew that Americans don't look like models and that the expectations set for regular people are high, I didn't apply that to Asians. Not until I met and became friends with a more diverse group of people did I realize that beauty differs in

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Having their whole world changed was hard enough for these immigrant…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “How I learned to Embrace My Freckles and My Asian American Identity”, Julie Tong claims that Asian Americans should embrace their natural beauty and let go of the pressure to conform to Western beauty standards. Tong establishes credibility as she is Vogue's commerce director with over 10 years of experience in the fashion and beauty industry, and has reached self-acceptance and appreciation herself. The article was published in Vogue, a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that reaches an audience of more than 268 million across the globe, and is the most influential voice of fashion and beauty. Tong’s implication originates from the need to embrace the unique identity of Asian Americans. Additionally, Tong’s kairos stems…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever had some to judge you before they even knew you? When people think of you a certain way before you even open your mouth to speak. Have you ever have you ever done someone that to someone? You may have done it without even knowing it. Every time you think of someone from a certain group to have a certain characteristic, that a stereotype.…

    • 1331 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In my own experience, I feel that the culture I portray to the world is a pendulum that swings back and forth; at times when I am with my family and close friends, I feel more Asian and Filipino, yet when I deal with strangers or have to act in formal situations, I feel more American. (Many argue that the American culture does not exist and is actually the lack of a culture due to assimilation, but I personally feel that it is made up of shared American experiences.) Being a group of light-skinned Filipinos, my family is often confused for other ethnicities. Like Ramos’s father in the article, I would often get people who questioned my heritage when I was younger though in less subtle ways. They would ask whether I was Chinese or Vietnamese—or simply speak to me in their respective language—due to my light skin and Asian-looking facial features.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Living in America, I was viewed as Chinese because of the way I looked, but if I was in China, I wouldn’t exactly fit in either because of my language and behavior. Being a Chinese American caused me to feel unsure of my racial identity because of the two different cultures I lived in. Throughout my elementary…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dance In A Quinceañera

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On one occasion while discussing politics with my grandpa and brother, we arrived at the topic of immigration. My grandpa then shared his belief that since illegal immigrants benefit from copious amounts of tax money, most of them instead should be deported. I understood his logic, though I then began to remember my own personal experiences with immigration. I recounted a friend whose parents came to the U.S. illegally and who couldn’t speak English. Nonetheless, his parents continued to support his path to college success.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In today’s society, social media seems to be a large part of everyone’s’ life. It has the capability to impact as well as distort and influence the way in which a person or circumstance is perceived. In this research paper I am going to take a look at how African American women are depicted within the media, specifically in the Canadian context. African American women make up 16% of the population within Canada [1]. The intent of this research paper is to further understand and explore how African American women are portrayed within the media.…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Immigrant Parents Essay

    • 2460 Words
    • 10 Pages

    When they become parents, they may still not be ready as a part of the big system- the society. Children from immigrant families are facing challenges every minute after they born. From education to race, community to psychology, they are living among several layers which affect each other. These layers integrate and become a dysfunctional system, which constantly strive to maintain a balance between changing in response to both internal and external demands. At the same time, this system will keep equilibrium, which means balance between change and maintenance.…

    • 2460 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I do not live the typical Asian American life. I reside in a state of limbo, somewhere between being full American and full Asian. My well-off, Wisconsin bred parents are not what people expect when they see me from the outside. From the exterior, it’s easy to assume that my parents (or at least one of them) are Asian.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up in a family with immigrant parents was not easy. Watching my parents freeze up every time a police officer pulled up next to them was anything but pleasurable. It was an anxiety felt by the whole family not just my parents. My parents, brother, and I endured many of these times throughout the years I’ve been growing up. Even though these were unfortunate moments, we all learned positive things from them.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Asian Group Values With the presence of such a plethora of ethnicities and cultures that make up the Asian people, Asian American ethnocentrisms may conflict with one another. Consequently, there are two types of value systems among Asians: Traditional and Modern. The common thread that binds all Asian Americans together is their value system rooted in collectivism.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Those points and more are explored through the sources used to write this essay. The purpose of this essay is to explore all the difficulties and challenges that immigrants face and to see if there are ways to help them be overcome. Suarez-Orozco, C., Suarez-Orozco, M. M., & Todorova, I. (2008) ‘Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society’, Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. ‘Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society,’ is a book which gives detailed stories of young immigrants about their challenges and wants. This is an academic source published through Harvard University Press in 2008.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are rare cases when you see a show or movie with an asian or hispanic or middle eastern lead. “almost never do Asian male characters have love interests in movies. And more often than not, if an Asian female character is the main love interest, she 's being fought over by a white guy and an Asian guy, with the white guy ending up with the girl.” That shocking trope was pointed out in an interview with John Cho and Kal Penn ,stars of movie series ‘Harold and Kumar’.(“Diversity (or the lack thereof) In Media”) Stereotypes similar to that consist of the asian character always being labeled as the ‘intelligent and stoic” character or given a strong accent and an inability to speak clear english, only a broken…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Asians are also labeled as geeks who excel in math, are very smart biologically, and hardworking individuals. According to the article Stereotyping Asian-Americans: Harvard Calls It ‘Diversity’ But It’s More Like Racial Balancing by YuKong Zhoa, Daniel Golden Thomas Espenshade believes that the reason behind these discrimination is because “Asian Americans are held to a higher standard than the other races” Although these are the better stereotypes Asian Americans face, there are plenty of horrible and equally inaccurate ones like Asians are the worst when it comes to driving, can not play sports but know martial arts, are socially awkward and passive with no leadership skills. I’m full Chinese born in Burma and came to the United States when I was five.…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Asian Women Stereotypes

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are many stereotypes about Asian women, especially South Asian women. These stereotypes include talk about how South Asian women are oppressed, do not have any freedom due to male figures in the family, can't leave their house without a male figure and so on. As expected, stereotypes are not always true even though they have some truth to them. Asian Women are treated differently than men, just because they are women. It is not fair to judge someone because of their gender, gender does not matter, however, equality matters.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays