Sitting in Japanese class, we had to say a sentence with the new vocabulary we're currently learning. A friend/classmate of mine raises his hand to volunteer to incorporate a vocabulary word into a sentence. In Japanese, he says, "I want to become Japanese."
Our Japanese teacher, a native from Japan, tells him, "Well, good luck." She goes on to tell us that it's very hard for non-Japanese people to be accepted in the society. All though anyone can live there, it doesn't mean that you will be accepted immediately. People from other Asian countries can be more accepted than a White person, but it is still hard to see even them as Japanese.
She also says, "Unless you memorize 3,000 kanji characters with the correct stroke order, can pronounce and dictate the words with fluency, and know all the mannerisms, you will not be accepted as Japanese. They have an in-group."
I can't remember what exactly she said, but she also mentioned a non-Japanese guy who went on Japanese news. He was "very Japanese" but because the native Japanese newscasters were doubtful of his literacy, they made him write a complicated kanji character, paying attention to his stroke order. But when he did it correctly, even in calligraphy, they finally accepted him as their own.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
I Want To Be Japanese
At The China Garden
The outside of China Garden, a Chinese dim sum restaurant in Georgetown, shows itself royally with an entryway reminiscent of the walls and pillars in Chinatown across the United States that let you know that you're in Chinatown territory. Above it is the Chinese dragon that is supposed to represent fortune. Next to the pillars are wooden slabs with Chinese characters painted on it. The architecture around this restaurant reminds me of architecture of ancient China.
Inside, I feel blasted by red color everywhere. The whole wall is painted with a dark reddish tone. A Chinese woman, costumed in the Mandarin chi pao, greets me in Chinese, probably because I look Chinese. Except, I tell her, "For two, please." She understands that I only speak English, and leads me to a free table.
I order hot tea, and comes a traditional tea set. The waiter also hands me a pair of chopsticks. I hear the couple in the next table say, "I love this place. It makes me feel like I'm in China."
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
What race were you meant to be?
Marriage as a White Person Thing?
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032500029.html
Fellow Blogger
http://actingwhite.blogspot.com
Acting Race
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2572
You Are What You Are, Not How You Look
I just say be yourself. I don't really know what it means to "act black" or "act white". I would say act in accordance to how you were raised and actions that come natural to you. If you gotta try to act a certain way, that probably isn't you, whether that's a black so-called acting white or vice versa.
-Andre Ingram
A Black Man Labeled As White
I don't think it is a matter of acting black and acting white. I think it is environmental. So based on one's socioeconomic foundation, those are the cultural and social norms that one will be privy to. I grew up with nothing but white folks when I was young so obviously I became immersed in their culture and their environment, but I don't call it acting white. I just call it being a part of another culture. Of course people said I acted white because I spoke with articulation and I wore certain clothes and idolized Larry Bird, but they were kids that didn't know any better. I was foreign to them so they perceived me as not being black enough. I think it is pretty ignorant to think in those lines. I was persona non grata for the longest because I felt I had to conform to those norms because when I moved to a proedominantly black neighborhood Iwas percieved as acting white. Some people accepted me and some people alienated me. People are people and we should embrace different cultures and different types of persons, regardless. If I like Phil Collins, I don't like white music, I like a certain genre of music.
-Andre Davis
Case Study 3
In conclusion, I feel that stereotypes are a way of keeping people in their rightful places, or at least the places where society feels that they belong. It is impossible to act a certain race, and when people believe that others have to act a certain way to stay true to their race and they are just buying into those stereotypes. Who a person becomes is not dictated by their race; that just happens to be a part of who they are. People dictate the way their race acts, it’s not their responsibility to buy into the “norms” of others. Most people I interviewed agreed with this. However, there were some dissenting opinions. I have always thought that people cannot act a certain color. You just happen to be a color but that does no dictate the way they live their life. You should never let it dictate your goals from life and the ways to achieve them. If color is all we see when we look at a person, then we are doomed from the moment we open our eyes.
Case Study 2
I have a white friend named Robert who is always being perceived as acting black. All his friends are black and he is a member of a black fraternity. He used to wear his hair in braids, he dresses and acts “gangsta” and loves the whole hip-hop scene. They call him “White Rob” although some people get offended when they hear him being referred to as white, especially his fraternity brothers. This is because they say that he is a cool white boy, that he’s “down,” and is an honorary member of the black race. Did they happen to really look at him recently? The boy is white. He is always asked many different questions. The most frequent question is what race he is because people tend to not believe its possible for him to be white because of the way he acts. However, Robert is really pale with red hair, it’s not really possible for him to be anything but white. Robert keeps his hair shorter now but he wears doo-rags on his head, which is traditionally worn by blacks.
Case Study 1
Hezekiah is eight years old and I tutor him every Tuesday afternoon. He lives with an older sister and both his parents. I just began tutoring him this semester. Devonte is twelve years old and I tutor him every Thursday afternoon. His parents are divorced and he has seven brothers and sisters, however he lives with his mother and a few sisters. He rarely gets the chance to see his father. Devonte and I have been working together for quite a while. I still remember the first time I met him.
That first tutoring session I decided to spend the time getting to know one another rather than doing work so that we could work on forming some sort of bond. I sat there asking him questions about his home life and school. He told me his favorite subject in school, the things he liked to do for fun, and all about his family. Throughout our talk, he had been drawing a picture the whole time. I asked him if I could see the picture when he was done. When he showed it to me I was astonished by what he had drawn, it was a diagram of mitosis, cell reproduction. How many kids do you know who draw a picture of mitosis for fun? I was surprised that he even knew what it was and understood it so well. Devonte has always been that type of kid. He got good grades in school. He never gave me any problems when it came to doing homework.
However, one day it all changed. He would come in with an attitude all the time. He was getting suspended from school. He would curse more and talk about sex all the time. He also started carrying a knife everywhere with him. It started getting harder and harder to tutor him, almost to the point where I dreaded coming to tutoring every week. It got to the point where I realized that I had to have a talk with Devonte if we were going to keep working with one another. However, he must have known that something was up because on that particular day he kept running away from me and ended up hiding in the bathroom for the rest of the day. Finally, one of the other guys went into the bathroom to get him out for me. It was then that I was informed of the actual problem that had Devonte acting so weird.
First of all, Devonte had just learned that he needed to where glasses which is why he never wanted to do homework anymore because he was afraid that the other kids were going to tease him, and Devonte being the type of kid he is that is a very big deal. However, there was a much larger problem at hand. Devonte told me that he had been acting up because all the other kids at his school have been telling him that he “acts white.” Devonte is a straight-A student, loves to skateboard and has always been a very polite kid especially to females because of the way he was raised. He figured that if he cursed more, did poorly in school, and acted up then the kids wouldn’t tease him anymore. But where did the idea of that being a black man come from?
Whether or not you agree with it, there are stereotypes identifying whether or not there is a specific way that people act depending on their race. Black people are associated with being arrogant, athletic, devious, dirty, dishonest, drug addicts, "having rhythm," incompetent, inferior, lazy, unintelligent, noisy, passive, poor, primitive, untrustworthy, and violent. White people are associated with being assertive, cold, dishonest, evil, greedy, lacking athleticism, lacking rhythm, lusting for power, racist, untrustworthy, smart, and unclean. However, not all white people act the same, just like not all black people act the same. The problem is then tackling those stereotypes.
"Acting" White vs. "Acting" Black
I'm So Asian
While working, the co-worker/friend of mine suddenly asked, "Do you know Y***?"
"No...?" I ask. Looking at him, there is a sense of discomfort written on his face. I know immediately he's going to say something about Asian-ness. We've had a lot of arguments about it before.
"Oh, okay. I don't know whether or not to take this as a compliment, but she said I was so Asian. S*** agrees, too. Actually, a lot of Japanese told me that. But, to me, I'm just American. But actually, I can agree with them too. I feel kinda Asian but also American."
"What?" I say, incredulous and confused. This is a comment from a person who, earlier in the year told me that he preferred Asian and Latina women to American (he means White) and Black women because Asian and Latina women are quieter while Americans and Blacks are too loud and obnoxious. However, between Latina and Asian women, he prefers Asian women because he says that they are skinny the way he likes, and he likes very white skin. Does the fact that he likes Asian women make him more Asian? Not quite. Let me tell you more.
He indulges everything touted as Asian. For example, foreign movies from Asia, popular trends in Asian-American culture such as bubble tea, tae kwon do, music produced and recorded in Asia, and people. He especially prides himself in taking Japanese language, and has joined all the Asian clubs, except for the South Asian Student Association, on campus. What else could it be, but a compliment?
He continues, "You know, like, how am I Asian."
I shrug.
He says, "Let's see. Welllll, I always like Asian girls, especially from Korea. Sometimes Japan, but sometimes they are so, I don't know. I also like the food. Always. And I know a lot about Japan, and have a lot of Asian friends. Actually, all my friends are Asian. Plus, everything I do is Asian!"
Constructed Identities in the Courtroom
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/blj/vol19/bedi.pdf
Sounding Black in the Courtroom
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/blj/vol18/wiehl.pdf
Wagshalls Deli
English. In this observation I went to the deli in the
Ward circle building. It is centrally located and so
during class changes a lot of students go through the
deli. This provided me with observations on race and
language and their connections. Language connected
with race creates two divides one auditory and one
visual. You know you are different both verbally and
visually. Some patrons attempt to speak Spanish as a
courtesy to the workers whom they know. These attempts
are always it seems met with enthusiasm by the Spanish
speaking workers. No matter how bad the Spanish is or
rudimentary. The clash comes when English speaking
patrons have difficulty ordering or with understanding
the price at the register. Usually this is solved by
pointing or the universal translator of talking
louder.
This is an interesting performance of race because
with the addition of language and language differences
the differences between people can become more stark.
Rhode Island Y
streets is essentially n the center of the North west
section of DC. Any one can show up and play 3 on 3 or
5 on 5 basketball during most hours of the day.
Performance of race and mass observation were on my
mind while I played 5 on 5 basketball. The teams were
not split by race like the new survivor or equally
divided as though we were not conscious of the racial
divide. It was who was picked and who could play.
Professional Basketball is dominated by black men and
there is no arguing with the black presence and
contribution to the game. But in this lies an almost
lack of race performance. We picked teams not based
race but only who you thought would best provide a
chance at winning. So in a way a place where at first
I thought performance of race would be most prevalent
it was not. Race was not performed only sport. Whether
basketball skill can be defined or attributed to
blackness is another argument.
Riding the Red Line
Within Washington DC the most famous and well traveled public transportation is the DC Metro. In early November I hopped on the red line and traveled from the Tenlytown/AU Metro stop through the Silver Springs Metro stop. I jumped on the train around five o’clock in the evening just as rush hour was about to begin hoping to catch the major crowd entering around Dupont Circle, and The Metro Center stops. Sitting in the back of the train I noticed specific actions that people took when looking for a seat or the way they acted, specifically geared towards race. While looking for a seat the older women of most races entered the train and found a seat that was empty of any race/gender while the men usually sought out women of the same race. This choosing of seating was very interesting because the majority of those who were entering the metro did not show any real dress difference, all were in business or business casual attire, other then the three teenagers that were sitting in the back right corner. So is it normal for one to seek out the area based on the race (or sex) of the other individuals? In this case it was.
Dance the night away
When looking at the performance of race, as a white person I asked myself how am I and those who are in my family, neighborhood, area of Pennsylvania (NEPA) performing whiteness. During Thanksgiving break from American University I was able to return home and observe how the people of my small town PA performed their whiteness (there are hardly any other races in my town in Northeastern PA).
NASCAR, football, beer, Abercrombie and Fitch. At a local bar in NEPA, the Banshee (and Irish pub) one can see all of these and a variety of white performances. As the bagpipes rang and the Guinness flowed I observed the interactions of a purely white crowd. The music was primarily Irish with the introduction of a random Journey, Rolling Stones, and Credence Clearwater Revival song every intermittently. People conversed, while middle age men and women danced stiffly and to in my opinion very poorly. The more they drank in fact the better they thought they danced adding new “different” moves. It was almost scandalous as two youngsters (in there mid 20’s) took to the dance floor, which was seen in the reactions of the older men at the bar, which I heard say that they were dancing like; “they were having sex”. In this case there are to performances going on at once, the performance of middle aged white people and the performance of mid 20’s white people. Therefore there must be a division of performances within races. My performance being different from that of my grandfathers or his grandfathers or his grandfathers. If this is so is there a true description of how one can perform race? Are all white people doomed to be bad dancers? In this bar in NEPA it seems that they are.
Birds of a Feather
When looking at the performance of race it is hard to distinguish the overall/mass performance of a particular race without groups and while doing my observation there was no lack of groups. Sitting in the Market Place at American University, an area where students eat, converse, and study for there upcoming finals, groups of students come together; friends, study group, and large groups of Greek Lettered Organizations. The most distinguishable factor between the groups was that they were all situated in different ethnic and racial groups. The Latino young adults, who spoke in primarily Spanish, sat in the back right of the area in there own specific group, every once and a while leaving to go talk to other people not Latino. The White young adults, who seemed to be largely participants of Greek Lettered Organizations which could show that this area is common area for these groups because there where so many of them, sat sporadically throughout the Market Place typing away on there computers and playing music or online poker. In the center of the tabled area was a group of Japanese students, speaking Japanese, but seemed to be totally cut off from the rest of those who were in the area.
This makes a very interesting view of how we perform our race, which is by grouping or clustering with those of the same race. “Birds of a feather flock together”. Although there is no set rule that says that white people and white people, black people and black people, latinos with latinos, but for some reason it happens.
McDonald's Asian Salad
It's ingredients includes:
- crisp greens
- orange-glazed chicken
- snow peas
- edamame
- mandarin oranges
- toasted almonds
For Halloween, I was a Japanese School Girl
I found my Chinese-American friend in the library and not having seen her for a while, I went over to have a little chat. She said, "Hey! What's up. What did you do for Halloween?"
I told her, "I did nothing but watch two movies in my dorm."
She said, "Aww, you should have told me and I would've taken you with me to a party."
"Naw, I didn't mind, actually. I'm a huge movie-buff."
"Did you dress up for Halloween?"
"Nope."
"I was a Japanese school girl. It was so cute. I wore a plaid skirt up to my knees and long sleeve blouse with a big bow on the collar. My hair was also straightened in pigtails. Here, let me show you pics." Already at a computer, she logged into facebook and showed me the pictures she took with her friends at the party she mentioned. She was everything she mentioned plus the knee-high socks, black dress shoes, and pale makeup with obviously red lipstick. In every picture I saw, next to her right cheek was the peace sign. In one picture, next to her was a Japanese friend of ours. She wore a kimono.
I must admit that I am a victim of the phenomenon of facebook.com. I find it's a much easier way to keep in touch with my friends from and in college, and to know on surface level what kind of person they are or have become. You can see what kind of music they like, what their interests are, relationship status, their favorite quotes, and mini-biography of themselves. Aimlessly browsing around the website, something I notice is that unless you are able to see a person's picture, or recognize what country or ethinic group their name derives from, it is hard to tell what their ethnic origin is. However, it is possible.
There are several ways one can make it known to the world one's race/ethnicity. Other than explicitly saying, "I am [insert ethnicity here]," one of them is by joining groups that celebrate one's ethnic background. For example, there're groups for people who are Asian ("Asian Invasion... You Know You Love it"; "100,000 Filipino Faces"; "Adopted Koreans at AU"; "Kazaks United"), Black ("African American Anime Lovers"; "Black Student Alliance"; "1,000,000 Black Students"), Latina ("Mixed Latina Beauties"; "La Unidad Latina"; "LASO"), etc.
Though not completely indicative of one's ethnic background, other ways to make one's race apparent could be by having an extensive list of musical artists from the same ethnic background, referencing people/ideas/things from the same ethnic background, posting albums from different countries/areas that are of a predominant ethnic group, typing in one's ethnic language/dialect, or joining campaign groups that are specific/relevant to that ethnic community. Again, it is not indicative of one's ethnic background, it gives that person more credibility of being Asian/Black/Latino/etc. This is just something I find that all, ALL, of my own friends who consider themselves a minority have in their own profiles.
What Kind of Asian Are You?
This is a list of the types of young Asian-Americans in this country. It starts,
Young Asians in America come in many forms. Below are the major categories. Most Asians fit into multiple groups. For example, Rice-boys can also be Fobs and many Tabs are Fobulous. The only groups that are never part of another group are the Twinkies and the Asian-Americans. Claim your Fobbiness! When you see your Asian friend, greet them with "Wassup Fob!" And if your Asian friend says something ridiculous, say "Fob please!" Of course, when a non-Asian calls you a Fob, that is grounds for a fight. Ahahaha... The categories below are to be taken lightheartedly. Read, recognize and laugh.
Keep reading....
Monday, December 4, 2006
Man, Are They In The Wrong Bar
Titled: Man, Are They In the Wrong Bar
Asian guy: We ain't no typical Asian n*****.
Desi guy: Yeah yo, we got black in us. --Axis men's room, Flushing
Overheard by: trufo
What's a FOB?
Okay, I know what a FOB is, but I recently had this interesting (or maybe not) discussion. How do you identify someone as a FOB? Is it their clothes? How they talk? ESL? Do they like 29 cent hamburgers?
I want to try to put FOBbiness (or FOBulousness) on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the FOBbiest. I guess we should try starting the discussion by rating how FOBby some people are and getting an idea of what the scale looks like from there. So to get the ball rolling, here are a few Asian-American celebs to think about: Jackie Chan, Bobby Lee, Zhang Ziyi, Lucy Liu, Kelly Hu... Please try to explain your ratings and feel free to do any other Asian-American celebs.
This is just like a "it'd be cool to know" thing, so be sure to have fun with it.
Feel free to read the whole thread here: What's a FOB?
Some interesting responses:
From Vietgbaby:
FOB detection...
1. Their language(accent, word choice, word order, sentence structure, diction, deletion of phonemes, & so on... Oh! & they say " ... man!")
2. Appearance (home sewn clothes, & styles & haircut)
3. Smell (tiger balm, green eagle brand oil, or herb scents)
4. They bring their own lunch to school/work. (rice, fish sauce, & ca co a.k.a. spicy/salty dried fish)
5. The walk ( walks bold-legged w/ arms swinging like crazy in front& behind them as they walk)
From unclenine:
doing the V sign in photos...
that's FOB! you'll never see me doing that little habit. hahaha!
Gospellers
Gosperats.com
The Gospellers (ゴスペラーズ) is a Japanese a cappella singing group comprised of five members: Tetsuya Murakami, Kaoru Kurosawa, Yuji Sakai, Yoichi Kitayama and Masaru Yasuoka...
In early 2006, the group made a side-project release, Gosperats, featuring the members in blackface and singing with a jazzier accompaniment Rats & Star's member Masayuki Suzuki, Nobuyoshi Kuwano and Yoshio Sato. Many of the western Gospeller fans were upset about the outrage it caused on some discussion forums, many that weren't fans felt offended by the blackface the group members had chosen to take on. Fortunlately, this project was announced as a side-project and released only one album under its name. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospellers
And just so anyone doesn't know, the Gospellers is a group known for their R&B, soul style of music.
Oprah an Oreo?!
According to rapper 50 cent on November 30th to Elle magazine:
"Oprah Winfrey is really an Oreo - black on the outside but white on the inside. Winfrey started out with black women's views but has been catering to middle-aged white American women for so long that she's become one herself. I think the idea of being publicly noted that she's a billionaire makes [black women] interested in seeing her views. But it's even more exciting to the demographic of white American women she's been aiming at to see that she has the exact same views that they have."
The fact that 50 cent accuses Oprah of being white immediately reminded me of the time I went back to PG County, Maryland, to a "family party" consisting of my immediate family, my parent's friends, and their children whom I grew up with in elementary and middle school, and their best friends at the time. All the people there were Filipino(a), the elders being immigrants from the Philippines and their children second generation Filipinos. My parents' friends' children and I were an extremely tight group of friends in elementary and middle school until we distanced ourselves because I went to a well-known predominantly white high school in Northern Virginia while they went to the predominantly black high school in Oxon Hill. There seemed an intangible cultural barrier between us - one that they've resented and one that I've had to assimilate with - that seemed to choke us every time we've attempted to speak to each other since then. But, because I haven't seen them for a long time when I went to this party, and have heard many rumors about myself that I've rejected my Filipino heritage because I've stopped talking to Filipinos in my area, I wasn't sure what to expect, what to do, what to say since I've been distanced. I've gone on to higher education while they didn't, I don't use the African American verbal tradition in common speech anymore, and I don't dress in the style that is favored and popular with the Filipino people in PG County, MD. I walk through the gate in the back, and greeted me was 16-year-old Justin, "HEY, Jorelle! Long time no see! ...I heard you turned WHITE!" In response, mean-mugging him, I cried, "What!?" He replied, "No, no, no I'm jus' playin', jus' playin'.... hahaha, don't beat me up."
I quickly grab some offered food, greet the elders and apologize, then tell my boyfriend, "Let's go."
Georgetown Streets
Georgetown attracts some of worlds top retail names, finest restaurants, smart young people and deflects Black people. In observation at the corner of M and Wisconsin Avenue I saw few black people and was focused on performance of whiteness. The uniform for white males being khaki pants or jeans and a button down shirt with colorful stripes, for females tight jeans, boots and a fitted top. Doing an observation allowed me time to sit and compare, where I usually would not. I must have seen five to ten of the same shirts on guys and around the same for the ladies. The uniform as I began calling it was ubiquitous. Also shoes I looked at shoes for a while and noticed that the same pair of high heeled boots must have been on sale some where on M Street. This is not a fashion observation, but the fact is uniformity and my perception of a Georgetown uniform acts as a performance of Race. Whiteness is at it’s peak in Georgetown. This summer during a Crime emergency, where a rash of 15 murders occurred in as many days, a police inspector said on the record "This is not a racial thing to say that black people are unusual in Georgetown.". Not a racial thing? If it wasn’t a racial thing why was the word Black mentioned. So maybe it is not just the residents and patrons of Georgetown who are performing whiteness there. It is perhaps an all encompassing performance of whiteness. An organized performance by the police with their enforcement directives, shop owners with high prices, white students who do not socialize with other races, patrons who appreciate a racially homogenous (the word sanitized also comes to mind) environment.
Modern Night Club Georgetown
Thursday night in predominantly white Georgetown is B-Boy night at Modern night club. Break dancing is one of the four aspects that make up hip hop and so is associated with mainly with black culture. I entered the club before the ten pm cover charge began and so sat at the bar and observed for about an hour. More and more people trickled in and the stream of people was an almost equal mix of Black, White Hispanic and Asian. Old school funk and soul music dominated the music selection and some newer hip hop, but not much. The first dance I saw was Asian, his dress was that of most of the b-boys baggy pants, sneakers and a t- shirt. His acrobatic skills were undeniable, he moved with the music but focused more on tricks and style as opposed to staying with the beat all the time. He represents what a person I talked to later as the newer break dancing, which is more focused on tricks and less on the music. So in performing what many consider a specifically black form of art the Asian man brought with him a variation, a different focus and different style to his routine. That may or may not be based on his race and his desire to perform it differently or in a way to illustrate his Asianness.
The most amazing thing I saw at the club was a young white guy dancing with a prosthetic leg. His performance does not as much relate to performance of race, but does raise the issue of handicapped people performing who they are and how that can be related to the performance of Race. One would assume limitations for a person with a prosthetic leg, but he did not perform as a handicapped person, he was a B-Boy who had a prosthetic leg. As I write that, that could perhaps explain the multi-racial composition of the event. All the people there performed as B-Boys who were of a race but the most influential aspect on their performance was not race, but their identity as B-Boys