opinion
Cultural biases made me question if I could love my white boyfriend, until I lost him
While waiting at the airport, my undocumented Mami would look for the camouflaged yellow of crocodile eyes. And when she finally spotted some — on the faces of patrolling white immigration officers and security guards — she would stand close to them and take out her tattered copy of The Wall Street Journal, flipping through the pages as though she understood every word. Mami was a woman of pretend. Growing up, I watched her mouth spin the lies and tricks that kept us safe in a white man’s world, learning to hold my breath whenever I saw her hold hers.
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Sen. Marsha Blackburn says China part of ‘New Axis of Evil’ in op-ed supporting Taiwan independence
- In an opinion piece released Friday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) condemned the actions of the Chinese Communist Party and called the country the “New Axis of Evil.”
- Blackburn was part of a late-August congressional delegation to Taiwan, which followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s earlier trip to the island.
- Blackburn stated that “it [is] abundantly clear that the leaders in Taiwan want the United States and our allies to stand with them.”
- To conclude her piece, Blackburn proposed legislation to strengthen supply chains and relationships and vowed to defend democracy.
Senator Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) latest opinion piece clarifies her position in support of Taiwan’s independence against China’s “mission for dominance.”
In an op-ed titled “We must stand with Taiwan” published in The Tullahoma News, Blackburn condemned the actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and said the country was “at the helm of the New Axis of Evil.”
Toothy takes: In defense of Asian fusion cuisine
If American Chinese food isn’t authentically Asian then neither am I
Growing up with the privilege of nightly access to fresh, homemade Chinese food, I have always taken its Americanized cousin for granted. At best, American Chinese food was a guilty pleasure. At worst, it was an orange stain on Chinese tradition — a cheap knock-off of the recipes my ancestors passed down for generations, watered down and commercialized for Western palettes.
But I have come to realize that the very notion of authenticity within a cuisine revered for its cacophony of diverse culinary styles is completely outrageous. Sichuan cuisine is famous for its extensive use of the Sichuan peppercorn, which gives its dishes their signature “mala” (numbingly spicy) taste. Meanwhile, the cuisine of the Jiangsu Province is far more cosmopolitan, favoring artistic presentation and more aromatic flavors.
Immigrant stories go unheard because we stopped answering this question
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of NextShark.
“So, where are you from?”
Hollywood cured my prejudice against white men
Editor’s Note: This is a satirical response to Christine Ma-Kellams’ “K-dramas cured my prejudice against Asian men” op-ed and does not represent NextShark’s views. The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author’s.
As a mixed white and Korean woman who saw Asian men being incredibly romantic in K-dramas on TV, it informed my dating practices.
How I Came to Terms With Being Asian
I wasn’t going to write this article.
Normally, I publish about virtual and augmented reality and how technology can enhance our lives, so going deep within my personal experience and being vulnerable is something I truly have avoided, and have rarely spoken out about in the past. Frankly, I’ve never looked at myself as a voice for Asian people as I’ve always felt detached and disconnected from that identity.
10 Years After Starring in ‘Gran Torino’, I See Today’s Anti-Asian Racism for What it Really Is
Back in 2008, I starred opposite Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino” playing the lead Hmong role in a tale of two people transcending their differences to form an unlikely human bond. It was a historic cinematic moment for Hmong people around the world, despite its copious anti-Asian slurs.
At the time, there was a lot of discussion about whether the movie’s slurs were insensitive and gratuitous or simply “harmless jokes.” I found it unnerving, the laughter that the slurs elicited in theaters with predominantly white audiences. And it was always white people who would say, “Can’t you take a joke?”
Why I Refuse to Be an Asian Tiger Mom or a Pushover Parent
Editor’s Note: Katharine Chan is a Chinese-Canadian author, mother, and culture blogger behind the site Sum on Sleeve. The views expressed in this piece are solely her own.
Have you ever seen the High Expectations Asian Father meme? Or remember author Amy Chua back in the early 2010s, when her controversial book about tiger mothers blew up around the world?
We Started With A Napkin and Ended Up With An Nintendo Wii
We met at our local ice cream shop to get a napkin and begin our quest.
The day before, Vaibhav shared with Brandon and me a famous TED talk about how Kyle Macdonald played this game called Bigger or Better where he would offer an item to trade for something bigger or better.
Think Adopting Children of Color Makes You Woke? It Doesn’t
White people have been adopting children of color for decades, using infertility, religion, or unacknowledged white saviorism to explain their choice. An entire adoption industry supports itself on white people’s desire to parent — which is not in of itself a bad thing — but only recently did anyone consider transracial adoption’s ramifications.
Scouring the internet reveals some of these white parents trying to do right by their transracially adopted kids. This isn’t directed at them. In fact, I’m friends with many of those rockstar white parents and they’re doing adoption right. But this right here is a direct message to white people who think adopting yellow, brown, and black children somehow enwokens™ them to the needs of people of color.
How Asian Men Get Lured Into The Toxic ‘Incel Community’
Editor’s Note: Eric Trinh Chu is an educator from San Francisco. The opinions expressed in this piece are solely his own.
There isn’t much I find surprising about the news of Alek Minassian’s terrorist attack, or of his self-proclaimed idea of an “incel rebellion.” What surprises me is how much I see my younger-self staring back at me.
A Letter to My Crazy (and Maybe Not Rich) Asians
Editor’s Note: Anna Zhang is a writer, teacher, and first generation Fuzhounese American from Brooklyn, New York. The views expressed in this piece are solely her own.
A lot of Asian people I know have this tendency to be perfectionists, myself included.
