Tag / asian american
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Year Of Empowerment
Every morning during my elementary school days, my dad woke up extra early to pack my lunch. He knew I loved the classic Chinese dish of tomato and egg stir-fry, so the whirr of the kitchen exhaust fans coming from downstairs was like music to my ears. He was always gone for work by the…
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Moving Forward And Looking Back
I’m finally ready to say goodbye to the memory of my former self. I thought you were perfect. I thought you had everything. I thought you were me. In reality, I had fabricated an intricate web of lies to fool myself into thinking that I could and would become a doctor. You’re probably thinking, “Another…
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A Culture in and of Yourself
You ate only a pound of meat a month?” My cousin, Yuan—looking up from his phone for the first time since we’d sat down at the table—says, interrupting Aunt Li. “That’s crazy. Is it even possible to live on that?” “We’re alive, aren’t we?” my mom says teasingly. Yuan shakes his head and grunts, and…
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Language—it’s a personal thing
Rather than attend a traditional Chinese school, I opted for Sunday morning dim sum, an informal and delicious way to connect with my heritage. Although dim sum certainly has its merits, few would argue that dumplings have had a transformative cultural effect on their lives. While my grandma would rattle off her order in rapid…
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Hiking Home
Christmas Day in the Sears-Wang family wouldn’t be complete without a grueling, six mile hike. Every year after presents and breakfast, my mom, stepdad, and myself—and, if we have any, our guests—head out to the nearby mountains. In a place like my hometown, Las Vegas, where temperatures rarely drop below mildly chilly, the brisk winter…
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Navigating Asian Masculinity Images and Stereotypes
The opening scene of the iconic movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s shows actor Mickey Rooney playing the role of the bumbling landlord, Mr. Yunioshi. In his character, a painful caricature of an Asian man is brought to life. Rooney wears a protruding buck-toothed mouthpiece, has artificially slanted (read: taped) eyes, and wears “yellowface” makeup. Mr. Yunioshi…
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Asian Americans and the #NotYourAsianSidekick Movement
BY DELIA SHEN for CHINESE STUDENT ASSOCIATION Today, Asian Americans are often viewed as a “model minority,” a minority group that achieves higher levels of success than the general population. This term not only overlooks the many Asian Americans who live in poverty or face health problems, but also diminishes the power of any call…
