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I think white gatekeepers gravitate towards the "abusive Asian parent" narrative because some of what they've seen re: Asian diaspora parents supports that trope,
but I also think a lot of them subconsciously cling to it because of the "West is best" mentality. https://twitter.com/theshenners/status/1303174192515420161
but I also think a lot of them subconsciously cling to it because of the "West is best" mentality. https://twitter.com/theshenners/status/1303174192515420161
I've talked about how "sometimes diaspora parents are more conservative than similarly aged parents in the sourceland and often more strict" and how that's a function of the difficulties in immigration.
It's a whole thing. My mother's sibs think she's too strict & old-fashioned.
It's a whole thing. My mother's sibs think she's too strict & old-fashioned.
It's a natural reaction to leaving your homeland behind - you cling to what you know, and you hold onto the rituals and societal mores you grew up with - never mind things may have changed drastically back home.
But you don't know because now you're separated from it.
But you don't know because now you're separated from it.
Obviously this was a much bigger problem back in my parents' day, when they could barely scrape together enough money to make international calls home, never mind getting food/clothes/entertainment shows streamed on their TV.
Things would be different now, obviously.
Things would be different now, obviously.
I've complained before that Fresh Off The Boat might've been a comfort...um, 20 years ago, but from watching the first episode, it really felt like it was talking about my parents' struggles ... when I was already the age they were when they immigrated.
So that same statement of "diaspora parents can be tougher on their kids because immigration is a bitch and people are racist assholes" doesn't necessarily hold true in the same way today as it did nearly 30 years ago.
So why white gatekeepers prefer it?
Racism. White is Best.
So why white gatekeepers prefer it?
Racism. White is Best.
I very, very rarely see any parents of color depicted in positive ways.
The white gaze prefers to see parent-child conflict a la the Joy Luck Club.
They prefer to see "but you just DON'T UNDERSTAND".
Again, I point at how Mulan must needs feel her upbringing was oppressive.
The white gaze prefers to see parent-child conflict a la the Joy Luck Club.
They prefer to see "but you just DON'T UNDERSTAND".
Again, I point at how Mulan must needs feel her upbringing was oppressive.
Similar stereotypes preferred by white gatekeepers are that of the poverty-stricken Indigenous people, where the parents are alcoholics. The angry Black kids with either absent/imprisoned parents. The Latinx kids with drug-dealing relatives or gang member siblings.
The overarching narrative seen if you read books by white people and published via white gatekeeper approval is one in which no one has a "normal, American dream with a house, picket fence and dog" life, unless they're white.
We repeat "Black joy is important" for a reason.
We repeat "Black joy is important" for a reason.
Confucius is-was problematic.
I won't defend him that much, because dude was a product of his times and shows it.
But your regular reminder that "the son must respect and honor the father" is directly linked to "the father must be honorable and loving towards the son".
I won't defend him that much, because dude was a product of his times and shows it.
But your regular reminder that "the son must respect and honor the father" is directly linked to "the father must be honorable and loving towards the son".
Even back then, some 500 years before Christ, Confucius pretty much said that the ruler must be just and rule with a light hand and the father must teach his sons with honor and love ... or they cannot expect respect and service from their people and sons.
The "Asian sheeple" trope never dies, which is in of itself stunning because if you look at Chinese history, it simply isn't true.
There's a reason dynasties change and it's not because people got tired of their country's name.
There's a reason dynasties change and it's not because people got tired of their country's name.
Anyway. All writing is political.
Why did this author choose these stereotypes to perpetuate?
Why don't brown and Black families get to be "normal"?
Why is it that all the women in this book act like they're fighting over a bone with the heroine?
Why all the bad guys not-white?
Why did this author choose these stereotypes to perpetuate?
Why don't brown and Black families get to be "normal"?
Why is it that all the women in this book act like they're fighting over a bone with the heroine?
Why all the bad guys not-white?
Sometimes the author isn't even conscious of their own biases.
The privileged person who lives in a situation where they are in the majority and who has never interacted in a meaningful way with brown/Black people in their life.
What do they reach for when writing?
The privileged person who lives in a situation where they are in the majority and who has never interacted in a meaningful way with brown/Black people in their life.
What do they reach for when writing?
Read headlines and pay close attention to word choice and framing.
When headlines say "he was no angel", who are they talking about and under which circumstances?
When headlines go "Stanford swimmer", who are they talking about and how are they protecting him?
When headlines say "he was no angel", who are they talking about and under which circumstances?
When headlines go "Stanford swimmer", who are they talking about and how are they protecting him?
It doesn't help that politicians routinely drag people of color around as scapegoats, but stereotypes and prejudice are cemented one headline, one character, one newsflash at a time for those who for whatever reason don't have meaningful interactions with people not like them.
