The Cool Asian: Racial Fluidity

It wasn't until I got older that I started to appreciate my Asian heritage. To be exact, it wasn't until Korean beauty trends and tutorials to do asian eye makeup online started popping up that I started to accept that Asian beauty could be beautiful too. 

Race and ethnicity is shaped by the people who surround us, and for the most part, my friends growing up were not Asian. My family is one of the few Asian families on our street and my brother and I went to a private school for most of our elementary-middle school days with a mix of kids of various ethnic backgrounds. But still, as I played make-over with my friends and even learned how to draw, I couldn't help but notice the differences in my facial structure and my eyes compared to those of my friends. "Put the darker shades on the crease and line with eyeliner", read most beauty tutorials I read in teen magazines. " "But what if I don't have a crease?," I thought. It felt almost as if "almond eyes", I would never be deemed as beautiful as the girls in the magazines. 

White washing is just part of American culture. Is it a great part of our culture? No, but it is prevalent in almost all areas of the media. I know I'm not the first one to cry out and say things like "What about cultural appropriation?", "What about cultural representation?", "Where is our share of the limelight?". Because for the most part, it's all been said and done. And do people care? Maybe to a certain extent, but overall, probably not.

For the most part, cultural appropriation doesn't bother me until someone points it out. I am a forth generation American, by citizenship and by culture, so any remnants of my Asian heritage are reflected in my past, not so much in my present. You want to wear a kimono because it's beautiful? Sure, why not. You want to pretend that Panda Express has the best Chinese Food? Of course, it does! But what does bother me is the lack of Asian representation in popular culture. Growing up, I watched Lizzie Mcguire and movies about Disney Princesses; there was no Asian heroine (and yes, I'm well aware of Mulan, but she's not even included on most Disney OG squads on backpacks or lunch pails). There was Jade, the somewhat Asian looking Bratz doll, but I only had one of those, the rest were the standard Barbie. 

It's complicated.

And I have mixed feelings.

I think what bothers me the most about cultural appropriation is the execution of it. Last year, Victoria Secret used Chinese culture as one of their runway show themes. The outfits were stunning and the feather adorned wings were out of this world. But why only a handful of Asian models? Your using Asian culture, so why not have a few more ASIAN faces to represent that beautiful culture. Sure, all those other European models are gorgeous in their own right, but you wouldn't dress an Asian model in a German-inspired costume, it's just kind of off-putting. 

Now I don't want to be that annoying stick in the mud that says only Asian people can wear Asian cultural dress and only people of African decent can wear African cultural dress. I love that people are inspired by different cultures. It's a beautiful thing. But I just hope that the leaders of today's fashion houses, celebrities, and tastemakers can continue to be inspired by Asian culture and execute it in such a way that celebrates the heritage and universal beauty. I know, it's a lot to ask, but I have no shame in asking for a lot.

I am an All-American Girl.

This is what an American looks like.

I think with each passing year, the rise of Asian beauty bloggers, Youtube stars, and models are becoming more and more prevalent. After all, almost every major city has a Chinese restaurant and you can thank Korean beauty gyrus for your perfectly dewy skin. America is built on multiple ethnic groups. There is no beauty standard anymore. That All-American girl isn's just blonde-haired and blued-eyed wearing an American Flag bikini. She's also Puerto Rican, African American, Korean, Libanese, Mexican, and everything else in between. She's universally beautiful, timeless, and most importantly, proud to be American.