Asian things
Last night, I attended the first in a series of workshops regarding AAPI (Asian/Asian American Pacific Islander) issues. This one focused on identity and labels and covered a lot of topics greywing and I have gone around in circles about (hinted in our random podcasts) and some other topics as well.
There were three major activities that were conducted. The first activity doubled as an icebreaker, where every participant was given 6 labels and instructed to write down on each one a label ascribed to them either internally or externally (i.e. could be how one label's one's self or how others have labeled them). For my friends and I, it took much longer than expected to choose what to write down. During the debrief, we talked about how exposed (or not) it made people feel and how labels can serve as a limitation but also a way to quickly connect with people. It was also interesting to see how long everyone kept their labels on - I noticed that some people took them off immediately after the activity and as the evening wore on, more and more people took them off.
The second activity was a privilege walk. The original activity involves everyone starting off in a line and stepping backwards/forwards in response to the questions below. We conducted it as a discussion (and yes, there was a lot of discussion on semantics which was fun XD).
Privilege Walk Questions for Discussion:
1. If there were more than 50 books in your house growing up, take one step forward.
2. If you were ever denied employment because of your race or ethnicity, take one step back.
3. If you have ever inherited money or property, take one step forward.
4. If you feel as though you have a safe environment in which to raise a child, please take one step forward.
5. If your family ever had to skip a meal because there was not enough money to buy food when you were growing up, please take one step back.
6. If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, please take one step forward.
7. If one of your parents was laid off or unemployed involuntarily, take one step back.
8. If your family ever had to move because they could not afford to pay the rent or mortgage, please take one step forward.
9. If you were often embarrassed or ashamed of your clothes while you were growing up, please take one step back.
10. If your parents or guardians attended college, please take one step forward.
11. If you ever felt as though members of your community were feared or unwanted members of American society, please take one step back.
12. If you were raised in an area where there was crime, drug activity, etc., please take one step back.
13. If you ever tried to change your appearance, speech or mannerisms to gain more credibility, please take one step back.
14. If you studied the culture of your ancestors in school, take one step forward.
15. If you were ever insulted or ridiculed because of your race, ethnicity, sexuality or gender, please take one step back.
Before I get into some personal notes about some of these questions, one thing that was brought up in the debrief that my group hadn't even thought to touch on was the actions (step forward/backward) that accompanied each question. It revealed a value system or a lens that people may or may not ascribe to, i.e. who's to say that a certain situation means that you were "unprivileged" and how does one define privilege?
Some personal and group notes:
#4: "But what if you're not looking to have a child right now?" An example of a value system or rather, societal expectations upon our age group (most were graduate students).
#6: Big discussion on how time, culture, location, etc. really affects this particular point. Some really interesting experiences were shared and were especially striking because they were experiences by people in my same age group. For example, one of the participants, a Filipina, had to hide her relationship to a Caucasian boy which she was in high school in Georgia, but when she moved to New York - and was older - she didn't feel that same kind of threat/risk.
#9, 13: For me, these were gender issues than cultural issues. When I was in high school and such, I would come to school wearing a certain set of clothes that had been "approved" by my mom, but would immediately change into something else to wear during the school day. I've always been more comfortable in androgynous or masculine looking clothes, but I have never felt comfortable labeling myself as "butch" or "boi" or even androgynous. I think also that being in the military has affected how I hold myself, especially in that so many of the leaders I've been influenced by were male.
#14: "But if you did, was it even correct?" This was an interesting point and is kinda sad too. For one, it's very selective what "other" cultures are taught in American schools - my friend and I joked that the only thing we were taught in school about our culture was that Magellan was killed in the Philippines xP - but then it could be even more detrimental to teach about a certain culture and have it completely wrong. Again, talk of lenses and how/who chooses the curriculum.
The third activity was a collage activity that at first seemed kind of elementary, but was revealed to be more "sneaky" XD Each group had actually been given different resources, from type to even amount - there was one group that was only given a paper and a pen (none of the other groups had noticed the differing levels of disparity). What was interesting was how we all accepted the unspoken rules - for example, that group who'd received only a pen and paper had been been adamant in sticking to what they had and not ask other groups for resources. It was of course an analog for the larger workings of society, awareness and all that jazz.
In the final discussion, there was one more thing that was really interesting to me. The topic of Asian Americans being the perpetual foreigner was brought up - inability to feel accepted in their home country or America - and led to this one student speaking about his experience in America. He described himself as a "Chinese born Chinese" who had grown up in China, was proud of the history and culture, and had come to America for his higher education. But, he explained, he felt more comfortable in America, that his values and way of thinking were more in line with American values and ways of thinking.
It also made me think about myself. In one of the podcasts, I mention an incident where a Filipina friend of mine had said, in jest, that I was more Korean than Filipino. I had actually taken offense to this and as I've thought more about it, there are a couple of layers to this. The first is that it's true: my knowledge of Filipino history and traditions are very limited. Even though I grew up in a Filipino household, it's not the same as being in the Philippines. The second layer is that I would argue that there are times when I feel more Japanese than anything else. I've noticed that a lot of my habits and preferences are more in line with Japanese culture and there are times - like when I was working at the bakery in Boston - when I've wondered how it must look to other people, especially with that image of the American otaku and all that.
So yeah, an interesting workshop. The next one will be sometime next month and I'll be going to that one as well. The third one will feature Jane Hyun, author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling (we all got free copies of the book~) which I'm super interested in.
To end this post, two unrelated things:
- Here's a TED lecture on listening that was actually part of my homework for my music class.
- I want these cupcakes for Valentine's Day XDD
There were three major activities that were conducted. The first activity doubled as an icebreaker, where every participant was given 6 labels and instructed to write down on each one a label ascribed to them either internally or externally (i.e. could be how one label's one's self or how others have labeled them). For my friends and I, it took much longer than expected to choose what to write down. During the debrief, we talked about how exposed (or not) it made people feel and how labels can serve as a limitation but also a way to quickly connect with people. It was also interesting to see how long everyone kept their labels on - I noticed that some people took them off immediately after the activity and as the evening wore on, more and more people took them off.
The second activity was a privilege walk. The original activity involves everyone starting off in a line and stepping backwards/forwards in response to the questions below. We conducted it as a discussion (and yes, there was a lot of discussion on semantics which was fun XD).
Privilege Walk Questions for Discussion:
1. If there were more than 50 books in your house growing up, take one step forward.
2. If you were ever denied employment because of your race or ethnicity, take one step back.
3. If you have ever inherited money or property, take one step forward.
4. If you feel as though you have a safe environment in which to raise a child, please take one step forward.
5. If your family ever had to skip a meal because there was not enough money to buy food when you were growing up, please take one step back.
6. If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, please take one step forward.
7. If one of your parents was laid off or unemployed involuntarily, take one step back.
8. If your family ever had to move because they could not afford to pay the rent or mortgage, please take one step forward.
9. If you were often embarrassed or ashamed of your clothes while you were growing up, please take one step back.
10. If your parents or guardians attended college, please take one step forward.
11. If you ever felt as though members of your community were feared or unwanted members of American society, please take one step back.
12. If you were raised in an area where there was crime, drug activity, etc., please take one step back.
13. If you ever tried to change your appearance, speech or mannerisms to gain more credibility, please take one step back.
14. If you studied the culture of your ancestors in school, take one step forward.
15. If you were ever insulted or ridiculed because of your race, ethnicity, sexuality or gender, please take one step back.
Before I get into some personal notes about some of these questions, one thing that was brought up in the debrief that my group hadn't even thought to touch on was the actions (step forward/backward) that accompanied each question. It revealed a value system or a lens that people may or may not ascribe to, i.e. who's to say that a certain situation means that you were "unprivileged" and how does one define privilege?
Some personal and group notes:
#4: "But what if you're not looking to have a child right now?" An example of a value system or rather, societal expectations upon our age group (most were graduate students).
#6: Big discussion on how time, culture, location, etc. really affects this particular point. Some really interesting experiences were shared and were especially striking because they were experiences by people in my same age group. For example, one of the participants, a Filipina, had to hide her relationship to a Caucasian boy which she was in high school in Georgia, but when she moved to New York - and was older - she didn't feel that same kind of threat/risk.
#9, 13: For me, these were gender issues than cultural issues. When I was in high school and such, I would come to school wearing a certain set of clothes that had been "approved" by my mom, but would immediately change into something else to wear during the school day. I've always been more comfortable in androgynous or masculine looking clothes, but I have never felt comfortable labeling myself as "butch" or "boi" or even androgynous. I think also that being in the military has affected how I hold myself, especially in that so many of the leaders I've been influenced by were male.
#14: "But if you did, was it even correct?" This was an interesting point and is kinda sad too. For one, it's very selective what "other" cultures are taught in American schools - my friend and I joked that the only thing we were taught in school about our culture was that Magellan was killed in the Philippines xP - but then it could be even more detrimental to teach about a certain culture and have it completely wrong. Again, talk of lenses and how/who chooses the curriculum.
The third activity was a collage activity that at first seemed kind of elementary, but was revealed to be more "sneaky" XD Each group had actually been given different resources, from type to even amount - there was one group that was only given a paper and a pen (none of the other groups had noticed the differing levels of disparity). What was interesting was how we all accepted the unspoken rules - for example, that group who'd received only a pen and paper had been been adamant in sticking to what they had and not ask other groups for resources. It was of course an analog for the larger workings of society, awareness and all that jazz.
In the final discussion, there was one more thing that was really interesting to me. The topic of Asian Americans being the perpetual foreigner was brought up - inability to feel accepted in their home country or America - and led to this one student speaking about his experience in America. He described himself as a "Chinese born Chinese" who had grown up in China, was proud of the history and culture, and had come to America for his higher education. But, he explained, he felt more comfortable in America, that his values and way of thinking were more in line with American values and ways of thinking.
It also made me think about myself. In one of the podcasts, I mention an incident where a Filipina friend of mine had said, in jest, that I was more Korean than Filipino. I had actually taken offense to this and as I've thought more about it, there are a couple of layers to this. The first is that it's true: my knowledge of Filipino history and traditions are very limited. Even though I grew up in a Filipino household, it's not the same as being in the Philippines. The second layer is that I would argue that there are times when I feel more Japanese than anything else. I've noticed that a lot of my habits and preferences are more in line with Japanese culture and there are times - like when I was working at the bakery in Boston - when I've wondered how it must look to other people, especially with that image of the American otaku and all that.
So yeah, an interesting workshop. The next one will be sometime next month and I'll be going to that one as well. The third one will feature Jane Hyun, author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling (we all got free copies of the book~) which I'm super interested in.
To end this post, two unrelated things:
- Here's a TED lecture on listening that was actually part of my homework for my music class.
- I want these cupcakes for Valentine's Day XDD