Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2009 3:57:42 GMT -5
From this photo you could pass for native especially in British Columbia Here in Canada, I think many EAs could pass for being Aboriginal. When I lived in rural Alberta, most everyone assumed I was native and would ask me for my treaty card.Last summer when I went fishing with my brother, We were stopped by Fish and Wildlife officers... but when they got a closer look at us they just waved us on.Also, when I was working as a cashier at a small town gas station, many elderly women would tell me I was a "credit to my race" In the city, depending on whether I wear my hair in its natural texture or straighten it , people tend to think I'm Latina or Central Asian/middle eastern As far as which side I identify with, I suppose I identify more with my Asian side. I'm not sure if it directly correlates to looks though. My parents separated when I was six years old and my sister who is six years older than me moved to California to join my biological father eight years ago. Because of this, she identifies very strongly with her Latin heritage, speaks fluent Spanish and calls herself a Latina. I don't speak a word of Spanish. I speak Japanese at home with my mother sometimes though. However, I haven't had the opportunity to visit Japan and meet my extended family. I'm a little nervous as it sounds as if some Japanese, especially the older generation aren't very accepting.....nice and accomodating yes, but not necessarily accepting of EAs....
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Post by yujirobert on Jun 9, 2009 5:53:06 GMT -5
nozbee> I don't think you should be too nervous about these things, i've found that my Japanese family are always very accepting. it helps if you show them that your in touch with your japanese side by behaving how a japanese person would, and being modest about your other half. as soon as they see past your EA looks, they should quickly warm to you!
personally i used to think i looked more japanese than english. In the school i used to go to, which was prodominantly black and indian; everyone would assume i was chinese, i think this was because there were no other east-asian people in my school to compare me to, so i was the closest thing to an asian most of the kids there had met.
when i moved to a catholic school, which was prodominantly white, i expected the same, however white people were surprised to find that i was half asian. they all assumed i was full white.
asian people, especially chinese; think i'm just a white, wannabe asian when they first meet me, which i find more frustrating than anything else.
to be honest i don't relate much to either side, i have quite a few EA friends from my Japanese Saturday school and my social life pretty much revolves around them. apart from that my friends tend to be from lots of different backgrounds anyway, so i've never felt too pressured to identify with one background...
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furbob
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Can I has?
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Post by furbob on Jun 13, 2009 3:35:42 GMT -5
People just assume im white but I find that majority of my friends are asian so I have to subtly imply that "I'm Eurasian!" so I can somewhat fit in without looking or feeling too odd. I dont like the feeling of people thinking that I might be a tryhard-asian/wasian :X or maybe im just self-concious I feel that im more asian but I look too white to be satisfied with where I stand
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Post by halfbreed on Jun 13, 2009 3:42:30 GMT -5
I dont like the feeling of people thinking that I might be a tryhard-asian/wasian :X or maybe im just self-concious No, I feel the same. Some random hanging w/ the Asians.
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Post by toyomansi on Jun 13, 2009 5:48:38 GMT -5
Just last night I saw a really interesting youtube vid from the Tyra show about physical appearance and cultural identity... ^^ the girl in this video is half black/white, looks black, but only claims her white side and dislikes black people. I know she's more extreme than most people, as most of us don't "hate" one of our sides.
But I wonder if it would be easier for her, and others, to identify with one side if they look more like it? It seems that the audience don't like her identifying as white because she looks black, maybe they would have thought otherwise if she also looked white. I think maybe it's easier for those of us who also look like the side we identify most with...
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Post by Subuatai on Jun 13, 2009 7:01:39 GMT -5
I don't think it only has to do with looks, it's also upbringing/experience. Central Asian people have always had a history of intermixing, even enemies are still considered human beings. Steppe culture operated on meritocracy alone, some tribes more meritocratic then others which are more tribalistic. Due to that, intermixing has occured from the dawn of time. To this day, I've met plenty of Mongols who do not look "traditional", but still identify themselves as Mongols.
Unfortunately, it seems racialism is really destroying this aspect of nomadic culture. There are some rather stupid nationalists that believe in maintaining a 'one-race' 'true Mongol' mentality, rejecting our brothers and sisters around the world, funny thing is they are probably mixed themselves. Completely different problem to many other Asian/European mixed people such as European/Chinese.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2009 3:59:46 GMT -5
nozbee> I don't think you should be too nervous about these things, i've found that my Japanese family are always very accepting. it helps if you show them that your in touch with your japanese side by behaving how a japanese person would, and being modest about your other half. as soon as they see past your EA looks, they should quickly warm to you! Thank you yujirobert. Do you speak Japanese fluently?....that's something else I'm worried about. I speak it with my mother at home but I don't think I'm good enough to bring it out in front of anyone else lol. ...but for now I guess I just need to worry about saving up enough money to hopefully one day get to see my relatives.
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Post by palaver on Jun 14, 2009 7:28:14 GMT -5
...but for now I guess I just need to worry about saving up enough money to hopefully one day get to see my relatives. Just don't turn into the obnoxious returnee with multiple personality disorder stereotype--as portrayed in this anime episode:
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nakanaka
New Member
O(≧▽≦)O ワーイ♪
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Post by nakanaka on Jun 14, 2009 8:33:30 GMT -5
...but for now I guess I just need to worry about saving up enough money to hopefully one day get to see my relatives. Just don't turn into the obnoxious returnee with multiple personality disorder stereotype--as portrayed in this anime episode: hehe!! I love Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei!!! Anyway, nozbee, I wouldn't be too self-conscious about maybe not being fluent in japanese!! My sister isn't fluent but she gets along fine with our Japanese relatives ;D yujirobert is right, as long as you can make an effort to show off some of your japanese-ness, then there really shouldn't be too many problems.
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