Comments | moonishlips: can't help but feel i've been wronged - on being non-asian in a typically asian fandom

moonishlips

can't help but feel i've been wronged - on being non-asian in a typically asian fandom

Jan 31, 2010 01:44

Just a rant. Personal narrative about being non-asian in an asian fandom from the western side of the spectrum, anger... read at your own risk? :|

( nothing explicit or rude though so. uh. just raaaage. )

what is this i don't even know, this is not okay, i gotta voice, racism, rage, rant

Comments 22

sunandbluesky January 31 2010, 23:17:14 UTC

"the girl-who-likes-asians"

You have no idea how many times that phrase has been used to describe me. I saw so much of myself in this article...it surprised me. There don't seem to be many of us non-asian Asian music listeners--possibly because many of us feel the need, as you do, to hide what we really listen to and what we're really interested in. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Even though I'm not from Canada, and as such can't comment on the specifics of your post as they relate to Canada, being from the USA isn't too much different. We're taught growing up that America is a multi-ciltural land where everyone can achieve the "American Dream" and live happily ever after in blissful equality. The reality is much what you described above: we have "equality" but not equality. Asian music is something Asians listen to, not whites. There's white music and black music, too. And any "cross-cultural" music listening is sure to get you weird looks and a social stereotype. Any interest in a country/culture that's ( ... )

moonishlips February 1 2010, 00:13:38 UTC

I'm glad someone got something out of this. I'm so used to being shunned and ostracized because of fandom that it's always a comforting pat on the back when someone can relate to what I feel - it's almost like my feelings are suddenly valid, like, okay, you can feel this way, because this lovely lady feels like this too. So thank you for commenting ( ... )

(The comment has been removed)

moonishlips February 1 2010, 00:14:30 UTC

Not at all! I love receiving comments from you, regardless of the length! :) Thank you very much~

reinbeaunim February 1 2010, 00:53:17 UTC

I have so so very much to say about this... but the words just can't properly form and come out.

I will say, though, that you possibley just summed up every single thought that has been collected in my mind over the years of being in these fandoms and dealing with all of the people that I have dealt with.... you've summed everything up that was stuck in my brain and unable to come out in this post.

Major props and very VERY well said. <3

moonishlips February 1 2010, 01:02:00 UTC

Awe thank you bb ^^" Means a lot coming from you. I've been trying to figure things out and why I feel certain ways about certain things that are said and make connections between those things and termonology. And it's nice to see that there are people who can relate. Feels less like words and more like concrete thoughts and opinions when it's more than one.

♥

reinbeaunim February 1 2010, 01:08:19 UTC

I forgot to say, also; What a rediculously ignorant thing for that person to say. My jaw dropped for a while.

People never fail to displease me.

moonishlips February 1 2010, 01:22:50 UTC

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I actually approached her about it to tell her that it upset me. I got a half apology and then a "but you have to admit, you make yourself out to be a target." So by the end of it I was apologizing for being condenscending and too-offendable. It was... interesting.

Thread 5

bloods_rose February 10 2010, 15:51:21 UTC

I just read every word of this and well, even though I'm not canadian, I can totally relate. I'm South African who lives in the UK, which gives me enough of an identity crisis without my "wierd interests" also coming into play. Because no one quite understands why you'd want to listen to music in a different language, and everybody treats it as a joke and something wierd, as if it's impossible that asia has an estabilished music scene. It's so annoying, and really tiring trying to hide it, and it makes you feel really mean sometimes when people ask "what are you listening to?" and you blank them but it's not like you can answer, because then they'd give that wierd why-are-you-listening-to-that look.

(the first comment kind of sums everything up well)

moonishlips February 11 2010, 00:10:29 UTC

Really? I'd always envisioned the UK to be more open minded. Well nuts. Nice to get some feedback from someone who is in a euro-centric society, in a different sense. : )

I've gotten to the point that when people ask me what I'm listening to, I say something along the lines of, "Music...?"

Thank you for the lovely comment~

rocket_race February 11 2010, 07:37:56 UTC

i hope you don't mind but i'm cross-referencing this in my blog. i absolutely agree 100% with everything you've written here - more so than the others that seem to have posted here, because i actually live in vancouver, and i see this shit daily. i just really feel this is something that needs to get out there. you just voiced everything i feel so perfectly that i can't help but want to paste it all over the place.

hope you're doing well. ^^"

moonishlips February 12 2010, 00:12:10 UTC

Oh not at all! Go right ahead and do what you want with it - that's why it's public, after all :) Thank you for reading and commenting!

♥