Asian pride

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Asian pride is an Asian-American youth-originated slogan.

The slogan is used as an appeal to the formation of a common, shared group-identity by people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent living in Western societies, chiefly those living in the United States.

Contents 1 Background and Usage 1.1 Origins and Proliferation 2 Core Concepts and Notions of Racialist Movement 2.1 Core Concept 2.2 As a "Racialist Movement" 2.3 Tension with other Racialist Movements 3 Popularity Among Asian American Youths 4 Criticisms 4.1 Internal Disagreement Between Asian Populations 4.2 Interpretations 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit] Background and Usage

Modern usage of the term originated among Asian American youth and is not widely recognized and/or particularly endorsed in Asia itself. This is greatly due to a distinctly low population of visibly non-Asian immigrants in Asian nations; thereby removing much of the motivation and incentive for an association with the term 'Asian pride' and its practices.

The term 'Asian pride' does not necessarily refer to an active political movement, and therefore currently holds no true political influence in any nations in which it may be present and/or considered "active."

[edit] Origins and Proliferation

The term "Asian pride" first originated from a sense of prevalent discrimination against Asian-Americans in the United States during times of social, socioeconomic and political stress. More specifically, time-periods surrounding important Asian American points in American history, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the 'railroad building era' are held largely responsible for the creation of the term and other practices related thereto.

'Asian pride' emerged, proliferated and flourished most noticeably during eras of European colonialism.^[1] During this time of European colonialism, European empires, at their peak, possessed approximately 85% of the world's habitable landmass through colonization; thus contributing to the proliferation of "anti-Western" sentiments among Asian nations.^[1] Despite an end to most European colonialism, certain Asian governments, peoples, and nations still view Western involvement in national and world affairs with notable suspicion and distrust.^[1]

Modern usage of the term 'Asian pride' is believed to have originated in urban areas with high immigrant and culturally, racially and ethnically diverse populations during the 1990s.

[edit] Core Concepts and Notions of Racialist Movement

[edit] Core Concept

The core concept behind Asian pride is: "a due respect, and in some cases, reverence, for all things, be it: products, peoples, cultures, customs, etc. considered Asian, or more specifically, Oriental." However, concepts may vary according to region, environment, ethnic background and other defining factors of belief, behavior and mentality.

[edit] As a "Racialist Movement"

Asian pride is perceived by some to be a racialist movement, such as Black power, Red power, or White power. However, others may view Asian pride as a jocular concept due to a significantly lowered level of militancy relative to the other racialist movements. Asian pride seeks to re-evaluate the alleged devaluation of Asian culture by, primarily, European culture, claiming that Asian values are superior to European values.^[1]

[edit] Tension with other Racialist Movements

Increased tension between Asian pride groups and other minority groups, such as African Americans and Latinos, can be observed due to members of each respective group establishing their own exclusive 'pride' movements. Frequently, tension erupts by way of violence and gang violence, most visibly evidenced by the 1992 Los Angeles Riot.

[edit] Popularity Among Asian American Youths

Currently, Asian American youth are seen to be largest group of persons aware of the term, involved with the term and actively displaying characteristics related to the term and its respective practices.

Much of the term's recent popularity among Asian American youth is believed to have stemmed from lyrics by a popular rap song. The song, Got Rice?, is an overlay of African American hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur's song "Changes, and preaches, in American rap-style, the claimed superiority of Asian values over those of other ethnic groups.^{[citation needed]}

'Asian pride' is known to be often employed by Asian American youth to describe a sense of connection to other Asians, even if their countries of origin may potentially differ. The term 'Asian Pride' is often written in camelcase and/or spelled in variant forms such "AZN Pryde."

In North America, Asian pride is often exhibited by those with ancestry in East Asia, Southeast Asia or a combination of both. In Britain, the term appears not only with those whose ancestry originates from East Asia, Southeast Asia or a combination of both, but also by those with ancestry in South Asia (as a result of a high South Asian immigrant population).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criticisms

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[edit] Internal Disagreement Between Asian Populations

Although the concept of "Asian Pride" is present in Overseas-Asian communities, those who have immigrated directly from Asia, as well as those who prefer to not associate themselves with the pride movement, are often unfamiliar with the term; but generally do not show notable disagreement or hostility towards the term and/or the movement. Most commonly, disagreement over the term 'Asian pride' and its most frequently observed practices, originate from ideologies of Chinese nationalism, Korean nationalism, and/or Japanese nationalism.

In this particular sense, the peoples of each respective nation do not necessarily support the generalization and association with other Asian groups as normally advertised and accepted by overseas Asian pride groups. Furthermore, some disagreement is said to have stemmed from both current and former negative relations between Asian nations. (See Anti-Japanese sentiment, Anti-Korean sentiment, Sinophobia).

[edit] Interpretations

Some counselors and social workers have interpreted the declaration of 'Asian Pride' to signify membership to gangs and a precursor to violence.^[2]

[edit] See also

• Pan-Asianism
• Asian Values
• Black pride
• Brown pride
• White pride

[edit] External links

• Between Two Worlds: Born in the U.S.A. to Asian Parents, a Generation of Immigrants' Kids Forges a New Identity, a Time magazine article from their January 16, 2006 issue
• [http://www.art.zeroexposure.net/cat/asians Asian Pride: Asians Fanlisting, a fanlisting for the asian culture

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (December 2008)