You may or may not have seen this word and its sub labels so I'm writing this myTake here to explain (a question would be too long) them and give my experiences. (I will not be giving my opinion until the conclusion).
Asiaphile:
A white western male who has a pathological, sexual obsession with Asians and their culture (this term can also be used on different races and genders)
- Urban dictionary
Now the sub labels:
Weaboo
A non japanese person who basically denounces their own culture and calls themselves japanese. They try to learn japanese through the anime they watch and usually end up pronouncing it wrong and looking like a complete idiot. (These people also go up to random Asian people and yell random Japanese words or go as far as saying that they are trans racial as in transitioning from said race to Japanese). - Urban Dictionary
Koreaboo/sinophile
Basically the same as Weaboo but with Korean and Chinese culture.
Cultural appropriation
The act of taking customs, practices, or traditions from one culture (usually by a member of a dominant culture) to either mock or simplify the meaning or significance of that piece of culture. Also, taking/wearing something from another culture and appreciating it only when it is not on the body of a member of that culture. (This tends to get flinged in with so called Asiaphiles because of the use of adopting Asian names/identitys when the person is not Asian). -Urban Dictionary
My personal experiences
During elementary and middle school (7-12yrs) I was really into Japanese culture. I didn't want to be Japanese but I loved anything that had to do with anime. Which is where the name came from since I would use it for video games and it just sort of stucked.
The influence for this myTake was from the hate that this category of people get online. I noticed that even having a simple interest in something east Asian would cause for an online gang jump because of the negative sterotypes. I'm not justifying any of the above examples though. I just feel that this is all trivial because it can easily be ignored or blocked out online but maybe that opinion would be different if I was Asian.
What are your experiences/opinons?
In Terms of 'Asiaphiles' and Cultural Appropriation
I think the important bit is in the definition of cultural appropriation " The act of taking customs, practices, or traditions from one culture (usually by a member of a dominant culture) to either mock or simplify the meaning or significance of that piece of culture". A Asiaphile/Weaboo/Koreaboo/Sinophile is doing what they do out of love or respect of a culture. I don't agree with second part of the definition where a person has to be born part of that culture. I think this is an idea is just a notion thought up by some bully to harass a group of kids who are doing something they enjoy. If you want to go to extremes, we could say last Thursday was St. Patricks day, I (as an irish citizen ) could scream cultural appropriation at anyone who wore green or went out for a drink but doesn't hold an irish passport. My final bit of advice is ignore the jerks, they are just looking someone to pick on.
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Traditional Asian culture still exists in rural parts of Asia, but urban parts are becoming more and more westernized for good and ill. Thanks to fast food, even Asian countries are getting more obese people. But America still has the most number of obese individuals.
Yep. If you respect Asian culture--at all--or have an admiration of anime or some kind of Asian language, then people will automatically call you all of these things. It's the default insult
I grew up on Japanese anime. DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha, Yugioh, Pokemon, etc. etc. It is a part of *my* culture. These are things that were integral to my childhood and many others, as Western culture is in other countries
And there are many, many Americanized versions of things all over the world. The Japanese celebrate Halloween and Christmas. Those aren't their natural holidays. So are they being obsessive douchebags for it? I don't think so.
This idea of "appropriation" is a negative term for "sharing cultural ideas and globalization." That is a very, very good thing in my opinion; because, it means that we're not fucking killing each other out of hate and fear of cultural "appropriation"
People in America often say that white people "steal" black culture. But the very idea that they respect aspects of black culture shows that there is a common ground. The attempt to meet another person on their playing field, to become the same. It shows nothing but admiration--not theft.
As if becoming interested in another culture is this demonic thing. Perhaps it stems from a fear of losing ones culture, or others are viewed as betraying their own culture for being interested in other cultures. It's simple close-mindedness, in my opinion
The idea that "Wow, they're trying to learn another language, but they totally fuck up the pronunciation." Mmm. Yeah, pretty sure that's how you learn. No one is going to instantly be able to speak Mandarin. It takes effort and practice and failure, particularly with a language as hard as Mandarin. It's simply beyond me. Close minded idiocy.
Even if it does extend to a devout obsession, I don't see a problem. If they push that ideology on others, then I can see it as a problem. However, if they simply love another culture deeply, what exactly is wrong with that? Nothing, in my opinion.
Aside from that, there are things we can learn from other cultures. For instance, not being complete fatasses with a population of 33% obesity or racking up 400 mass shootings per year. Or actually educating our people and providing healthcare for everyone, etc. etc. This "you can only love another culture *this much*, not *this much* is ridiculous."
Yeah the thing is, admiring the culture or even wanting to experience it isn't bad. That's cool. Sometimes I learn things about my culture from totally random people who enjoy it more than I do. The thing that separates weaboos and such is the intensity of the obsession, to the point where you're just like, step back and chill the fuck out. If you have an interest in the language, learn it. Properly. Don't just watch anime and start throwing in Japanese in daily life. That's weird AF. I'm not your sempai-san (what the fuck is that. No one even says that). Don't tell me "you pressed the wrong button you baka" NO. I will rage quit for that alone. Call me a fucking moron, or don't call me anything at all. I guess the experiences I've had with weaboos (only them because I've never met anyone trying to emulate a Chinese person or Korean) is the flamboyant kind. I dont really see them emulating other aspects of Japanese culture, like being super polite abs accommodating and quiet and such. The other thing - when you can't accept that a person from that culture might not embody everything about that culture that you've wikid and then you get mad at them. Wtf.
To be honest, I never understood the attraction to anime, Never really got into it, In many ways i dislike it, Like how they oversexualize young girls and shit, Its kinda creepy, And, not gonna lie, When i see all the western people who are literally just insane anime fans and start using japanese words and stuff, I do find it annoying (The Weaboo does come to mind). But, I appreciate its just an innocent thing. (When i say i dislike it... I dont dislike them, Just... i suppose anything is annoying in excess ya know? Especially when you're not into it yourself).
At the same time though, I always found all that ''Cultural appropriation'' stuff utter bullshit, Like... Who actually gives a fuck? xD.
I mean, jesus christ, All they did was watch a fuck ton of anime and start using japanese slang, Not wear a Samurai outfit and sword and shit and deface some sacred temple or something xD.
People who get all fucked over and bothered by the ''Cultural appropriation'' shit just have too much time on their hands and need to stop being so sensitive over shit.
Hell, Im British, if you wanna grow shitty teeth and drink a cup of tea, I ain't gonna be pissed, xD
Mass obsession with other Asian cultures via the influence of popular media doesn't just happen in the west. A lot of people in my country have 'Korea fever', and a good number are fans of Japanese anime. Hell, I could be called a weaboo myself -if you didn't look close enough anyway. It can be hard to tell.
So here's some doables and don'ts, based on my culture:
Doables:
-Eating Chinese food/ reading Chinese literature
-Attempting to speak Mandarin with us Chinese folks [Note: Make sure they're Chinese and able to speak Mandarin first!]
-Wearing our traditional clothing [But not everywhere, and only under specific occasions]
- Learning our dances, martial arts & how to play our traditional musical instruments [As long as you have a genuine desire to commit yourself]
-Visiting a Chinese temple [Be respectful. Don't do what your guide tells you not to.]
Don'ts:
-Attempt to argue with us what Buddhism/ Taoism/ Confucianism/ Chinese culture is supposed to be like
-Try to quote Chinese proverbs back at us
-Treat Chinese dragons or the yin-yang symbol as "stickers" to "make things Chinese"
-Treat the statues of our gods and deities as collectibles
-Collect our literature, poetry, art and religious tomes if you don't bother to read them/ learn about them
-Stick random Chinese characters onto things/ use them as tattoos without knowing what they mean
-Carry out our practices and superstitions, unless you're a guest being prompted by your host
I've been called out on it in the past (liking anime, liking Asian girls, liking cute things; basically everything a guy my age 'shouldn't' like), I even felt ashamed for it at some point because I grew up extremely insecure. A few years ago I realized how stupid and dangerously self-defeating it was to be ashamed of your preferences and interests, so now I care less and don't feel so afraid to stand behind the things I like.
I get why there is a stigma, though. More often than not for all the wrong reasons.
Yea having a preference is still debatable but I feel that problems with sexual harassment and taking advantage of Asian women is way worse than preferences.
there is also the other side of the coin, the female gaijin hunter:
"women of Asian descent who are more attracted to those of non-Asian descent (gaijin = foreigner in japanese)"
even in UK where I live, many Japanese women that come here are totally fixated on white guys like myself and having white boyfriends. I don't mind liking white guys but it can get a little bit creepy when that's not reciprocated and the girl is being really aggressive about it, or just dropping obvious hints all the time coupled together with that overly done 'cute' giggling and touching that seems to come straight from anime.
lol i love kpop and kdramas, i don't have a connection with korea itself but it'd be cool to learn the language so i can enjoy the music and movies better because they are really good quality. is that bad? i do the same with hindi movies and ethiopian movies..
Unfortunately ignorant people might label you as a koreaboo because your interested in the media aspect of korean culture. By defintion and what I think: A koreaboo is someone who wants to be korean and goes to thr extremes to accomplish thay, they also put koreans on a pedastel. Most people do what your doing so I wouldn't worry!
Sure, after all there are way more Japanese people in the world than Chinese people. But that's not the point of the story. The point is that weeaboos pretend that an Asian or even South American is Japanese, because they want a Japanese friend so badly. Even if they tell them they aren't Japanese in fact, it doesn't stop them from pretending. www.reddit.com/.../ www.reddit.com/.../
Like that one Korean girl who had plastic surgery to look like Miranda Kerr, she went from looking Asian to white. or that Japanese woman who had surgery to look French and went as far to making herself taller by 6 inches. She also looks white. Transracial is very common overseas ita just Americans and a lot of Europeans aren't exposed to it.
Meaningless buzzwords for those people that eat that shit up and praise themselves for "being intelligent."
I have neither the time nor the interest level to debate those that hate on someone else for no other reason than because it puts them off their day-to-day drabness.
I honestly hate that I can't wear anything because I look white when I'm really Metis. I get made fun of when I speak my ancestor's language and they all say " if you look white then you're not native anymore" like being white is a disease...
This is just an annoying double standard. The rest of the planet has adopted white American culture (every country has a Mcdonald's and Taco Bell except North Korea). Not to mention how the copy our actors and everything else in Hollywood. So what's the big deal if we white Americans want to do the same?
Does it really matter? I mean, those are generally Americans jumping on you because they have nothing better to do with their time. They literally have very little to complain about so they try to ruin someone else's good time.
Cultural appropriation is cultural appreciation everywhere else. Most don't care and some will laud you because you are taking an interest in what they like.
I've seen a lot of these Yellow Fever posts all over the web however here in Toronto there is no such thing. I guess it only happens in the States and online. Lol
hahahah in my high school there was a whole group of girls who were like this. One girl even changed her name to a japanese name... It was strange indeed
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