For decades, people of Asian descent in the U.S. have relied on the language of dominant culture to describe and interpret our own experiences, distorting both dominant culture perceptions of us and the understanding of our own identities in the process. This language, the words and concepts we use to understand and interpret our perspectives, histories, and broadly, our lives, has often marginalized and pathologized us. How can we reshape language about Asian America in a way that better represents our diversity and complexity?
Through our rebranding initiatives, the Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry (AAC) at Fuller has developed a guide highlighting five key characteristics of language about Asian America that can help educate others, release harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about Asian America, and empower us to celebrate our multifaceted identity.
- Use “Asian American,” not “Asian” or “Asian-American”
The term “Asian American” asserts our full place in the fabric of American history and society. Calling ourselves simply “Asian” perpetuates the racist trope of the “perpetual foreigner,” which excludes us from being recognized as fully American. Additionally, we maintain that the use of a hyphen (e.g., “Asian-American”) connotes a divided identity, implying that we are not truly Americans. We are not split between two worlds—we are wholly Asian American. This country is our place of calling and discipleship, where we are to love our neighbors and work toward the shalom of the City. Owning our Americanness as well as our Asianness enables us to fulfill Jeremiah’s prophetic words to the exiled Israelites in Jeremiah 29.
- Use “Asian American” only when you are referring panethnic identity; be specific otherwise
The term “Asian American” is inclusive of the broader community, which includes East Asian Americans, Southeast Asian Americans, South Asian Americans, adoptees, mixed-race Asian Americans, and more recently, the SWANA region that encompasses southwest Asia. When discussing specific issues or experiences, however, name the group explicitly, such as Filipino American or Indian American. This avoids the longstanding problem of ethnic monopolizing, where East Asian expressions of identity and experiences are treated as the default for Asian Americans (i.e., East Asian normativity or supremacy). Our diversity is our strength; each group’s unique history and characteristics deserve recognition.
- “We’ve been here:” Asian American history is not new
Asian America covers at least 170 years and multiple generations; in fact, the first recorded people of Asian origin to arrive on U.S. soil were Filipinos in 1587. As of a 2023 Pew report, only 34 percent of Asian Americans are U.S.-born children of immigrant parents. Through our various initiatives, and namely the Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI), we honor the long and complex history of Asian America and avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners. We also recognize that recent immigrants are also part of the fabric of this country, rapidly developing a shared identity that is distinct from those in Asia. Our stories are fully and uniquely American stories, rooted deep in the nation’s history.
- Situate your personal experience and life in the broader Asian American context
Personal experiences are powerful, but they must be properly situated within the broader socio-historical context. Asian America is complex and multi-layered, shaped by factors such as Asian Heritage, migration experiences, American culture, and racialization—what we call the Asian American Quadrilateral. Humans are inherently storytelling creatures, and through the AAC’s various spiritual formation groups we learn to name the significance of our stories and individual experiences; however, they don’t represent the whole. By delineating between personal narrative and critical scholarship, we avoid perpetuating stereotypes and assumptions.
- Avoid pathologizing or idealizing Asian American features and values
Often, Asian and Asian American traits are pathologized through the lens of white normativity. While there are problematic elements within Asian American communities and cultures, orientalizing forces project sweeping negative, essentializing judgments upon us. At the same time, we want to avoid reactively romanticizing and valorizing all things Asian and Asian American, as though without colonialism and racism they would be perfect. We hold our identities in a way that celebrates their complexities, both the challenges and beauty of what it means to be Asian American.
In Conclusion: Redeeming our Narrative, “Speaking” Asian American
For those of us who were raised in the U.S., we very likely share a similar story from adolescence of a dominant culture classmate making a quick assessment of who we are and demanding that we “speak [language]” for them. There is much to say about the effects of self-talk on self-perception; the way we speak about our identities can provide what neuroscientists call an “internal remodeling.” Some of us may not have been able to respond to the childish demand to “speak” the mother tongue of our countries of origin, but we can learn how to “speak Asian American” in such a way that affirms our dignity and wholeness as Asian Americans.
