Seeing East Asian culture serve as the target of racism and derogatory jokes is unfortunately common, and has been for ages. But in recent years, the rise of things like K-pop, anime, manga, and even traditional foods have created a different narrative for the west. This spike in popularity has created opportunity for a new ignorant mindset: the idea of East Asian culture being a commodity or aesthetic. As opposed to being appreciated, our culture becomes a consumer product. Through my own experiences, this effect has proved its prominence.
In a world where I’m often labeled as a pathogen carrier or dog eater, it’s extremely odd for a sharp shift in our culture’s perception to take place. Suddenly, watching Netflix’s original anime series has inspired a wave of viewers to learn Japanese. Korean music groups are trending among American listeners. Pocky and Ramune are no longer in stock at the local Asian market. Though there’s no specific issue with these events, they lead to a string of changes in the way East Asian people are viewed in a Western society.
When general and mainstream representation of a country or ethnic group is simplified to commodities like music and film, it creates an inaccurate perception for those outside of said group. As a result, we create aesthetics out of livelihoods. Understandings of East Asian culture boil down to what Asian countries can export to western places. This commercialized and surface level understanding of our culture births remarks about Japan being “anime in real life” and East Asian Tiktok accounts receiving comments about being “from the Squid Games”. The outcome is generally one of being treated as a commodity or aesthetic, which leads to further issues.
Compared to hate crimes and other racist attacks, this type of treatment may seem preferable to others. In fact, its negative effects can be hard to spot at first glance. However, this mentality is one that ignores the dangers of being seen in a glamorized manner. When an ethnic group’s national exports become its only defining trait, the people of that ethnic group also have that one defining trait. Because of this, East Asian people bear the burden of further stereotypes that arise from this association. The trend of East Asian culture turns into the trend of East Asian people as a whole, in which we are turned into an aesthetic or a fetish for others. This wave of attention also creates circumstances in which non-Asian people try to emulate East Asian features in the means of accumulating this attention for themselves in a process known as East-Asian or EA baiting.
Commonly, EA baiters use makeup and exaggerated behaviors of East Asian stereotypes to fit their desired appearance. EA baiting may seem like an innocent dress-up, but the effects only further perpetuate stereotypes that real East Asian people will have to be subjected to. The more non-Asian people act in exaggerated manners while EA baiting, the more this false idea of East Asian people circulates. These actions are detrimental in shaping the way that East Asian people are viewed in western societies, particularly at a polarizing and difficult time like this.
As a Chinese girl living in America, the aftermath of commodifying my culture has been clear for me. Not only is it extremely disheartening to witness racist behavior, but being the target is just as painful. Being told that I look like an anime character when I bear no resemblance to the red-haired Erza Scarlet is ludicrous to listen to, and so is finding a response. When sharing experiences, I’m often told that I should be grateful as opposed to angry because this type of attention is “good”. But how is treatment of a race based on what we have to offer a good thing? Throughout recent times, I’ve learned that this mask of good attention is an excuse for making a spectacle out of a culture. As I try to navigate my way through things, avoiding becoming caught up and tangled is something I still struggle with.
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