The meaning of being Asian

What does it mean to be an Asian? in the "Grace Lee project" – Grace Lee, a very self-aware Korean origin American,  tries to track down other Korean Grace Lees across the US in the pursuit of her own identity. Are all Grace Lees the same? are all Asian American the same? Are all Asians the same?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhLZ56iKlv0[/video]

The immediate 'western' response to Asians is "they just all look the same". I believe that one of the most common questions I've been asked since I came back from staying in Asia is "so, are you able to tell them apart now?".

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There's a very silly online game that targets this very question, which I mentioned a few times, called "All look same". Dyske Suematsu's introduction on the website writes: 

I've always thought that it was one of those urban myths that you can tell different Asians apart. Especially if I can't see what they are wearing, I don't think that I can tell them apart. And, I'm an Asian myself. I've been living in the US for over 15 years and I've heard some people tell me I definitely look Japanese, while others thought that I don't at all. Some people boastfully claim that they can tell the difference no problem, while others quietly admit that they can't. Even with those who claim they can, is it really true that they can? Maybe there is something to be said about someone saying "You guys all look the same!" Or, maybe they just don't know any better. This site, therefore, is a way for me to demystify this issue once and for all.

The site, oddly, was built by an American Asian trying to make a point that he can not tell Asians apart, so it's not only the westerners who are preoccupied with this issue, thought maybe from a different point of view. It's not surprising, maybe, that all my westerner friends failed at this test miserably with scores of around 5-7 out of 18, which means they were guessing. What was surprising is that the Asians I met in Taiwan, either Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese couldn't make out the differences, and strangely – they scored even lower scores of 3-6, maybe because they had inherent misconceptions.

So, do they all look the same?

Asia foreigners blogs were discussing this issue not too long ago, with an American comics guide from World War II called "how to spot a Jap". The comics shows how one can distinguish who the Japanese enemy is based on external features and does have very percise statements like : "C (Chinese) is dull bronze in color, while J (Japanese) is lighter – more on the lemon-yellow side…".

The guide concludes with :

To sum it up, spotting a Jap depends on 3 things – Appearance, Feet, Pronunciation. 

(Honestly, reading through the guide, I couldn't escape my over-Jewish association with the German guides for "How to spot a Jew" referring to what they thought were Jewish features like long nose and short lips. Hmmm…)

I've found another interesting cartoon posted by a girl in my Chinese class on the Israeli Chinese culture forum in Tapuz about the differences between Asian girls – Korean, Chinese, Japanese : 

The cartoon, as you see, also makes a statement about how different Asian nationalities will accept foreign men.

Grace Lee has a problem. Grace Lee feels as though her very common American-Asian name defines a bit of who she is, and wonders whether the Grace Lee name or even being an Asian American has any meaning regarding personality. In her long series of interviews with people who know Grace Lees she came across many of the same statements : "A typical Asian", "soft spoken", "quiet", "smart, well-educated", "pure". Grace Lee's discomfort with those answers goes straight into the viewers' hearts who are left to wonder  – "Is it really so?!" or "Is there no escaping the Grace Lee / Asian American stereotype?".

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In my own personal view, I strongly connect with the points made by Grace Lee and Suematsu, as I would like to believe there's more to a person than his personal/racial attributes and stereotypes. Most times, tagging people into groups and trying to classify them according to looks and origin makes me uncomfortable, although there is value in trying to understand groups and cultures as a whole.

You can't tell them apart not because they're all the same, but because they're all unique. There is, of-course, a stereotype for Asians and American Asians, but there are so many exceptions to the common rule that it makes the common rule for individuals almost irrelevant.