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"Do you practice extreme sports? Yes, sometimes I contradict my mother."
Key points:
- Subtle Asian Traits is a closed Facebook group dedicated to memes about Asian culture
- The group was created in Melbourne but now has members around the world
- Experts say the group also highlights the widespread experience of racism
This is just one of the jiving memes about tiger parenting that Chinese-American Susana Chen Mei sees as she scrolls though a closed Facebook group that's amassed nearly a million followers internationally since its creation in September.
The group, called Subtle Asian Traits, is dedicated to jokes and posts that convey the struggles and joys experienced by many young Asian migrants around the world who've felt pressure to assimilate or distance themselves from their cultural heritage.
Ms Chen Mei, an 18-year-old university student from Illinois, says that growing up as an Asian-American she always "felt ashamed" about her culture and "wouldn't really be open to talk about it in public and would often try to hide it if anything".
"However in this group, I don't feel the need to hide it [because] mostly everyone is able to relate," she says.
"I guess looking through my lens as an Asian-American, it is surprising to see Asians unite in such a positive manner since America basically teaches people to be ashamed of their culture.
"America basically whitewashes [our culture], to say the least."
Subtle Asian Traits was created by a group of high school students in Melbourne, Australia who bonded at a weekend Chinese language school.
After coming across a Facebook group called Subtle Private School Traits, the friends decided to create a space where they could share jokes about Asian traits that many first-generation Asian immigrants could relate to.
The memes range from the Asian bubble tea obsession to embarrassing childhood memories of bringing "smelly" homecooked lunches to school.
'A darker underlying story'
Anne Gu, one of the nine admins in the group, says she never imagined the group would become an international hit, with members now hailing from the United States to New Zealand to the United Kingdom.
The 18-year-old believes the group's success lies in the opportunity it gives to first generation Asian migrants to "feel more connected with their identity and culture, and strengthen their sense of belonging".
Growing up, Ms Gu also recalls facing various stereotypes related to being Asian, such as being academically smart as well as people assuming she's fluent in Chinese, which she says is "frustrating at times".
Kevin Dunn, dean at the school of social sciences and psychology at Western Sydney University, says that while the group was a "celebration of resilience", it also "points to a darker underlying story".
"The fact they can all feel some empathy towards [the posts] or [collectively understand] the meme is all suggestive that they've had an experience of racism," he says.
Infographic:
A Facebook post showing a composite of microwave pizza and homecooked lunch.
(Facebook)
Ms Chen Mei recalls a school field trip where other non-Asian students judged the food she brought in, complaining that it was "smelly".
She explained that it was upsetting to realise she was the target of underlying racism and still finds it hard to interact with people who think "all Asians are nerds".
"I did have racist experiences when I was growing up — I mean, I still to this day," she adds.
"When people don't want to interact with me because of my physical appearance, I feel like there is something wrong with me and I just hate it so much."
From 'anti-Asian' to 'anti-Muslim'
But while Asian-Australians still experience racism, Professor Dunn says there's evidence that attitudes have shifted culturally over the past few decades.
"When Pauline Hanson first came to power in her maiden speech [in the nineties], she focused her racist commentary on Asians in Australia and the way they didn't fit in or were culturally incompatible, [adding] that they would form ghettos and didn't assimilate," he says.
"When she returned to Parliament [recently], she made exactly the same speech … she just removed the word 'Asian' and [replaced it with] the word 'Muslim'.
"So it just shows you that her understanding of the electoral mileage that was to be made from racist politics had moved on from being anti-Asian to being anti-Muslim."
Karen Farquharson, professor of sociology at the University of Melbourne, says that while she doesn't believe Facebook groups like Subtle Asian Traits will reduce racism, she believes it can be a "good source of social support".
The closed group also gives people a platform to share experiences in a more public forum without the backlash that comes with calling out racism, she adds.
And while memes can reinforce stereotypes, Professor Farquharson says sharing the memes in the context of criticism challenges those stereotypes at the same time.
But for Ms Chen Mei, who struggled with her cultural identity while growing up, the memes in the group provide a sense of comedic reassurance.
"Just scrolling through my Facebook feed daily and seeing these posts makes me laugh," she says.
Topics: information-and-communication, internet-culture, community-and-society, united-states, australia