The Day I Discovered I’m a Walking Asian Stereotype

Do you ever watch a movie or read a book and feel like you can identify perfectly with one of the characters or storylines? It’s almost like someone made a movie or wrote a book about your own life. Sometimes, that connection is a good thing, and you think, “Yes! Finally someone I can really relate to!”

And other times, it’s more like, “Yikes…is that really what I’m like?”

Well, I recently experienced one of these moments the other day when I came across an old Fung Bros video entitled, “18 Types of Asian Girls.” [If you’re not familiar with the Fung Bros, they’re two brothers, Andrew and David, who are pretty big YouTube stars in the Asian-American community]. When I first saw it on my list of recommended videos on YouTube, I thought, “This is gonna be funny…I wonder if I’ll fit into any of these “types””. For some reason, I’ve always felt like I couldn’t be defined, especially in terms of being an Asian girl. It’s not that I think I’m necessarily that special or unique, but I just feel like I’ve had so many different life experiences that I could never fit into the stereotypical Asian girl bubble. Well….let me tell you, the Fung Brothers proved me ALL the way wrong.

As I started watching the video, they talked about #1 – The Asian Baby Girl, #2 – The Good Asian Girl, and #5 – The Geek Asian Girl, and I found myself not relating to any of these in the slightest. As the video progressed and touched on #8 – The Party Asian Girl, #9 – The White Washed Asian Girl, and #11 – The Fashionista Asian Girl, I started seeing bits and pieces of myself in these types, especially back in college. However, the similarities were still not enough that I would identify myself with any of these types. As we neared the end of the video, I was feeling confident, reaffirming my belief that I did not fit into any Asian girl stereotype and that I was the unicorn I always thought I was.

But then…oh, but then…#15 came on the screen. The Urban Rap Asian Girl. Off the bat, I would never consider myself “urban” or “rap”. When I think of the term ‘Urban Rap Asian Girl’, I think of women like Hannah Kang from Grand Hustle or Hot 97’s Miss Info, who are actually in the rap game. However, as the Fung Bros started talking about the different characteristics of this type of girl, my jaw dropped open. “This girl likes Trey Songz…” Check. “…Chris Brown…” Check. “…and her favorite new artist is DEFINITELY August Alsina.” Wait, how did y’all know that I bought his album in CD form and had it on repeat for a year straight?! “The Urban Rap Asian Girl follows Karrueche and other Blasian celebrities.” Ok so maybe I follow Karrueche on Twitter, Instagram AND Snapchat. And maybe I started watching “Claws” to support her. So?? You don’t know my life! “When the Urban Rap Asian Girl dresses up, she strives for Kim Kardashian or Basketball Wives.” As I thought about the multiple bandage dresses, monokinis, and strappy heels in my closet, I remained silent, left in a state of disbelief at the accuracy of it all. Mind you, this video came out in 2014, and what was I doing back then? Going to an August Alsina concert dressed like a Kardashian, and reading through Karrueche’s tweets during intermission.

#15 ended, and I felt exposed. The Fung Brothers had just told me my whole life, and to be honest, it sounded a little tacky. ‘But wait’, they seemed to say, ‘you thought we were done with you? Nope!’ Alas, there was more. As if #15 wasn’t bad enough, then #17 came across the screen. The Forever Single Asian Girl. Oh boy, here we go. I won’t go into detail about my personal life on here, so we’ll just let the Fung Brothers tell it, since they seem to know me so well. “This girl’s standards are so incredibly high, that nobody’s good enough to date her, hence making her forever alone.”

“This girl is looking for Cristiano Ronaldo, and in her eyes, Jeremy Lin barely makes the cut.” Okay yes, I went to a Real Madrid game last year and spent the whole time thirsting after Cristiano Ronaldo…I mean, can you blame me?

And yes, I may have told my parents multiple times that if they want to fulfill their dreams of me marrying a nice Taiwanese boy, they better go ahead and find me Jeremy Lin. Hey, I’m just a nice Asian girl trying to make my parents happy.

So there you have it. I am not just one Asian girl stereotype, but TWO Asian girl stereotypes. *Hangs head in shame* Just kidding, I fully embrace all that I am, even if that means I’m just a Suburban Hood Dreamer looking for her 6’4″ bad boy surgeon/supermodel (see video below for reference).

If you’re an Asian girl and you want to get read like I did (thanks Fung Bros!), watch the video below to find out what type of Asian girl you are. If you’re not an Asian girl but just want to find out more about the different types of Asian girls, I’m sure you’ll get a good laugh from watching this video as well:

2,536 total views, 0 views today

2 thoughts on “The Day I Discovered I’m a Walking Asian Stereotype”

Leave a Reply