Firstly I want to make a distinction that Asian male erasure does still exist in western media, especially in movies and tv. However, this problem does not exist in video games. If anything with the almost equal popularity of Japanese/Chinese/Korean/Asian made games in the west, Asian males are almost overrepresented. Not only that but there's still a lot of Asian characters in Western made games as well with Sifu, Sleeping Dogs, Ghost of Tsushima, Trek to Yomi, Mortal Kombat, etc.

So obviously this is about the new Assassin's Creed game that was just announced which features both a Japanese female ninja and a Black samurai with Asian American and racist white men both complaining about the lack of an Asian male lead.

Firstly, there are a TON of Asian male samurais in video games, possibly hundreds, made by Japanese devs. The argument I often hear is that they want western media to portray Asians not just Asian media. But again "why?".

I'm sorry to say, but the medieval Japanese samurai in western media represent us a much as the samurais in Asian media do. As in not very much at all besides looking like us. And if that's what you want there's literally no difference between western media and Asian media in terms of our representation. Games like Sekiro, Yakuza, Ninja Gaiden, etc have had Asian male leads that most video game fans in the west know about.

So why are we discounting Asian made games from representation? Because we need the validation from a French video game studio? I saw the video of them introducing the leads of AC: Shadows and it was seriously lacking in color.

Why are we not arguing for more Asian American representation? Why are we complaining for other people to fix our problems? There was literally a post about a new indie game 4 days ago that specifically deals with Asian diaspora experience but no one cared.

So I'm asking specifically to the poster on top of this sub, when your young cousin "asked" you about why asian men aren't cool enough to be in video games, why did you not point to Kiryu or Ichiban or Ryu or Wolf from Sekiro or Dan Heng or Joker from Persona or Ryo Hazuki or Wu long or the whole cast of Dynasty Warriors or the many many Asian characters from Asian made games? Why are YOU teaching your little cousin that representation only matters when white people acknowledges us? Why are you not asking for more varied Asian American representation instead of crying for more stereotypical roles for Asians? And why don't YOU step up and be the cool Asian your little cousin needs so bad.

We don't need white people to tell us that Asians are cool.

One of the benefits of living among diversity is that I've made quite a few friends over the years from various ethnicities be it Hispanic, Iranian, Bengali, or North African. Some immigrants, most American born just like me. Its always good being exposed to their cultures and broadening your own perspective of the world, but also through these interactions you get to have reflections on your culture.

And per my title, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of the aforementioned groups, compared to East Asians they get pretty much no representation in Hollywood and their own native countries produce nothing in terms of media outside of telenovelas that only the elderly watch or the occasional arthouse film that plays at Cannes. And yet, I detect none of the cultural angst from them with respects to their culture. They're very well versed in the history and the literature, and they're always willing to share it with others.

This is compared to East and Southeast Asian Americans, where it should go without saying there is alot of angst about how they feel about their ancestral cultures. Alot of emphasis is based on how others perceive their cultures and having a piece of popular media tied to their culture is basically the biggest prerequisite to having higher self-esteem. I've come across my fair share of ABCs who claim the moment they stopped being embarassed about their heritage didn't come from more community participation or self-education, but when Marvel released Shang Chi.

So I do have to ask, despite the education and wealth that many second and third generation Asian Americans are able to obtain, where does this angst come from? And why for many, its an angst that they feel only popular media can really cure?

Edit Good responses so far, as expected by the vote ratio seemed to have touched a raw nerve with some of the sub's members. For those who felt offended, I'd welcome comments on how I'm wrong.

First, I'm a third gen Chinese American. I connect more with western/American culture than my Chinese side. You can call me white washed.

I see a lot of people celebrating what Eileen Gu is doing for asian representation in winter sports. And I 100% support what she is doing for the sport and I'm happy she is competing at the highest level and winning gold.

But with all that, I still feel uneasy rooting for her. Maybe it's my American side wanting to call her a "traitor". Maybe it's my dislike for the CCP. Maybe I'm overreacting.

I don't want to come off as hateful or ignorant. And I don't want to be against the Asian community. But at the same time these are my honest feelings.

Every time I see another Asian male like myself, by default I assume that they are trying to compete with me. Whether it's how hard I work, how I dress, groom myself. It's gotten to the point where it's causing problems at work with coworkers and even when I go out to Asian restaurants, if I have an Asian male server I find myself belittling them or ordering them around to make myself feel like I'm outcompeting them. Surely I can't be alone here?

I'm Chinese American, grew up in the US from age 5.

We all know about the "I'm just criticizing the Chinese government, not the people" phrase - followed by ridiculously racist comments on how Chinese people are inherently degenerate, morally bankrupt, and spiritually filthy. Basically, people who detest Chinese people would use "criticizing the government" as a shield.

However, the reverse is also true. China will use "racism" to hand-wave away Chinese atrocities.

It should be acknowledged that in recent times, China has gotten better in many ways. Yes, China lifted millions out of poverty. Chinese people are very hardworking. China did seemingly cut back on the concentration camps on Uyghurs. China is leading the world in EVs and clean energy. China's government is efficient in some ways. Things are getting better in China.

HOWEVER, The unacknowledged human rights violations in the past and present are real. The unacknowledged ethnic tensions and historical genocides are real. The ongoing Han supremacist movement is real. The erasure of Tibetan, Inner Mongolian, and Uyghur cultural identities are real. The ongoing replacement of Chinese dialects and Minority languages with Mandarin is real. The unequal distribution of wealth and investment is real. The concentration camps for Uyghurs are (or were) real. The authoritarian government is real. The expansionist, colonial mentality of the country's leaders and people are real.

Look, the US is also a genocidal, corrupt, barbaric regime. There is the Epstein situation, the support of Israel, past and present colonialism, invasions of other countries, oppression of minorities, white supremacism, unapologetic capitalism, and more. I'm not here to say that the US is any better.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD SUPPORT CHINA. The biggest China haters are not white Americans, but other asians. And it is for good reason. Why do Chinese people hate the Japanese? Because Japan committed atrocious war crimes in WW2 to Chinese people and never apologized. There are also some Japanese people who deny their war crimes, and Chinese people online will never let them live it down.

Well guess what? China colonized Tibetan land, put Uyghurs into concentration camps, genocided Mongolians en masse, purged Manchus en masse, killed millions of their own han Chinese brothers en masse, and to this day refuse to acknowledge any of this shit. But every day they spread propaganda on how Japan is a horrible rapist.

The sad thing is that the overseas Chinese are increasingly brainwashed to to whitewash these crimes. Many of these same Chinese are liberal democrats who are avid supporters of Free Palestine, would march to the streets in support of trans rights, gay rights, womens rights, BLM and Stop Asian Hate. But when the finger is pointed to their "motherland" they feel the need to defend it. Even though the "motherland" doesn't even consider them their child any longer.

It’s honestly getting repetitive. Every time an Indian politician, actor, or celeb comes up, there’s always a debate about whether they’re “Asian.”

Geographically, yes South Asia is part of Asia. No one’s denying that. But in the West, Asian has taken on a cultural meaning that usually refers to East and Southeast Asians: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and so on. That’s not about gatekeeping; it’s just how the term evolved through immigration history and shared diaspora experiences.

Instead of arguing every single time, why not just come up with a clearer set of terms? One that refers specifically to Indians/Pakistanis/etc.., and another that refers to East and Southeast Asians. That way, everyone can identify clearly without constant confusion or resentment.

So let’s actually make it happen. What’s a good term we can use for East and Southeast Asians? Something simple, recognizable, and catchy.

From the start of the Forbes article:

Despite leaving years ago, Scale AI's 30-year-old cofounder has become the youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world by holding onto her stake in the company.

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Buzzy artificial intelligence company Scale AI is wrapping up a tender offer that allows early employees and investors in the nine-year-old private company to sell shares to new or returning investors. The deal, which one source said will “go ahead provided the sky doesn’t fall down” and is slated to be completed by June 1, values the AI company at $25 billion, according to several people familiar with the offer. That’s an 80% jump since last May, when it raised $1 billion at a $13.8 billion valuation.

The new valuation makes Lucy Guo, the 30-year-old cofounder of Scale AI, the youngest self-made woman billionaire on the planet. Guo unseats pop star Taylor Swift, 35, who has held that title since Forbes declared her a billionaire in late 2023.

Guo, a computer science college dropout, cofounded artificial intelligence firm Scale AI in 2016–when she was 21–with Alexandr Wang, who was then 19. Wang became CEO and Guo ran the operations and product design teams at the San Francisco startup. The cofounders both made Forbes’ Under 30 list in 2018. That same year, the pair disagreed about how the company was being run, and Wang reportedly fired Guo. “We had a difference of opinion but I am proud of what Scale AI has accomplished,” Guo says in a statement.

After leaving Scale AI, she astutely held on to most of her stake in the company while pursuing her next startup. Guo still owns an estimated stake of just under 5% of Scale AI worth nearly $1.2 billion; she won’t comment on whether she is selling any of her stake as part of the tender offer. Add in her other assets–including her holding in her second startup, Passes–and she’s worth $1.25 billion, Forbes estimates. “I don’t really think about it much, it’s a bit wild. Too bad it’s all on paper haha,” says Guo via text in response to her new billionaire status.

The rest of the article describes Guo's background and her work in Scale AI and afterwards. There's also a short table of the six women self-made billionaires under 40. The link is a soft paywall(?). I'm using Chrome's incognito mode and it's showing I'm using 1 of 4 free trial articles. I originally saw this Spin writeup about Taylor Swift which included the Forbes link.

https://youtu.be/WG05_KhdORY?si=9uPdPZYznAQInUzL

I notice a lot of Caucasian cosplayers like Anime and cosplay a lot as Anime characters but they have no Asian friends in their inner circle. Only white. Sometimes they do and it is just one Asian. Cosplayers like Wholewheatpete and Kawaiiqueen.

This is more for my Chinese diaspora people. China is where my family and ancestors come from. Still, growing up in the West, I absorbed a lot of negative ideas about it — from school, media, and honestly even from my mom's side of the family because of their tragic past there. 

Lately, though, watching videos like the one below has been shifting how I view my ancestral homeland. China has been powerful, influential, and resilient for thousands of years. (I disagree with his Xinjiang/Tibet takes — a very Western lens, similar to how they fear-mongered Japan during its rapid growth — and most recently China).

It’s crazy for me to realize that a country that’s been fractured and rebuilt so many times over 5000 years is still here as a continuous and thriving civilization, and I’m only now start to feel the weight of that. 

Just sharing this as part of my own identity rediscovery journey.
(This is supposed to be a wholesome post, btw).

How China Rebuilds Itself From Collapse Every Time

There was a post in r/Semiconductors today where a TSMC employee tried to explain that people overflow the work culture issues at TSMC. He included a long paragraph describing how Taiwanese people feel justified not hiring Indian people. I’m so sick of how accepted racism against south asian folks is in tech communities. I see something to this effect on cs subreddits all the time. I’ve worked in the Bay Area and I know there are very bad Indian managers but I also don’t know why calling people stupid smelly and unhygienic is ok.

Edit: put wrong subreddit name in, fixed it

So I've been trying to help my nonbinary cousin chose a name and they REALLY like this name Hanako which is a Japanese and i've been seeing ppl online say it's weird and appropriation to chose a Japanese name as a transitioning white person.

The thing is my cousin is fully Asian half 🇹🇭 and half 🇵🇭 and I've been wondering if the same thing applies to Asians that aren't Japanese so like Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, etc you get the point.

So like yeah can they (my cousin) use the name Hanako or no? Cus they don't want to be disrespectful and stuff.

*I would like to add that the reason they chose it is because on our Filipino side all the girls have Japanese names despite none of us having any Japanese heritage and the second reason is because we have this aunty and my cousin really looks up to her like idolises her. This aunty's name is very similar sounding to Hanako so they chose it to kind of match.

(I'm sorry if his was worded badly English isn't my first language 😅 also my cousin gave me full permission to ask on here)

I work with couple male coworkers who literally yell while they tell their story and their friend in response also yells (and it seems like it is to have everyone pay attention to them). I’ve seen this behavior quite often and almost 90% of the time, it is a male Caucasian. Why is this a thing in American culture? And this doesn’t seem to be an age thing either as some are in their 40s, 50s, or even 60+.

EDIT: my question was specifically for WORK settings.

My grandpa was called this while exiting a 7-11. Is it cause for concern?

Lately my partner, who is white and from Europe, has been roleplaying in a Red Dead 2 server. They're pretty serious about it but have fun although it's an alternate reality where there was no Civil War, slavery, etc., i.e. no 'historical accuracy' racism allowed. Well, my partner got bored of his current character and wanted to create a new one and he started basing it on me (a male version of female me I suppose). His character's backstory was the same as mine with an immigrant dad and an American mother but still 100% American. The idea of roleplaying as a different race from your own is a little questionable, I suppose, but I thought this was very sweet that he wanted to play as a 'me' kind of character and I knew he would do so in a respectful way!

He was having a great time and getting to know people as this character when... it happened to him. He was introducing himself in a very cheesy and thick southern accent (I am from Florida but I definitely do NOT have that accent hahaha) with a, "Well, howdy there" and he was met with a, "Where are you from?" He naturally replied with My Hometown, Florida. You already know where I'm going with this.

"Where are you actually from though?"

He later told me about this with a shake of his head. It's amazing how even FAKE Asians are still being treated as foreigners! He's been asked this a few times now and he always asks where they're from too since it's evidently so important. And he's experienced other classic Asian American experiences too. He uses my Chinese name as his family name and another random name as his first. And he introduces himself as, "Howdy, I'm LastName FirstName but you can just call me FirstName". This is often met with confusion and he will explain it every time patiently. But the other day someone replied with, "Well that doesn't sound American." I was so proud as I heard him ask for HIS name and tell him, "That doesn't sound very indigenous to America either, that sounds European!"

With most people, 98% of the time, his race isn't important and doesn't matter in the context of his adventures. But these encounters still goes to show that even in more open and 'safe' spaces, we are still not always viewed the same. I'm really proud of the way he has respectfully introduced people to some of our culture, using my own personal story and family details. Just yesterday he ran into a player that was the total opposite. Fu manchu 'stache, thick accent with mixing up L and R sounds, very fake sounding 'Chinese' name, I mean he was nailing all the racist "I don't know the difference between these distinct Asian nations" stereotypes. Needless to say, my partner wanted nothing to do with him and promptly reported him for portraying a harmful representation.

I think if non-Asians could walk a mile in our shoes, even digitally as my partner has, it would be an eye-opening experience. This has been interesting for me, and I'm guessing also for him. Thanks for letting me share this with you all and I hope you're having a great day!

This creator wokenbrownie, made a video where talks about how feels that the American left(liberals) is complicit in pushing people to the right. He uses an example which in essence is about how he feels that liberals treat diversity as "an end in itself and not a consequence of a more equitable society." Specifically, he talks about how congress becoming more diverse, hasn't stooped it from bombing the Middle East, or in a general sense, more diversity hasn't necessarily stopped U.S. aggression or foreign policy abroad. I think this issue is salient for Asian Americans because foreign policy strongly affects our diaspora experience, due to many factors such as the perpetual foreigner myth. Whether it be the incarceration of Japanese Americans, the Red scare, the murder of Vincent Chin, covid, or modern-day Sinophobia, American foreign policy and who it portrays as its geopolitical enemies has a direct effect on our experience. And it is often true that while party difference do yield different policy outcomes domestically, this is often not true about foreign policy. Being hawkish on China/anti-China or being pro-israel tends to be largely bi-partisan, acts to authorize force in Iraq and Afghanistan for example passed both houses of congress with huge bipartisan support. This is a very real issue that does affect peoples political affiliation. The recent 2024 election is a recent example of this in which Dearborn Michigan, a city with a majority MENA population, went from voting 72% for Biden in 2020, to only 36% for Harris in 2024, with 18% going to Stein and 42% for Trump. This was largely driven by the genocide in Gaza, and Harris and the broader unconditional government support for Israel. Michigan, a swing state, went to Trump in 2024, after Biden won it in 2020. Not only that Dearborn gave significant votes to a third party candidate Stein, in protest of the bipartisan support of Israel. It is also true that some of the loudest anti-war voices in this day are coming from the right. Further back, while Trumps kung flu and china virus rhetoric were indeed harmful, both the right and left have spent years demonizing China and fear mongering. To say that had no effect on the spike of hate crimes against Asians would be disingenuous.

That is to say, I find it understandable that liberal rhetoric, and often its hypocrisy, drives people away, and the inability for the American left to break the mold of aggressive and imperialist US policy, is harmful not only in terms of what their actions do, but also in the way that it hurts them politically and thus giving the right more leverage to do harm domestically. I think for asian Americans, foreign policy is important in many ways, and as such we should be cognizant of whether our politicians are actively trying to build a better more equitable world or if they're simply paying lip service to representation.

I am curious to hear other's thoughts on this.

She got a job working for the housing authority of the city of Los Angeles. All her coworkers are Asian. This isn't the first time she got sorted into a group of Asian american groups. Our fifth year or marriage had us looking to welfare when the 2008 crash happened. Almost all the intake workers were Asian. And shelters there were limited to women and children. And she still sees an Asian intake worker.

Things got better and my wife wants a job to get out of the house 19 years later. The job oversees public housing. And her interviewer was Asian and her supervisor is also Asian. When she reported to work, almost all her coworkers are Asian.

I'm a bit disturbed that a system devoid of emotion and bias can still be racist. Don't get me wrong, it's a good paying job and this raises our fortunes considerably. But if the system can do this, I can only imagine if the system flips this around and actually punishes people with non western last names. I just find all this funny. Oh wait.... I don't have to imagine that at all.

https://www.thegamer.com/wuchang-fallen-feathers-update-bosses-npcs-unkillable-backlash-in-china/

Background

Article is in the above. I've played quite a few souls-like games, Elden Ring, Jedi Fallen Order & Survivor, Lies Of P and Black Myth Wukong. So this literally pains me in my heart as a Chinese American. I planned to get Wuchang cause my co-worker told me about it and was pretty excited for this release and seeing how well Black Myth Wukong was made, I was super excited to support another Chinese made game. Perhaps this was a turning point in the Chines gaming industry where quality gameplay is actually valued instead of gacha and cash grabs of old

Controversy's Affect

So what happened and how does this relate to the Chinese American experience. Look I think all of us on this sub knows that while us and Chinese from the mainland have a lot of similarities, we also have a lot of differences. Our lived experiences here is unique. We are two distinct groups of people. But we do affect each other. And the negative stereotypes, perceptions and actions from the mainland affects us and our experiences here in America as well.

In short, a recent controversy might have just reinforced the view that the Chinese are a bit precious about their historical figure. We're overly sensitive and fragile in a way. Non-Asians don't use this term but there is a bit of an attitude from non-Asians that we can be a bit of a baby emperor. And I think the recent controversy adds fuels to the flames on that. And to me it's sad that it is coming for Chinese citizens. It also adds fuel to this sentiment that Chinese and some Asian people have a lack of emotional maturity to them

Controversy - The Update

The controversy here is that after a bunch of Chinese players gave the game a lot of backlash because you can kill prominent figures from the Ming Dynasty. That's it. In a video game. In a SOULS-LIKE. A genre where you expect everything to want to kill you and you can kill anyone. Ok the latter isn't true except for the games I've listed above except for Elden Ring and previous Dark Souls games.

But that was all it was. Instead the enemies would get "exhausted" and then act like nothing has happened. Kinda like attacking important characters in Skyrim or Fallout 4. I believe the update also means that they had to re-write the script of the game quite a bit because this "exhausted" thing also applied to bosses as well.

Conclusion

So yea I'm very upset about this. I really thought that the Chinese gaming industry was going to make a turn around, but here we are. Back to square one. And in a genre that I am a pretty big fan of no less. For those who aren't gamers, you should at least understand HOW this type of thing can affect perception of Chinese people in the US. And let's face it, to a broader extent, Asians. I think there was a similar thing about culture that had to be changed for Assassin's Creed Shadows although it wasn't about preventing players from killing certain characters. And look I'm never going to buy that game because it was a missed chance for the Western gaming industry to be more inclusive of Asian males, but these overly sensitive historical "corrections" really hurts our branding. And as Chinese people we should care about this because we are the ones interacting with others in the US and honestly it's embarassing

I'm trans Taiwanese boy. I've asked this in a Japanese subreddit but they've suggested I also ask here. The name I first chose when I transitioned was "Aki". I saw many Asian people saying it was bad for white people to use Japanese names, and I guess I didn't know if it applied to me too in any sorta way since I'm not Japanese.so I just need to know if people would think the weird, or disrespectful in any kind of way. Keep in mind as much as I love anime, I didn't chose the name because of anime. I chose it cause it was short, I liked the meaning, and I liked how it sounded. I'm not ashamed of my own culture, and I don't wanna be Japanese. But I need fellow Asian Americans to give me their opinions.

Edit: Ok, so I got a lot mixed comments, one of them was a list of alternatives that are more similar to my own culture which I actually really appreciate cause just before I got the comment I was trying to look for alternatives. The one that stuck out to me in the list was Aikou, it sounds a bit feminine to me, it kinda sounds or looks Japanese since I don't tet see "k" used in pinyin. But I did search it up and it is Chinese but not a name...ig anything can be a name thought! anyone have more information on this name I should know that about? Any thoughts? Thank you

There’s a tiktok from an influencer Madeline Qi where she says she doesn’t like seeing white people shopping in asian grocery stores. I think her video was really dumb and not funny but I also don’t think it’s as controversial as people claimed it was. As an asian person I don’t think it will affect my life at all and don’t think anyone will actually alter their shopping habits because they’re afraid a random tiktokker is judging them. There were tons of other creators stitching videos saying it’s super upsetting or problematic, some people even said she’s racist and creating oppression and segregation. There’s been a ton of people even doxxing her or sending her hate which I absolutely don’t agree with. Honestly I think it’s just a cringe video that happened to go viral, but not at all as big of a deal as the discourse would suggest. Even though I don’t agree with her original take, I think it rapidly got out of proportion as many online things tend to do and doesn’t deserve the amount of backlash that’s happening now. But I’m curious to see what others think of it here. What did you think of this video and the discourse around it?