I was adopted at birth (open adoption by a white couple) and at first I didn’t know much about the Samoan half of my heritage because we never lived in an area with any kind of Pacific Islander population.
The adoption by the white family posed a rather unique challenge because I grew up within that culture and act more “white.” My knowledge of my Samoan culture is purely academic but I am meeting more people since finally moving to an ethnically diverse city. Read More
Being Hapa is a blessing in so many ways.
No matter where I’ve lived in the world, there is always a question as to my background.
I am a conversation starter as I do not fit into a box or stereotype, and I’m grateful.
There have been times where I’ve faced racism and had to define who I am or prove my worth, but for the most part, Hapa identity is more visible and accepted than when I was younger. Read More
I absolutely love being Hapa!
I am half Japanese, half Caucasian and my dad’s parents are from Britain. My mom’s dad grew up in Hawaii even though he is Japanese and married a Japanese woman in Japan.
It is true though, growing up I hardly knew who to identify with, as I could never call myself Asian and my friends have always been a mix of races, while I wish in a way there was a group of Hapas I could just, be like, hey I’m Hapa let’s be friends! As Chinese people can easily make friends with Chinese, or Indians, make friends with Indians, or as in my boyfriend’s case, Russians make friends with Russians!
Like every child, I observed around me trying to find people that looked like me.
I think we all want to find someone that has some kind of traits or looks that remind us of ourselves.
We all do this as children to come to terms with ‘what we are’ and try to identify with our race and heritage. I remember doing this but never really finding anyone like me.
Since a young age I’ve always felt alienated but never really knew how to express it. It’s not so easy to express how you feel about your race when you’re surrounded by only two opposite sides of the spectrum. Caucasian and Asian.
I grew up in a place that is full of diversity and culture. Sadly, I always felt out of place.
Even among my group of friends that are all Asian, sometimes I would get side remarks of being a “whitey.” It didn’t seem to make sense much considering that I am only ¼ Caucasian.
My mother is Caucasian Vietnamese, and my father is Chinese Vietnamese. Amazingly enough I was able to pull my mother’s strong features. My mother embraced her Vietnamese heritage, and had denied her Caucasian side. Read More
Hello I’m Genevieve, but I go by Gigi.
My mother is Italian, German, Irish, French and British while my father is half Japanese from my grandmother, and Hawaiian-Irish from my grandfather.
My mother has green eyes and blonde hair while my father has black hair and eyes. Both of my parents are under 5 foot 4 so its not surprise I’m about 2 inches over the 5 feet mark.
I was born in Texas and raised in Missouri. Growing up, people always assumed I was a part of their race/culture. And by people I mean everyone, I mean everyone.
This got particularly anoying when I had to fill in the little ethnicity box on standardized tests and had to leave it blank. It’s a lot like leaving a part of your identity blank, in a way. Read More
“My mom is Korean and my father is American.” That’s usually what I say when I’m asked, “What are you?”
I grew up in Orem, Utah. It was hard to find anyone in my neighborhood who wasn’t white. I was teased a lot in school when I was little for being “Chinese.” My dad always said, “Be like a duck. When water falls on a duck’s feathers it just rolls right off. Don’t let it get to you, let it roll off.”
Since I’ve grown up in the United States, I mostly identify with being an American more than being a Korean. It was only until after I married my blonde hair, blue eyed husband from Montana that I realized many of my traits and behaviors are considered more “Korean.” Sometimes, it feels like there is a part of me missing, or a part of me that I don’t fully understand since I haven’t really spent that much time in Korea.
It’s can also be frustrating, because I feel as though I am stuck between these two worlds. I can’t fully connect with my American side, but I can’t fully connect with my Korean side either. That’s why I appreciate reading about other Hapas and their experiences and pride.
I am a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian 17-year-old bound for college next fall. My struggle to categorize myself ethnically has been similar to that of many other mixed-race people.
Every day, we are constantly reminded of being different- whether it’s by the not-so-subtle double-takes on the train, or by those little boxes on applications that ask for your racial background, which rarely have “mixed.”
Our scarcity makes it difficult to connect to ethnic groups, and our surroundings more or less determine our cultural identification.
Yet as hard as it is to identify with both heritages, and as hard as it is to reach a feeling of ‘belonging,’ I’ve recently understood that being a part of America’s smallest and overlooked minorities is, for lack of better words, special.
I’m glad to finally understand that even though I belong to two radically different cultures, I’m not alone.
Born in NY, raised in Japan.I’m a classical musician residing in San Francisco. I am currently composing for a film called “HAFU” which is about the experiences of mixed-Japanese people. Updates on the movie can be seen and heard on www.hafufilm.com and www.wintonwhite.com.
For most of my life I never fit in; from being picked on by the Japanese neighbor’s kids to having mostly white friends in college. I was the token “hafu” kid (or “hapa” in America). I’m a very social person that gets along with a variety of people of all walks, but I have never fit into a mold. Although I like being different, naturally as human beings do, I still would like to fit-in to an extent…or I should say, be accepted. Read More
