Chinese Canadian (Part 1)
Chinese Canadian, Part 1/3
So we begin! Since I was asked (years ago atp) this question about the intersection of my identity as Chinese Diaspora with my orientation, I realized there was a LOT going on there - and as a person who loves to think too much about aromanticism 🐸🐸🐸 I’ve been really excited about sharing this series!!!
But yeah, I did want to say I recognize that there are weird undertones to some of my parents behaviours - even if I would be considered lucky for not having harsh “tiger” parents 😅 Please don’t take this portrayal as me saying I think this is better, or the comments on slide 5 are okay … this is just the reality of my life, it did shape my relationship with my culture, **and I want to depict it as honestly as possible 🤷🏻
To end off on a lighter (?) note: Yes, the Updates being alluded to previously. I am not actually a girl sorry about that y’all. I will talk more about this once I’m done posting this batch of comics but for the time being just go with whatever’s in my bio, don’t worry about it 😉
I’m curious, for all my other aro folk (and I guess not aro queer people if you’re reading this?) how do you feel your cultural background intersected with your identity, if at all?
[Image Descriptions:
Cover: An image of Celia, wearing a rich teal-green Qi Pao dress with golden yellow accents. Her hair is held in a half up style, with a traditional chinese hairpin featuring an orange chrysanthemum pinned in her ponytail. She is also wearing jade earrings and has a warm red ochre eyeliner, and a white ring on her right middle finger.
She holds a red and yellow fan up to her chest as she stands diagonally on an angle on the cover. Bold red lettering falls on either side of her body in both English and Chinese. One side says “Chinese” in both languages, while the other says “Canadian”. The entire cover is framed within golden Chinese style decorative borders.
Slide 1: Celia speaks directly to the reader, “I put, in my very first comic, that I am Chinese Canadian, on top of being gray-aromantic and a girl.”
There is an asterisk next to the word girl. A small note in the corner reads: “So … funny story I’m not a girl actually but my point still stands.”
Slide 2: A split panel shows her looking off to the side, then back up to the reader as she continues speaking.
“I don’t know what everyone else thinks when they read those two words together - and to be honest, I don’t know what I think when I remember I’m Chinese, either.”
Slide 3: “The thing is, I’m not really that connected to Chinese culture (or even share a similar experience to other descendants of Chinese immigrants in North America).”
She sits on the floor, surrounded by a plethora of culturally relevant objects from her childhood. These include the following:
A calendar with an illustration of a rabbit in a traditional art style, representative of the Chinese Zodiac calendars often given out at Lunar New Year at Chinese grocery stores.
A bottle of “Florida Water” cologne, tiger balm, and eagle oil
A clay pot and rabbit sculpture
A comb, a traditional Qi Pao, and vintage purses
A Chinese calligraphy practice sheet, ink block, and brush
Slide 4: “My mother had always hated Chinese culture (due to the fact she was bullied a lot for being outspoken and independent when she grew up), so she kept me away from it as a child.”
The shot switches to a scene from Celia’s childhood. A young version of Celia is guided by her mother (whose face is not visible in the panel) away from a group of people talking in front of a chalkboard at Chinese school.
She says to her child: “They’re judgemental, shallow, and will stab you in the back in the nastiest way possible - I’m doing you a favour here.”
Slide 5: A continued montage of scenes from childhood split into multiple panels.
The first panel’s narration says: “My parents don’t have a lot of expectations for me, they definitely never cared if I did well in school. “
The scene shows the child version of Celia holding a report card to her parents. She says ‘I got mostly A’s and B’s but I only got a C in Social Studies’. Her mom looks vaguely unimpressed, and says ‘Cool, thanks for telling us. That’s okay, but you could do better … pay more attention in class next time.’ Her dad just says ‘eh’.
The second panel’s narration says: “They never forced me to do any extracurriculars or sports.”
The scene shows Celia reading on the bed. Off screen, a parent says ‘you really should participate in more activities, it doesn’t even have to be sports’. She says ‘I don’t want to’, and the parent just responds ‘ok, if you absolutely won’t …”
The third panel’s narration says “They never wanted to show off my achievements either.”
The scene shows a teen version of Celia holding up a card, saying ‘Mama, baba, I have a 95 average! And I’m the head of [redacted] now!]. A parent off screen responds ‘That’s a lot, we wish you wouldn’t push yourself this much’, to which they reply ‘oh…’
Slide 6: The shot jumps back to the current Celia, who is speaking at the reader again with an incredulous expression. She says, “They even strongly encouraged me to find a boyfriend in highschool for, and I quote, ‘experience’,” while making air quotes with her hands.
Slide 7: Celia continues, holding a finger up to her face while she ponders.
“So when asked to cover “Traditional Asian Thoughts” and how they affected my identity … I almost wanted to say I’m not qualified to talk about it.”
Slide 8: She says, “But after thinking about it some more, I realized that even though I personally haven’t been subjected to a lot of the stereotypical traditional East Asian beliefs from my family or community -”
An asterisk is put next to the “East Asian Beliefs”. A small note in the corner reads “To clarify, I’m not even 100% sure if I know what they exactly are. I’m really removed from East Asian diaspora culture and I don’t have many East Asian friends who are actually in touch with their culture.”
Slide 9: “It still affects how other people see me, and by extension, my aromanticism.”
An abstracted scene of Celia from the behind shows her staring out at a sea of blank faces staring back downwards at her. ]
