ok so this has been bothering me for like the longest time so sit down and please stop appropriating japanese culture. u may not realize ur doing it, so just take a second to listen. if any other japanese wanna add on to this post, feel free to do so. if u are not japanese, please do not try to defend ur ignorance or racism, rather listen and change ur behavior.
stop saying the word “jap” as a substitute for japanese. jap is a racial slur that was popularized in america after pearl harbor and all through the japanese internment. it’s not a shortened version of the word japanese like brits are to british. we are japanese, not japs.
acknowledge japanese imperialism. do not defend it. what the japanese did in ww2 was horrible, so make sure u know about it and use that knowledge to think critically about any japanese media u may consume.
stop japancore. japan is a country with a deep culture. my culture is not ur aesthetic.
on the same note of japancore, do not use shinto shrines as part of ur moodbaord. that is a religion still practiced to this day in japan. it’s not ur aesthetic. also realize that shintoism has been used as means to empower the emperor during japanese imperialism in ww2. they forced people into that religion and locked up those who didn’t comply. (it’s ok if u practice it ofc, just research and know what u are following)
again with moodboards, this is slightly more forgivable, but please don’t use japanese language for ur aesthetic. while i encourage anyone who wants to learn it to try and learn it, it’s not there for ur aesthetic. i can explain more on this if anyone would like, but i’ll just leave it at that for now.
do not self id as a weeb. being a weeb is incredibly harmful, as it dismisses many of the horrible things japan has done to asia. please read this post for more (i agree with the original post of this, but not with the op’s response. i added it here because i wanted to use it as means for thinking critically about it).
please do not support hetalia or aot. hetalia sort of glorifies japanese imperialism as well as nazism and makes it into this cutesy lil thing that makes u go “awww 🥰” at ww2. aot has antisemitic themes within it and again glorifies japanese imperialism.
if u are going thru with a name change, do not choose a japanese name that u found online after a google search. names in japan are more than just names, there’s a whole process that involves it that is dependent on ur time of birth as well as stroke count for the written name. additionally, it further appropriates the culture when a non japanese person uses a japanese name simply bc they found it cute. this also applies to online aliases. a name from ur own culture or language is good enough.
do not fetishize us. this goes for every culture and race but just stop. we are not “babies” and we are not here for ur entertainment. we are people too.
do not say “i wish i was japanese.” don’t say that for any culture at all unless u are also prepared to face the years of oppression and racism that comes with it.
do not say we have privilege simply because japanese tend to have lighter skin to other poc. this can be said about many east asians countries as well. asia isn’t just pale skin, it comes in a multitude of shades as well as cultures from other countries. we do not have privilege because we do not benefit from the system like white people do.
i’m just done with racism going unnoticed because of ignorance. if u did/do any of these things, whatever. just realize how ur behavior has added to japanese racism and learn from it. further, please help stop anti-asian violence. i live near where an attack was done to an elder. please use these links to help asian lives.
post with resources, petitions, and donation links
news source about anti-asian crimes within recent times
twitter post about anti-asian hate crime with graphics
a post about comparing blm and protect asian lives and why it’s harmful to both movements
google doc with a full list of many resources on aapi
romaincrisis
origamiaround
gummygunk
jbbartram-illu
theartofmadeline
2087
