writing east asian characters
as a half east asian person, asian representaion is important to me, and iâm sure it is to all the other asians out there. but incorrect representation is far worse than no representation at all, so here are a few guidelines and things to keep in mind when writing an asian character. Â
things to keep in mind when naming:
please donât make up names that âsound asianâ. well known offender: cho chang from harry potter. hearing people mock me when i speak in my asian language by saying âching chong changâ is bad enough, but making us asians read/hear about a character whose name is a constant reminder of that ignorance and racism really, really bothers me.
if the character was born in a different country, our first names arenât always native to our language/country. we may or may not have a traditionally english name. a great example of this used correctly is ethan nakamura, from the percy jackson series.
coming up with a last name is not difficult - at all. just google âcommon (insert country/ethnicity) last namesâ and theyâll come up. use this for other ethnicities/races too!
this is really just common sense but donât give a traditionally korean name to a japanese character, vietnamese name to a chinese character etc. (unless they are multiple ethnicities).
guidelines for physical descriptions:
pleaseâŠdonât say they have slanted eyes. just donât.
our skin isnât yellow. we arenât lemons. also, the asian race incorporates not just east asians but also filipinos and other much darker skinned people.
many east asians have straight, thick black hair. but again, even within the asian race we are diverse, so this isnât always true.
of course, if your asian character is being faced with racism, you can have the racist character make fun of their eyes or skin. some asians make fun of themselves, but make sure you check w multiple asians to see if this joke is ok.
writing personalities, characteristics, quirks, etc.
east asians can have any personality, just like any black, white, or hispanic character. they can be mean, they can be nice. just make sure that if you only have one asian character, they arenât shown as a villain. if you have multiple asians on both the âgoodâ and âbadâ sides, thatâs perfectly ok.
stereotypes can definitely affect your character. be concious of them.
peopleâs personalities and quirks are shaped by their parents/how they were raised. an asian kid adopted by white parents is not going to act the same way or entirely fit in with other asians raised by asian parents. their cultures (or their parents cultures) will affect them. Â
asians can be racist to other asians. in the past, koreans and japanese do not get along, and that has really showed in the japanese side of my family. my mother is quick to stereotype koreans she sees, but she does have korean friends she gets along with. racism among asians exists, and itâs not always black and white. rasicm also exists against other races; iâve heard of an asian daughter who wasnât allowed by her parents to marry a black man.
asians can have friends of multiple races/ethnicities
not all asians know their respective languages. some only know a little, some are completely fluent.
east asians donât know everything about other east asian cultures, and can still accidentally insult other cultures. each culture is very different, so do your research on each one.
universal east asian culture things: 1) no shoes in the house. 2) do well in school. 3) strict rules on cleanliness, going out, friendships, relationships, and curfew. 4) mothers always wear slippers for some reason. 5) attacking insolent children with said slippers.
religion is also varied. usually itâs either christianity or buddhism, although there are of course, exceptions. the native japanese religion is shinto.
taiwan was recently the first country to legalize gay marriage, which is good news, but that also means that many asian countries are against it or donât fully support gayness. not all asians are like this! but itâs common for asian parents to be less understanding of this kind of stuff so keep that in mind if your asian character is going to be gay.
stereotypes and their affects
asians are smart. this one probably came around because many asian parents are very strict when it comes to their childâs education, but strictness doesnât equal understanding a subject you just donât get. this stereotype is usually detrimental to asians because people expect too much of them. if they do well, itâs expected and less people congratulate them. if they donât, theyâre shamed for it more.
asians are bad drivers. this one doesnât affect asians as badly as the smart stereotype, but itâs still insulting.
asians all look alike. again, this one isnât really that bad, just very annoying. yeah, some of us look similar, but a lot of us are very different. i was once compared to a guy who was fully vietnamese, whose skin must have been at least ten shades darker, with black hair and was on the chubby side. iâm japanese, half white, with brown hair, and definitely thinner than him. if i genuinely look like the person youâre comparing me to, itâs not a problem, but itâs definitely offensive when weâre very different types of asian. we are all different and unique, and itâs important that people respect that.Â
itâs important to remember that not all of the things i said are always true - there are always exceptions. iâve probably missed a lot of things. i also donât pretend to know about every different kind of east asian. so if you have anything to add, feel free, and if you have any questions about how to portray an asian, ask someone of that ethnicity!
itâs okay if you didnât realize that you belived in a stereotype or that you might have said something offensive once, as long as you learn from it and donât do it again in the future. i hope non-east asians learned something from this post. good luck writing your asian characters! heck yea representation
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