as a half asian person, asian representaion is important to me, and i’m 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.
things to keep in mind when naming:
please don’t make up names that “sound asian”. well known offender: cho chang from harry potter. hearing people mock me when i speak in my asian language by saying “ching chong chang” 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 aren’t 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 “common (insert country/ethnicity) last names” and they’ll come up. use this for other ethnicities/races too!
this is really just common sense but don’t 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:
please…don’t say they have slanted eyes. just don’t. almond eyes is a good alternative.
our skin isn’t yellow. we aren’t 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 isn’t 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.
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 aren’t shown as a villain. if you have multiple asians on both the “good” and “bad” sides, that’s perfectly ok.
stereotypes can definitely affect your character. be concious of them.
people’s 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.
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 it’s not always black and white. rasicm also exists against other races; i’ve heard of an asian daughter who wasn’t 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.
asians don’t know everything about other asian cultures, and can still accidentally insult other cultures. each culture is very different, so do your research on each one.
universal 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. 6) screaming
religion is also varied. usually it’s 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 don’t fully support gayness. not all asians are like this! but it’s 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 child’s education, but strictness doesn’t equal understanding a subject you just don’t get. this stereotype is usually detrimental to asians because people expect too much of them. if they do well, it’s expected and less people congratulate them. if they don’t, they’re shamed for it more.
asians are bad drivers. this one doesn’t affect asians as badly as the smart stereotype, but it’s still insulting.
asians all look alike. again, this one isn’t 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. i’m japanese, half white, with brown hair, and definitely thinner than him. if i genuinely look like the person you’re comparing me to, it’s not a problem, but it’s definitely offensive when we’re very different types of asian. we are all different and unique, and it’s important that people respect that.
it’s important to remember that not all of the things i said are always true - there are always exceptions. i’ve probably missed a lot of things. i also don’t pretend to know about every different kind of 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!
it’s okay if you didn’t realize that you belived in a stereotype or that you might have said something offensive once, as long as you learn from it and don’t do it again in the future. i hope non-asians learned something from this post. good luck writing your asian characters! heck yea representation
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