stuff White people like vs. stuff Asian people like
I remember first reading the Stuff White People LIke blog and nodding in agreement to its satirical critique on stereotypical whiteness. In many ways, I've made similar comments on white people and the things that they express interest in. Of course, the things that are listed on the site such as whole foods, film festivals, vintage are not accurately representative of nor exclusive to white people in general. Yet, I could easily identify with the satire because as an international student at UT, I am naturally more sensitive to white Americans who boast excessively in pride over their hipster, environmentally and socially conscious, liberal lifestyles.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a blog that's essentially a spin-off of Stuff White People Like. Stuff Asian People Like calls itself a a "public and comprehensive project trying to unite varying Asian groups over common themes and not just make fun of the privileged who are not representative of Asian majority." My first reaction to the blog was, really? karaoke and "Aiya"? Most of the things that were listed are just ridiculously irrelevant, outdated, overused stereotype of asians that aren't even funny anymore. I remember asking, is this how white people still see us?
Then I recall my reaction to the Stuff White People like blog and how I have forgotten that only a small portion of white people actually have the privilege to enjoy interests like sushi and watching TED talks online. My immediate reaction to mock the stereotypical traits of 'whiteness' shows the common misbelief that structured hierarchies do not exist within whiteness and that all whites are entitled to this lifestyle. It exemplifies how "whiteness is often taken to be synonymous with privilege and social power" (Brown 76). In comparison to Stuff Asian People Like, whiteness is related to and defined by socioeconomic status, by interests and behaviors that are only accessible to the middle or upper class. On the other hand, the Stuff Asian People Like list consists of more general and radicalized conceptions of Asian people stereotyped by objects like "dumplings", "taking pictures" and "being impatient". Asians are essentially clumped into one homogeneous group regardless of their diverse class and cultural backgrounds.
By setting middle-class standards of behavior as the normative structure, it links social capital and power to whiteness and marginalize other races. At the same time, white people who deviate from the dominant, class-specific, white standards of conduct are often seen as a trangression of the boundaries and thrown into the cateogory of 'white trash'.