Asian American

A term used to describe an American of Asian descent. It’s not an ideal term because it collapses countless identities and cultures into one label and often only refers to the East Asian American experience. For more on the complexity of this label, as well as the larger “Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI)” label, here is a helpful video.

Asian Latinx

Two of America’s fastest-growing ethnic groups are Asian and Latino, and they aren’t mutually exclusive. For centuries, Asian immigrants have settled throughout Latin America. There are Korean communities in Mexico and Argentina; Chinatowns everywhere from Santo Domingo to Lima; and there’s a major Japanese population in Brazil. The immigrants’ descendants carry both Asian and Latin American identities. In the U.S., Asians and Latinos have lived side-by-side in heavily immigrant neighborhoods and have created lives together. See here for more details.

Buddhism

An Indian religion based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Buddhism practices in SEA tend to be distinct from their Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan counterparts. The basic tenets include: Nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Buddhism addresses itself to all people no matter race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods to help people realize and use its teachings to transform their experience and take full responsibility for their lives.

Chinese Exclusion Act

A U.S. federal law passed in 1882 that prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. Fueled by anti-Chinese hate in California (where Chinese migrants were working as miners), the Act lasted 10 years. However, it wasn’t until 1943, when the U.S. and China were allies in WWII, that Chinese immigration resumed. It’s the first law to prevent all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating to the U.S.

Code-Switching

The practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. For instance, Latinx Americans who speak a combination of Spanish, Indigenous/Native dialects, and English or Black Americans who speak African American Vernacular English (or Black English) and English. Code-switching is often used at home or among members of the same communities, and people don’t necessarily code-switch to someone who doesn’t speak their same language.

Confucianism

A way of life cultivated by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, in the 6th-5th centuries BC. It is a belief system, an all-encompassing way of thinking and living, that focuses on the importance of personal ethics and morality and ancestor reverence. It is sometimes considered a philosophy, worldview, political ideology, or religion, although it is not an organized religion in the traditional sense. Practicers of Confucianism live all over the world, predominantly in East and Southeast Asia. For more.

Cultural Hybridity

The practice of someone maintaining customs and values of two or more different cultures that make up their identity. In engaging with their separate cultures, someone can create a new hybrid identity that seeks to balance these multiple parts of them. Cultural hybridity is an ongoing, active, and fluid process that is shaped by history and background.

Dharma

The eternal and inherent nature of reality, regarded in Hinduism as a cosmic law underlying right behavior and social order. In Buddhism, the nature of reality is regarded as a universal truth taught by the Buddha. For more.

Diaspora

A community of people from the same homeland who have been scattered or have migrated to other lands. While most often associated with the Jewish people expelled from the Kingdom of Israel in the 6th century BCE, the diaspora of many ethnic groups is found around the world today.

1) A diaspora is a group of people who have been forced from or chosen to leave their homeland to settle in other lands;

2) People of a diaspora typically preserve and celebrate the culture and traditions of their homeland;

3) Diaspora may be created by voluntary emigration or by force, as in the cases of wars, enslavement, or natural disasters. For more.

Domestic Worker

Hired to perform household and caregiving duties in an employer’s private home or residence (e.g., housekeeper, nanny, gardener, au pair, chauffeur, in-home aide, babysitter). These professionals (majority women, mostly immigrants and BIPOC) do difficult, skilled work, often without basic labor rights and protections.

Dragon Lady

A stereotype of East Asian and Southeast Asian women that depicts them as strong, deceitful, domineering, and sexually alluring.

Emotional Labor

The process of managing feelings and expressions in order to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. More specifically, when workers have to regulate emotions to shape the minds of superiors, co-workers, and customers. Emotional labor more often falls on BIPOC people, especially women (e.g., swallowing down feelings about a racist or sexist comment so as not to make things awkward for another individual, having to fake positivity to placate a customer).

Geisha

Japanese women who entertain through performing the ancient traditions of art, dance, and singing. Unfortunately, Western portrayals wrongly stereotype geisha as submissive and docile and, sometimes, as sex workers. The geisha girl stereotype is similar to the “Lotus Flower” and “China Doll” depictions.

Generational Trauma

The long-term psychological effects of trauma (both personal and communal) that can be passed down through generations of families and cultures. Beyond psychological, these generational effects are also familial, social, cultural, neurobiological, and possibly even genetic.

Hong Kong

Considered a special administrative region of China but previously considered a British colony until 1997. The relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China is quite complex, including differences in government and politics (e.g., Hong Kong’s limited democracy vs. China’s communism).

Identity

An intrinsic, embodied part of who someone is (e.g., race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability), not to be confused with the various experiences, ideologies, and preferences they identify with (e.g., careers, politics, hobbies). Identity shapes our everyday life, psychology, culture, relationships, behavior, and shared history. Identity is deeply personal and language used to describe it is ever-evolving. We must be open to new language as understanding shifts; it’s vital to use the terms, names, and pronouns others use for themselves. Note: Avoid the phrasing “identify as” (e.g. “she is a woman” instead of “she identifies as a woman”; “they are non-binary” vs “they identify as non-binary”).

Immigrants

Those who move to take permanent residence in a new country.

Japanese American Incarceration

In response to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII, the forced relocation and imprisonment of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry – including 8,000 American citizens – into concentration camps by the U.S. federal government. (This action is often referred to as “internment,” a term that shouldn’t be used as it ignores the illegality and immorality of what happened.)

Karma

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.

Macau

Considered a special administrative region of China but operates as an independent city-state with its own money, passport, and legal system. Until 1999, Macau was a Portugese colony. For more.