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.

Baby Mama/Daddy

These terms have a context-specific meaning within Black culture, but when used by people who aren’t Black, especially in official capacities (like newscasters), the meaning changes. They undermine the seriousness of real relationships and imply a lack of personal responsibility.

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.

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.

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).

Filipinx/Filipino

As noted on VICE, whether one identifies as Filipinx or Filipino is an ongoing debate for people of Philippine origin or descent, sparking discussions on identity, colonialism, and the power of language.

In September 2020, Dictionary.com released the word “Filipinx,” meant as an alternative to the “Filipino” and “Filipina” binary terms used to describe those living or who have origins in the Philippines and living in the U.S. Some, mostly those who grew up in the Philippines, argue that “Filipino” is already a gender-neutral term because the Filipino language itself doesn’t differentiate between genders. Meanwhile, others, mostly from the large Filipino diaspora, say “Filipino” and “Filipina” are sexist, holdovers from the gendered Spanish that influenced the country’s languages. The debate is highlighting differences between generations, cultures, and nations.

Free Association

A free relationship between a political territory (maybe with some degree of statehood) and a nation. It is a somewhat “middle ground” status where associate states can maintain sovereignty and delegate other responsibilities to the major nation (e.g., financial assistance, defense, currency) under individual compacts. Current “associated states” include Cook Islands and Niue with New Zealand, and Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau with the U.S.

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.

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.

Indochina/Indochina Wars

Originally referred to as French Indochina, which included the current countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Indochina Wars refers to a series of wars in Southeast Asia from 1945-1991 between communist Indochinese forces and other ethnic minorities against mainly French, Vietnamese, U.S., Cambodian, Laotian, and Chinese forces. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft dropped 7.6+ million tons of bombs and other ordnance, far exceeding tonnage in World War II and in the Korean War.

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.

Kathoey (or katoey)

A gender identity in Thailand that encompasses people who were assigned male at birth but have a feminine gender identity or gender expression. Transgender women in Thailand mostly use other terms when referring to themselves, such as “phuying” or “sao praphet song,” which translates to “women in the second category.”

Note: When living in another country or visiting other states that don't have the same cultural genders, people with this identity may code-switch and call themselves trans women, gay men, or non-binary in order for their identity to be legible to others. Writers should always consult with cultural experts when writing about Kathoey.

Minority Stress

Chronically high levels of stress endured by members of stigmatized communities (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, religious minorities, HIV+) caused by the prejudice, discrimination, and systemic oppression they face. This leads to a number of negative mental and physical health disparities among these groups (e.g., internalized racism, transphobia, homophobia; increased risk-taking behavior; anxiety; high blood pressure).

Model Minority

Refers to the idea that some underrepresented groups in the U.S., especially Asian Americans, are perceived to have certain “positive” traits (e.g., industrious, politically undisruptive, intelligent, inoffensive, successful). This myth erases differences among individuals, while also driving a racial wedge between Asians and other underrepresented groups in the U.S.

Othering

A pattern of exclusion and marginalization based on having identities that are different from the perceived “norms” of a community, social group, nation, etc. It relies on an “us vs. them” mentality.