When I was little, I loved Misty Copeland. She was my idol, who I wanted to be like when I got older. I loved the way she moved and her talent and her story. And in some way, little 7-year-old me felt like I related to her. Because like her, I had never really seen people like me on a pedestal: specifically, those both white and Asian, aka “Wasians”. Wasians were not commonly found in the spotlight, if at all.
But now, that has all changed. From Alysa Liu to Laufey to Lola Tung and Hudson Williams, we are seeing so many Wasians ending up on our screens, in our playlists and inside our hearts. And for someone who, like lots of Wasians, has felt like an anomaly, this is huge.
Though being half-Chinese does not dictate the entirety of my life and identity, it does shape some of the events I face. I have been through distinctive experiences that most people do not because of my heritage. Like when people say or do racist motions mocking or imitating Asians, or more specifically, Chinese people, and it always makes me uncomfortable. Because they do not know that I am Wasian, they do not know how much being Chinese matters to me, the love I have for my biculturalism. So having people like me seen and known makes me remember that I am not the only one going through these things I experience because of my ethnic makeup. Seeing them everywhere reminds me that there is a community, that there are others out there, others who I can guarantee have had some similar experiences that come with being Wasian.
That is why I was so excited when the music video for Laufey’s song “Madwoman” came out, because there is all this Wasian representation in it. For the first time in my life, I feel like there are famous people out there who have gone through some of the experiences I have — people who I can look up to, who I see myself in. And that is everything.
What is even better is that I do not feel split between my different cultures anymore, my different ethnicities. As many who are biracial can attest, it often feels like you are seen as one of your ethnicities in one situation— like Chinese to your friends and white to your relatives— instead of both. And another thing unique to being half-and-half is never feeling enough of both. You are either “too Asian” or “not Asian enough” or “too white” or “not white enough.” It often feels like you are split in half between your identities. But that has all changed.
With the rise of the term “Wasian” and the expansion of Wasian artists and celebrities, I finally feel like I have a new, third identity. I am no longer split into halves, changing what people see me as based on the situation, but now have a central, grounded identity. The term “Wasian” celebrates both parts of me equally, in a concrete way that I love, that grounds me. I am no longer fragments of two distnct identities thrown together in a way that never truly fits, but instead one where both sides of me are fused together in a way that feels right.
And it is wonderful that there are Wasians everywhere rising into the spotlight, but what I also love is the variety. Instead of filling the stereotype of a doctor or being smart, the Wasians that are stepping up are showcasing their unique, genre-defying personalities that help show the world how different Wasians can be. We can be quirky and creative, like Alysa Liu, we can be trendsetters, like Megan from Katseye. We can even be people that the public grows obsessed with, like Hudson Williams. The skies are the limit of who Wasians “can be”. We can be figure skaters and actors and singers and I love it because it shows both me and all the little Wasian boys and girls that being Wasian doesn’t prohibit you from chasing after your dreams, and that you can achieve them. Because others have, so you can too.
Therefore, the arrival of Wasian role models makes my heart fill with joy because I know that all the little Wasian girls and boys out there now have role models, someone who they can see themselves in, someone to inspire them. And that is the same for me, though I am not that 7-year-old dancer again; thanks to the rise in Wasian athletes, artists and celebrities, I finally have people to see myself in, to root for, to remind myself that I am not alone in things I experience. That is everything to me.
