Not Asian Enough, Not Trans Enough? | An Asian Trans View

Today, I want to talk about that controversial 'oppression olympics' scene from the comedy series Ginny & Georgia, released earlier this year. I'm not going to discuss the concept of 'oppression olympics' itself, but rather I will be focusing on what was said. In that scene, Ginny, who has a white mother and a black father, said that her friend Hunter, who is half-Asian, was much closer to being 'white' than herself, and that's why their allegedly racist English teacher chose Hunter's essay to be the winner. In turn, Hunter recounted his own experiences of feeling like he fitted in nowhere, and concluded with something like 'sorry if I'm not Asian enough for you'. The discussion then turned towards if Ginny was 'black enough'.

Even though Hunter's being mixed-race contributed to his feeling of not fitting anywhere, I guess this feeling applies even to those of us who aren't mixed-race. For example, many Asians who grew up in the West could have similar experiences, like going to Asia only to find a reception along the lines of 'you don't belong here either'. I myself grew up in both the West and in Asia, going back and forth between the two worlds, so I know the feeling very well. I guess, having gone to school in Asia for quite a few years, learning the language and the culture, I don't think I'm most people's idea of being 'not Asian enough', at least by Western standards. However, people in Asia, including my teachers at school, used to say that I have a very Westernized way of seeing things, and they all thought it was because I spent my first years of school in the West. So, yeah, I was, and still am, 'not Asian enough' by Asian standards, I guess.

I guess we really shouldn't care about if we are 'not Asian enough', or things like that. I mean, I'm used to not entirely fitting anywhere all my life, so it could be easy for me to say this. But I think we are all unique individuals, and I think we should be proud of our uniqueness, including in our cultural influences. I guess that would make me quite individualistic, a thing which I'm proud of, but would definitely be seen as being 'not Asian enough' by many traditional Asians. I really don't care though, to be honest.

As with all things identity, just like how one could be 'not Asian enough' or 'not black enough', one could also now be 'not gay enough', and I guess 'not trans enough' nowadays, given the increasing importance some people are assigning to these identities. I remember someone describing then-US Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg as 'not gay enough' for some reason, something that puzzled me, because from what I see, Pete was clearly a gay man. I suspect I may also be seen as 'not trans enough' by some people too. I mean, I don't have much connection to the LGBT community, I don't share the views of the activist establishment, and I don't do many stereotypical 'trans' things, if there are indeed such things. So yeah, I'm probably 'not trans enough' too. But I don't care, because I am an individual, not a stereotype.