“What are you?”
– Chrissy Teigen, Naomi Osaka, Jason Momoa
“What are you?” Some mixed-race people hear this question throughout their lives. Sometimes the answer may vary based on the individual. Even though this is a simple question, it is complex to answer the question. It is hard for a person who does not know how to identify their racial identity or want to be/not to be part of a racial group(s). This question has shifted over the years and has redefined racial identity for multiracial Americans. Since the 1967 Supreme Court case (Loving V. Virginia), which stopped state laws from prohibiting interracial marriage, the number of interracial people has increased. “As of about five years ago, Asians and multiracial people had become the fastest-growing demographic groups in the country” (Marston).
Racial Identification Terms
According to the U.S. Census data from 2018, 6.2 million adults in America reported being of two or more races. However, there is still an ongoing issue with racial identification. Cultural awareness does play a role in racial identification, but it is still a complex issue finding the correct term to describe your racial identity. “Hapa” is a term of Hawaiian origin to reffering someone of mixed ethnic ancestry. The literal definition of the word means half in Hawaiian. This term was used in the 1830s to describe a person of more than one race. In east Asian countries like Japan, the term “hafu” is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word ‘half,’ and refers to people whose ethnicity is half Japanese and half non-Japanese. Some mixed AAPI people don’t identify with either term because of negative connotations or derogatory implications of the meanings. The interpretation of the word ‘half’ implies that a hafu or hapa is not whole or lacks fullness. In other words, they can never fully identify with their Asian background or non-Asian background. Some mixed AAPI people’s opinions on these terms vary, but it contributes to learning more about other cultures to become more informed people.
This picture above is Akemi Johnson, author of “Night in the American Village: Women in the Shadow of the US Military Bases in Okinawa.” Johnson doesn’t identify herself as ‘hapa.’ After writing for the National Public Radio about the term’s origin, she thought it should only be by people with part-Native Hawaiian heritage. It felt like identity theft to her, and identify herself through other ways.
“I use a variety of words to describe myself — Japanese American, mixed-race, biracial, half white and half Japanese — depending on the context and my mood. Increasingly, I find it less important to have one term for my racial identity. I recognize that race and the language to describe it are fluid, and my identity is grounded elsewhere.”
Even though this is Johnson’s experience with the term, it doesn’t mean other mixed-race people feel the same way about the term. Mixed AAPI children are increasing, but there are issues defining racial identity in America. One step in solving this problem is being more informed and get to know people of other cultures and their experiences.