The Blossoming "Hapa" Culture in America
This entry is part of a research project for Cultural Interfaces and Cross-Cultural Rhetoric at Stanford University. For more about this assignment and the class projects, click here.
A fairly new word, “hapa” has come to refer to people who are part Asian, rather than just half Hawaiian-half foreigner. Documenting the surging popularity of this word, Professor Elam, from the Comparative Studies on Race and Ethnicity Department, showed me a comprehensive source that documents the pride that people take in calling themselves “hapa.” This unique book, Part Asian, 100% Hapa by Kip Fulbeck, which is really more of a creative expression of the hapa culture, has helped solidify my argument that the word “hapa” should be used by anyone who wishes to use it. This 7x7 book features a collection of over 100 people, stripped of any jewelry, excess makeup, or particular expression, whose portraits occupy the right hand page. These portraits are accompanied by a self reflection page on the left, in which the individual was free to express himself or herself through text, drawings, scribbles, or any other self-representation. Two quotes that are particularly representative are “I’m what’s on your spoon when you pull it out of the melting pot!” and “What am I? Shouldn’t you be asking my name first?” And inconspicuously tucked away in the left-hand corner, the person’s ethnicities were listed, with percentages notably absent.
This collection captures the essence of the hapa culture, in that the percentages of ethnicities of a person aren’t the focus of the page. Rather, the individual expression is the first thing the reader sees, after the person’s face. After spending an hour reading every single entry of how people defined themselves, I was convinced that the word “hapa” allowed people the creativity and self-expression they yearn for once people abandon attempts to figure out a person’s ethnic make-up. People do not fit neatly into categories and people should realize the world is not longer a world of absolutes and rigid lines.
Adopting the word seems like a feasible solution to end the insistent categorization of people by race, but there are still critics who cling to the original meaning of the word, half-Hawaiian, half-White. While their claim, that the incorrect misuse of the word is essentially rape (Robbins sec. 2), does have merit, there is no way to prevent every single multiracial person from ever using a word that he or she has found solace in. The afterword of the book addresses the issue of the misappropriated word, “That is the nature of language. It morphs and moves. It is not anyone’s property” (Spickard 262). The incorrect, yet innovative, use of this word has produced more positive effects and even has the potential to break down racial prejudices in America.
--posted by Stacie Chan
Comments
A reasonable solution to end the insistent categorization of people by race is not in human nature. All races have a name for other races that they like to use.
Posted by: Watch Winder | October 7, 2009 09:44 PM