The new ABC show Fresh Off The Boat was one of the top five most tweeted TV programs last week. Besides sparking conversation about the show itself&dmash;the first sitcom with an Asian American cast in 20 years—it's also set off a lot of discussion about how the Asian American experience is still relatively unknown in the mainstream parent blogging community.
Image: ABC
A groundswell in Asian American parent bloggers a rose on February 8 after photos on Instagram and Twitter tagged #ABCTVevent showed a group of bloggers at a junket organized by Disney and ABC to promote several new shows, one of which was Fresh Off The Boat. No Asian-American bloggers were identifiable in the pictures.
Whether it was discussion about the absence of Asians at this particular junket, or the bigger picture of the dollars left on the table by brands who aren't aware of the growing influence and buying power of Asian Americans, many bloggers shared their experiences using the hashtag #AAPIVoices.
In case you're not familiar with the term (and I've had many non-Asian friends ask what it means, AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islander). AAPI Voices is not a new term; in fact, the website AAPIVoices.com launched in May 2014 as a place for data journalism and storytelling from Asian American writers, academics and leaders.
Asian American bloggers at BlogHer '13
Now, #AAPIVoices is catching on as a way to tag articles and tweets about the Asian American experience—all facets of it. One of the most powerful effects of hashtag has been the bloggers who don't typically write about their race or ethnicity speaking out about how being included (or not) has deeply affected them.
Stephanie Huang Porter of Queen Scarlett writes:
"All my life I've been taught and told to stay under the radar, don't make waves. The older I get, the more I enjoy surfing. There's not much more I can say, or add to what my beautiful, brilliant Asian brothers and sisters have said. Go read them, and help us open minds, and hearts."
At Sweatpants Mom, Marsha Takeda-Morrison says:
"People aren't used to hearing Asians speak out, and it makes them uncomfortable. We're supposed to be the silent minority and not rock the boat. I know many of my fellow Asian Americans can attest to the fact that we were brought up to be non-confrontational and passive."
And speaking out makes sense—if for no other reason than dollars and cents. Former marketing executive Maria Wen Adcock of Bicultural Mama writes:
No matter the circumstances surrounding this particular event, the larger conversation is about understanding the power of the Asian American consumer and how harnessing this opportunity can grow businesses.
Thien-Kim Lam explains Why Brands Should Work With Asian American Parent Bloggers on LinkedIn:
"When brands work with Asian American bloggers, they aren't just reaching an Asian American audience. Most Asian American bloggers have a diverse audience. My lifestyle blog I'm Not the Nanny focuses on how my family incorporates our Asian and African American culture into our daily lives, especially in how I parent and the food we cook. My readers are racially diverse and many are also raising multicultural families."
As many have learned, there can be a cost to speaking up about issues that people aren't used to hearing from you.
Jenni Chiu of Mommy Nani BooBoo told me about the reactions she's received from friends:
"'You've been so Asian on social media lately'… I'm not sure exactly what that means, but that's what someone said to me. I don't write about racial identity very often, but it was so jarringly delightful to see Asian Americans represented on Fresh Off the Boat that I couldn't keep quiet about it.
I think the majority of Asian Americans feel the same way—the response from digital influencers has been explosive. I'm looking forward to a growing recognition of Asian American bloggers and consumers. Times are changing. You'd have to be blind to still be exclusive."
Metro Moms Network CEO Kathy Zucker told me that she wrote about race for the first time last week:
"The response has been..interesting. A lot of people say, 'What you are experiencing is invisible to me.' When I tell them Asians represent 5% of the overall US population, they are STUNNED."
Interestingly, Forbes ran an article last week about Speaking Up As A Woman of Color At Work, and the results aren't pretty. Writes Ruchika Tulshyan:
"I could never claim to speak for every woman of color at the workplace. But my research for this story confirms that there's a marked difference between speaking as a white woman versus as a woman of color."
Angela Chee of The Zen Mom writes ABC's Fresh Off the Boat and Why It Matters and Why We Need to Keep Sharing Our Voices #AAPIVoices:
"My parents left everything behind to build a life in America, for the family, for me.
They were youthful and vibrant. My dad was president of his university, and both had coveted government jobs. When they came to the US they started over, they waited tables.
They learned to fit in, to not rock the boat, do what was right and at times they lost their voice.
They lost their voice, so I could find mine. And I intend to use it."
I'm happy to report that our voices are being heard. I've heard directly from some after my outreach, and I've also noticed that more studios and brands are coming around and want to learn more about Asian American bloggers and consumers. Change doesn't always come quickly—but it won't come at all, if we don't all work toward it.
News and Politics Editor Grace Hwang Lynch blogs about raising an Asian mixed-race family at HapaMama.