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Boba liberal is a term mostly used within the Asian diaspora communities in the
The term is believed to have come into use in the 2010s, invented by
Why I Hate Subtle Asian Traits
by Sarah Mae Dizon (30 August 2020). {{Liberalism Asian-American culture Asian-American history Asian-American issues Asian-American-related controversies Asian Australian Canadian people of Asian descent Cultural studies Cultural assimilation Liberalism Political neologisms Politics and race in the United States 2010s neologisms Social inequality Social media
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, especially in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It describes someone of East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
or Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
n descent living in the West who has a superficial liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
or centrist
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...
outlook. The neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
emerged as "boba liberals" were accused of only holding these beliefs to appear more White Americans, white adjacent, such as engaging in progressive social movements or viewpoints, but at the same time disregarding, disparaging and trivializing issues concerning Asians.Definition
The term is believed to have come into use in the 2010s, invented by Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
user diaspora_is_red. It refers to Asians living in the West who would often use their "Asianness" to speak on behalf of the Asian population, using talking points often parroting white liberals, which has been accused as gaslighting
Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone so as to make them question their own reality. The term derives from the title of the 1944 American film '' Gaslight'', which was based on the 1938 British theatre play '' G ...
actual issues faced by the Asian diaspora.
The Asian identity of boba liberals has often been accused of being shallow and superficial since it goes directly against their goal of aspiring to whiteness, and so uses surface level stereotypical Asian traits such as "liking bubble/boba tea" to bolster their Asian credentials. Hence, the emergence of the term boba liberal.
United States
Specifically in theUnited States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, it is said that boba liberals often use boba tea as it does not require much personal investment; it is a fairly popular drink in Asia and therefore a safe non-opinion to take and identify with, unlike contentious or serious topics such as bipartisan policies that specifically affects Asians, such as the Asian quota
An Asian quota is a racial quota limiting the number of people of Asian descent in an establishment, a special case of '' numerus clausus''. It usually refers to alleged educational quotas in United States higher education admissions, specific ...
in American universities and colleges.
Therefore, while the word "liberal" is used in the term, it is not exclusive to one specific political ideology; it also extends to conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
-aligned Asians in some areas, as they often take advantage of the "model minority
A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgro ...
" label by defending such measures and overlooking Asians of lower socioeconomic status that are more negatively affected and discriminated against by such a label.
See also
*Acting white
In the United States, acting white is a pejorative term, usually applied to black people, which refers to a person's perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of white society.
*'' Baizuo''
* Banana, Coconut, and Twinkie
*Cultural cringe
Cultural cringe, in cultural studies and social anthropology, is an internalized inferiority complex that causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries.
It is closely related to the conc ...
*Crab mentality
Crab mentality, also known as crab theory, crabs in a bucket mentality, or the crab-bucket effect, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you".
The metaphor is derived from anecdotal claims about th ...
* Inferiority complex
*Internalized oppression
In social justice theory, internalized oppression is a concept in which an oppressed group accepts the methods and incorporates the oppressive message of the oppressing group against their own best interest. Rosenwasser (2002) defines it as believ ...
*Internalized racism
Internalized racism is a form of internalized oppression, defined by sociologist Karen D. Pyke as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In her study ''The Psychology of Racism, '' Robin Nicole Johnson emphasizes ...
*'' Hanjian''
*Limousine liberal
Limousine liberal and latte liberal are pejorative U.S. political terms used to illustrate hypocritical behavior by political liberals of upper class or upper middle class status. The label stems primarily from unwillingness of ''limousine liber ...
*Model minority
A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgro ...
* Orientalism
* Postcolonialism
*Self-hatred
Self-hatred is personal self-loathing or hatred of oneself, or low self-esteem which may lead to self-harm.
In psychology and psychiatry
The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually descri ...
*Self-hating Jew
Self-hating Jew or self-loathing Jew, transliterated in Hebrew as auto-antisemitism, is a term which is used to describe Jews whose views are perceived as antisemitic. The concept gained widespread currency after Theodor Lessing's 1930 book ('' ...
*Tall poppy syndrome
The tall poppy syndrome is a cultural phenomenon in which people hold back, criticise or sabotage those who have or are believed to have achieved notable success in one or more aspects of life, particularly intellectual or cultural wealth; "cut ...
*Race traitor
Race traitor is a pejorative reference to a person who is perceived as supporting attitudes or positions thought to be against the supposed interests or well-being of that person's own race. The term is the source of the name of a quarterly magaz ...
*''Takfir
''Takfir'' or ''takfīr'' ( ar, تكفير, takfīr) is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ...
''
*Uncle Tom syndrome
Uncle Tom syndrome is a theory in multicultural psychology referring to a coping skill in which individuals use passivity and submissiveness when confronted with a threat, leading to subservient behaviour and appeasement, while concealing their t ...
*Milk Tea Alliance
The Milk Tea Alliance is an online democracy and human rights movement consisting mainly of netizens from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). It originally started as an internet meme, created in response to the increased presence ...
*Jeff Yang
Jeff Yang () (born ) is an American writer, journalist, businessman, and business/media consultant who writes the ''Tao Jones'' column for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Previously, he was the "Asian Pop" columnist at the ''San Francisco Chronicle' ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*External links
Why I Hate Subtle Asian Traits
by Sarah Mae Dizon (30 August 2020). {{Liberalism Asian-American culture Asian-American history Asian-American issues Asian-American-related controversies Asian Australian Canadian people of Asian descent Cultural studies Cultural assimilation Liberalism Political neologisms Politics and race in the United States 2010s neologisms Social inequality Social media