Sinophobia to Aesthetic: My Complicated Hope

Growing up, I always stood my ground, proud to be Asian, proud to be Chinese. Even in elementary school, a time when many Asian American kids felt embarrassed by their lunches, their backgrounds, or their features, I had a strong joy associated with my background. I thank my parents for that. They filled my childhood with stories, traditions, and explanations of all the amazing things about my Chinese heritage. They planted a pride in me that no one or any comment could make me feel ashamed.

That pride followed me through middle school, through high school, and even in a time where people were scared to be Asian, let alone Chinese. Especially when COVID-19 was the biggest news. Overnight, the world seemed scared of Asian people. Hate crimes spiked. Elders were attacked. Families lived in fear. People treated you differently because you were Asian. And now, just a few years later, Asian things are trendy again. The whiplash is exhausting.

I’ve noticed a pattern over the years. Asian countries tend to get a “pass” in Western media only when they offer something trendy, aesthetic, or useful to mainstream culture. Japan has long been known for anime, video games, Studio Ghibli, and sushi. Korea grew into global popularity with K-pop (BTS, Blackpink), K-dramas (Squid Game, Crash Landing on You), mukbangs, and skincare. And now, China is having its moment, thanks largely to TikTok and the introduction of Red Note, a Chinese social media app. Viral videos have revealed the beauty of Chinese cities like Chongqing and Shanghai, the addicting storylines of Chinese dramas (Hidden Love, Till the End of the Moon, Meteor Garden), the eye-catching fashion, and the deliciousness of dishes like hot pot, soup dumplings, and hand-pulled noodles.

For so long, I, as well as many other Chinese Americans and immigrants, faced sinophobia, which is officially defined as fear, hatred, distrust, and prejudice against Chinese people. But now, the same people who mocked us want to try the things they once made fun of, simply because China now seems more “aesthetic” to them.

When I first noticed this shift, I felt angry. After years of hearing people talk badly about my motherland, and hearing stories about how my community was suffering during the pandemic, and enduring microaggressions, suddenly everyone loves China? It felt fake and shallow to me. My thought was, how could people treat us so badly one moment and switch their tone so fast? How were they hating the people one moment, but now love the culture? It felt like they didn’t truly understand anything about us. These were not people interested in our history, struggles, or culture. They were just glorifying whatever was trendy and enjoying what they wanted out of that while discarding the rest.

After sitting with that anger for a while, I’ve come to a different way of thinking. Maybe this is just the first step. Although it’s messy and frustrating, this could still open doors for the future. For decades, Chinese culture was either invisible or villainized in Western media. People only knew what they were told about factories, censorship, and the government. Now, for the first time, they’re seeing the food, landscapes, music, and everyday lives of Chinese citizens. Though this might start as shallow curiosity, it could also blossom into something deeper. Maybe people who watch historical Chinese dramas will want to learn more about Chinese history. Or maybe someone who loves hot pot will try to learn more about the region it came from, how and why different recipes are made the way they are. Or maybe someone who visits Shanghai originally for its aesthetics will gain more knowledge and understanding of the culture. As much as I dislike it and believe that our culture should not only be valued for when they’re profitable or pretty, I have hope that more people will move past the surface and really learn about us. 

The hope for the future is that these trends lead the way for curiosity to grow bigger. I hope that the same people who are interested in the trends, who eat our food, watch our shows, listen to our music, or travel to our motherland, will one day understand us by helping us when our communities need it, and truly commit to learning our culture for what it is, not just what is trendy to them. 

Right now, I am learning to be frustrated with how shallow the attention is, and still being glad there is attention now. It is anger for how long it took for people to start seeing why I was so proud of being Asian American and Chinese all my life, but hope for the future that our cultures and history will be appreciated in the right ways.