Opinion | Shooting down the Asian woman stereotype

All last week Asian American women took to Twitter with the popular hashtag #NotYourAsianSidekick, a viral trending topic being touted as a digital civil rights movement for them, to voice their complaint over always being stereotyped as: quiet, obedient, good girlfriends/wives, sexually repressed, thin, pretty and smart.

As an Asian American woman, my first reaction when I saw this hashtag was surprise. The stereotypes didn't surprise me - I've long known they existed - but the anger at them did. That's because in my life, I've had no problem shooing away these stereotypes, not through Twitter but through action. I'm an incredibly loud, opinionated person and I've been that way since as long as I can remember.

For me, the stereotype that Asian women are quiet is not only amusing, but exciting. I relish meeting people who hold such a stereotype because dispelling it gives me great joy.

If people really think of all Asians as submissive, nerdy and only good at maths, Twitter is not going to change their minds. Leading by example is.

I'll never forget the time I took California politics in college. I was a junior in college, only 15 at the time, having skipped way too many grades, and my inclination was to hide in the back of class and hope the professor wouldn't call on me. The first day of class, an Asian girl walked in with ripped fishnet stockings, a leather skirt, a skate board in one hand, and a latte in the other. She plopped down in the front row, dead centre, and didn't give the professor 10 minutes before peppering him with challenging and thought-provoking questions on everything from politics to ethics.

The entire class stared at her, mesmerised.

This girl went on to become one of my best friends in college. At my graduation, my friend turned to me and said that we should both be thrilled that we're Asian. I asked her why. She said, because everyone expects us to be so quiet. I raised my eyebrow, not sure why that was a good thing.