Asians suffering pandemic racism find solace in Facebook meme and humour group Subtle Asian Traits
- Group’s members usually discuss topics such as bubble tea and tiger parents, but recently the solemn topic of anti-Asian sentiment due to Covid-19 has emerged
- One artist’s portraits of herself and of Asian victims involved in hate crimes have helped some members deal with their own pain
On the Facebook group Subtle Asian Traits (SAT), memes and humorous posts do the talking for its more than 1.8 million members. Since its inception two years ago, the group has served as a platform for young people across the world to grapple with what it means to be Asian.
The group started out with simpler intentions. A few months before their final high school exams, eight Asian-Australian friends who knew each other from Chinese-language school in Melbourne created the group to bond over their shared experiences.
“At the start, we just wanted to create a fun space, and there was nothing like this online,” said Tony Xie, 19, one of the group’s founders, who is currently a second-year engineering student at the University of Melbourne.
The witty memes and humour appealed to Asians around the world, and the group soon saw a meteoric rise in membership.
As the group expanded, its founders quickly saw a need for proper operations. Xie said the team has since recruited a more diverse team of more than 40 volunteers to approve every post that is made.