What it Means to be a POC/WOC

In everything I see regarding POC/WOC (people of colour, women of colour) there's an issue that lights a fire in my belly in almost every occasion. What does it mean to be a person of colour?

"Person of color (plural: people of color, persons of color, sometimes abbreviated POC^[1]) is a term used primarily in the United States to describe any person who is not white. The term encompasses all non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism." - Definition via Wikipedia. 

As an Aboriginal and Vietnamese woman, I can only write from my experience. And my experience has been excluded from the discussion on POC. The few people in the sea of those talking about racial issues are usually people who have experienced exclusion from this term. I've read articles by Asian women who have felt excluded from the discussion. Where do we belong in the discussion and do we matter? Are we considered POC?

In my experience, we don't matter. Egyptians, Asians, Arabs, Hispanics, Cubans, Jews and so many more experience racism daily, but are somehow not included in the discussion about POC issues. I feel like we need to open the discussion and include all POC so everyone can have a place at the table.

In my feminist upbringing I've always been scared to identify as a WOC because I felt like I wasn't, because the discussion doesn't include me. Which is sad to know there are other people out there who experience daily racism for not being white but can't be a part of any People of Colour conversation because they don't know if they can say they belong to the term POC. So where do we fit? Well the answer is simple, we aren't the issue, the issue is in the term that's meant to be an all encompassing term but isn't represented that way.

My side profile is more Vietnamese than Aboriginal, I generally look more Vietnamese than anything. So I've copped the general racial slurs, people pulling their eyes back and me and speaking gibberish to me that they believe represents an Asian accent. Any time I bring it up I'm seen as complaining and that my oppression isn't a big deal. Plus, I SPEAK ENGLISH.

Is it a big deal? Is trying to hold your eyes wider as a child for extended periods of time to look more 'normal' in your eyes a big deal? No pun intended. Is buying the wrong shade foundation to look more white and normal in your eyes a big deal? 

In movies and TV what once were POC characters are often played by white actors pretending to be and dressing up as those POC characters. Take for instance The Last Airbender (pictured below). Yes some are POC, but from the right race? I'll let you decide. to me, it's injustice all the same when an all asian character cast is played by non-asian actors. “After the miscalculation of making the movie as live action, there remained the challenge of casting it. Shyamalan has failed. His first inexplicable mistake was to change the races of the leading characters; on television Aang was clearly Asian, and so were Katara and Sokka, with perhaps Mongolian and Inuit genes. Here they’re all whites. This casting makes no sense.” - Roger Ebert, film critic.

In my experience and relating to my people, Asian women are always cast as a sexual deviant, or a school girl. Asian men are always cast as nerds or a business man as a prop in the background. Aboriginal men and women are always seen as hobos or people doing it tough. In regards to Aboriginals doing it tough it may be true, but it should give you an alarm bell and a different picture in your mind. And we're not all doing it tough.

These representations of my people are wrong and racist but who's talking about them? I'll tell you who's talking about it, we are, the people who have to deal with it. We don't have any other advocates or allies. That's why you don't hear our voices. Because white voices are so much louder, so much more noticed. And those of us who do speak about it are so little because we don't feel our voices are welcome in the discussion on POC.

Where are we casted in movies, music, media if not in the representation I mentioned previously? Eugene from Buzzfeed hit the nail on the head in his tweet on where Asians are in terms of super hero movies, we're the ninja and that's it. We're the sex slave school girl in pig tails and that's it. We're the prop business man in the background and that's it. We're the Asian nerd with glasses and broken English spoken. That's it. That's what young men and women who are non-white are conditioned to be. We grow up being told we're either a fetish for white men or a nerd, because of your eyes, because of your skin colour, because of your culture of kind natured women and smart men.

Which brings me to another question. Why in movies and socially, when someone is racist toward Asians is it so fruitfully and gleefully ignored and more importantly accepted by both non-Asians but by Asians ourselves? Ever heard the term internal misogyny? Internalised misogyny/Internalised sexism is defined as the involuntary belief by girls and women that the lies, stereotypes and myths about girls and women that are delivered to everyone in a sexist society ARE TRUE. It's the same concept when Asians allow or partake in racist Asian jokes or general racism. It's so accepted and encouraged by everyone else to make fun of Asians that Asians ourselves feel pressured into partaking and allowing. 

"The media continues to constantly reinforce negative Asian stereotypes, make racist jokes, etc. and no one does anything. In fact, most people don't even see it as stereotyping or racist because racism against Asians seems to be so strong that these racial profiles aren't seen as stereotypes at all, but truths. [...] Asians are never granted leading roles in the media, and Asian males are actively desexualised in movies, television shows, and magazines without consequence." - Unknown found in Quora

Do white people and those non-white people partaking ever stop to consider how a young Asian girl would feel knowing she's a fetish to white men, being told we're all bad drivers, being told Asian men have small penises. In a world where racism against Asians is 'funny', where do you stand in the fight against racism? Do you speak out against racism but ignore racism against Asians? Are you anti-racist only sometimes? 

To anyone who is non-white, you matter. You're a part of this discussion whether you're Asian, Egyptian, Arab, what have you. You have a place at the table, and you also have a responsibility to yourself and those who share your struggle to use your voice, whether that be in a literal sense or not. To all the white people addressing anything to do with POC, check yourselves, and check the meaning. POC means all non-whites, all of our issues are a big deal. We too are people of colour and we are missing from your discussion.