If you are a second or third generation Asian immigrant, then you would know how unique and odd it was growing up in a multicultural country like Australia.
Half of your childhood is spent soaking up Western influences while the other half is spent absorbing random things introduced to you by your first generation Asian immigrant parents. The result is you may have no problem fitting in with your white friends, but there are weird things and habits instilled in you from your family that make you go “yep, I’m definitely Asian”.
Seeing as how this is a unique situation for many young Asians to be in, some Aussie legends decided to create a special Facebook group called “Subtle Asian Traits” for all those second and third generation Asians who need a safe spot to laugh and share experiences.
So if you’re not Asian, the rest of this article may fly completely over your head. If you are Asian, then you need to get in on this right now.
Created just a month ago, this invite-only Facebook group has already racked up over 120k members and is growing so fast that the Flash seems slow by comparison. From when I started writing this piece to this point, the group grew by several hundred members. I am not joking.
Members share stories, memes, photos, and various childhood oddities, all of which is relatable by the group’s Asian only base. Not only does it function as a sort of pseudo support group, it is also just a hub to reminisce on all those random moments that only exist in an Asian household.
There is arguably no other group around where other people can relate to each other about weird stuff like:
- Pinching your nose to make it less flat
- When you know none of your relatives’ real names, just their numerical ranking
- The anxiety you feel going through border security because your mum decided to fill your luggage with all sorts of weird dried ingredients of questionable legality
- Wrapping remote controls in plastic to prevent them from getting dusty
- Parents refusing to get a dog and then giving the dog more affection and approval than they give you
- Your mum complaining that she’d rather given birth to a char siu than you
- And of course, the most iconic soccer team ever…
So if you’re a second or third generation Asian and you want to waste hours reminiscing about all the times your parents didn’t let you eat fried food because it’s “yeet hei” or being forced to eat fish as a kid because it “makes you smarter” and/or “fixes your eyesight”, then join the group right here.
(PS: The fish thing is a lie. I ate so much of it as kid and yet I still became so short-sighted that I can’t function properly without glasses).